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France asks EU for help while Spain declares national emergency around Madrid, as marine heatwave sees parts of Mediterranean Sea 5C hotter than normal
Brutal heat torching southern Europe has forced about 30,000 people to flee wildfires in France and Spain as a marine heatwave scalds the Mediterranean and researchers warn that “Dantesque” scenarios cannot be ruled out as infernos worsen.
France has requested assistance from the European Union to help it deal with a major wildfire near the country’s Atlantic coast, while Spain has declared a national emergency in the Madrid region and in the province of Avila, because of several wildfires burning out of control.
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Black-crowned night heron one of many species thriving at Holnicote Estate where river ‘reset’ has transformed area into lush oasis
A rare black-crowned night heronhas been spotted on an estate in the south-west of England where an innovative river “reset” is transforming the area into an oasis for birdlife.
The heron was caught on camera in a jungly corner of the Holnicote Estate, where conservation experts have been restoring the landscape by allowing a river to return to its natural course.
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In this week’s newsletter: the archipelago at the centre of the extreme weather phenomenon could help scientists predict how other marine ecosystems will adapt to our warming climate
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The ocean waters around the Galápagos Islands are hot. Very hot. Observed for centuries in the Pacific by fishers, the El Niño weather phenomenon begins when the prevailing trade winds slow, allowing warm water to spread east along the coast of South America. Right now, the pattern is in full flow and will build from this year into next, likely bringing record temperatures to an already overheating world.
If 2026 is not the hottest year on record, 2027 surely will be – and the Galápagos archipelago is in the centre of this climate crisis.
‘It’s only going to get worse’: wildfires forcing firefighters to make impossible choices
Millions face long-term coastal flooding risk in UK without climate action, scientists warn
Slowdown in Arctic ice melt ends after largest winter decline on record
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A selection of the winners, runners-up and highly commended photos from the Mangrove photography awards, run by the Mangrove Action Project, which received 5,258 entries from 87 countries. In its 12th year, the awards continue to offer a window into landscapes viewers may otherwise never encounter
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Deerness Valley, County Durham: For all its beauty, there is something sinister about honeysuckle, a vegetable boa constrictor lurking in the flora
An early morning walk before the heat of the day becomes oppressive. The woodland footpath lies in deep shadow, flecked with sunbeams. A familiar fragrance – honeysuckle – lingers in the cool, still air.
There are a few Lonicera periclymenum flowers at eye level, but most of the sweet, clove-like perfume comes from thousands of inflorescences that smother the crowns of a hazel and an oak overhead. Lit by glancing rays of the rising sun, they glow golden against a cloudless sky. It’s the finest display of honeysuckle blossom I’ve ever encountered. I trace its origin to a thick, gnarled old stem, rooted at the base of the hazel, ramifying up through its branches.
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Analysis shows how heatwaves are making atmosphere thirstier, damaging water supplies, food production and power generation
Extreme heat supercharged by the climate crisis is sucking Europe dry in summer and intensifying the drought hitting the continent, a scientific analysis has found.
Record-breaking heatwaves meant the hot atmosphere strongly evaporated water from rivers, lakes, soils and plants – conditions made 80 times more likely by global heating in western Europe and 40 times more likely in eastern Europe, the study showed. The level of soil dryness in the west was made five times more likely by the pollution from fossil fuels in the west, and 11 times more likely in the east.
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Scientists believe sunfish-smashing behaviour could be form of entertainment or to help younger whales feed
Orcas have been observed ramming into giant fish so hard that the prey explode, possibly as a form of gory entertainment.
On several occasions, orcas were observed to hold sunfish in their jaws while a second whale smashed into the target at high speed, causing it to break into thousands of pieces. Since the fish had already been killed, scientists suggested the behaviour may represent a form of play.
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Since I started doing search and rescue five years ago, I have found seven survivors. Sadly, the number I find dead is higher
In 2012, I was a student and had arrived in Taiwan from the Czech Republic. I soon discovered something that interested me far more than my studies: the mountains of Taiwan. I would leave the campus to explore untouched trails near Taipei. I was obsessed with old maps, often looking for routes that had vanished from modern ones, and hiking paths that no one had taken for decades.
I stayed in Taiwan because of my love for the mountains – there are more than 250 peaks that exceed 3,000 metres. Among the local hiking community, I became known for my speed and knowledge of remote regions.
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Experts weigh in on wellness culture’s obsession with natural fibers and the growing trend of people shunning plastic-based clothing
A few months ago, Lane Koch made a decision: she would purge her family’s closets of all plastic-based fabrics and replace them with natural fibers, such as cotton and linen.
Koch, a longtime Republican political strategist who was a senior staffer on Robert F Kennedy Jr’s presidential campaign, has long avoided processed foods and rid her kitchen of plastic cookware about a decade ago. But, for all that she cared about what she put in her body, she told me she had paid little attention to what she put on her body.
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A ‘personal cooling booth’ that promises to chill you out in 10 minutes has launched in Japan, with its makers claiming it beats air-conditioning or a fan
Name: The human fridge.
Age: Brand new.
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