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As warming seas push native species to cooler waters farther north, once-rare visitors have become more common
‘It sounds silly but I thought it was a person in the water waving,” says Kurt Lander, skipper of the Yellowfin charter boat, based out of Brighton. But when he grabbed his binoculars, he realised the fluttering movement he had noticed in the middle of the Channel shipping lane was a pair of sunfish.
The huge fish were lying on their sides and flapping their fins. “Apparently, they do it as a visual attraction to birds,” he says. “They’re trying to get the birds to eat the parasites off them.”
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Deputy leader says it is ‘arrogant’ to try to stop global heating, despite UK being left reeling by summer firewave
Reform’s deputy leader has dismissed efforts to tackle climate breakdown as futile, as he urged British people to “enjoy” the warmth of the recent heatwaves.
Richard Tice told a press conference on Monday he believed it was “arrogant” to try to stop the climate emergency and added that politicians should focus instead on adaptation efforts, while encouraging people to focus on upsides such as better English wine.
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Robert Smith, Olly Alexander and Paris Paloma also among signatories to letter saying exploitation of Rosebank and Jackdaw fields defies climate reality
More than 200 musicians including Massive Attack and Brian Eno have written to Andy Burnham urging him to reject plans for more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
The letter, signed by 211 artists such as Bobby Gillespie, Olly Alexander and Paris Paloma, called on the prime minister to reject the Rosebank oilfield, warning that the project would fail to lower energy bills or provide energy security as most of the oil was likely to be exported.
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Temperatures could drop by more than 15C compared with last Thursday as cold front moves in
Relief from the unrelenting heat is finally arriving this week across western Europe, with more unsettled conditions bringing the chance of rain. Temperatures are expected to fall back towards the seasonal norm, with some parts of the UK even falling about 3C below normal by Thursday. After such a scorching summer, and with a temperature drop of more than 15C compared with last Thursday’s heat, it may feel surprisingly chilly.
There are signs that some substantial rain could be on the cards for the south of the UK this week as a cold front moves in from the Atlantic on Monday night into Tuesday. As of Monday, parts of southern England had endured 62 consecutive days of no rainfall – this is observed at a Met Office weather station in Wisley, Surrey. Even the last recorded rainfall here on 16 June amounted to just 0.4mm.
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Extreme weather has raised the significance of Cop17 talks starting this week on tackling drought and land degradation
As swathes of the northern hemisphere bake in what could be the hottest year on record, with wildfires blazing across North America and Europe and heatwaves afflicting millions across Asia, the UN’s bi-annual talks on desertification have assumed much greater importance – and have started attracting more money.
Work will begin this week on allocating more than $12bn (£8.9bn) to vulnerable countries to help them deal with drought and land degradation, when scores of countries gather in Mongolia for Cop17.
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Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, near death on Welsh beach in 2023, is thriving in Houston despite lingering pneumonia
A Kemp’s ridley sea turtle native to the Gulf of Mexico is largely thriving after he was found nearly dead on a beach in Wales in late 2023, nursed back to health and then flown to Houston recently to continue recovering – though scans revealed signs that the creature has been grappling with lingering pneumonia, according to his caretakers.
Rhossi’s condition was detailed in a blogpost on Friday from the Houston zoo, whose veterinary team was tasked with caring for the creature – believed to be no older than age four – and giving him the best chance possible at an eventual, successful return to the wild.
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With heatwaves now recognised as disasters, personal testimonies are key to a new project that looks to protect those living in the most cramped districts of India’s capital
Every summer evening, Gulshan follows the same routine. She washes the floor of her one-room home several times so it cools a little for her four children to sleep on. Last summer, the family saved enough to buy a desert cooler, which uses evaporation as a cheaper alternative to air conditioning.
The family uses the appliance cautiously to save on energy costs. But even when it is on, Gulshan, who does not use a surname, has to dampen everyone’s clothes before sleeping. The 39-year-old and her children now have rashes and one has a skin infection from the wet cloth against their skin.
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After trying nearly everything to prevent mosquito bites, I tested Biogents’ traps, used by the CDC and WHO, to find if backyard results are worth $200
Don’t get me wrong: I’m a peaceful person with compassion for all earthly creatures. Except mosquitoes, which deserve all the swats, cursing and loathing they get.
As someone for whom a single bite brings big, red, itchy lumps that last for days, I’ve done everything imaginable for relief. I’ve removed any standing water I could find, slathered myself with Deet, picaridin and eucalyptus oil until I smelled like a chemical waste dump, and worn hats, long sleeves and shirts soaked in alleged repellants, but none of it works.
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It said that was what I was due after I submitted a claim for £300 for energy exported through my solar panels
British Gas paid memore than £38,000 by mistake, then had no idea how to reclaim it. I receive quarterly feed-in tariff (Fit) payments for energy exported by my solar panels.
In May, I submitted a claim for £300, based on mymeter reading, and I received an email stating that I was due £38,611.59.
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Famous raptor helped livestream viewers in difficult moments, and inspired a conservation project at her lake home
The bald eagle Jackie made her home on the shore of southern California’s Big Bear Lake for most of her 14 years. But her death earlier this week drew international attention.
The Los Angeles Times described her as “arguably the world’s most famous bald eagle”. For years, millions of people tuned into a live stream of Jackie’s nest, watching her rear her eaglets, work out life with her mate, Shadow, and, perhaps most memorably, incubate her eggs while almost completely buried in snow.
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