PM to look at imposing restriction on devices in public spaces, though campaigners fear it does not go far enough
The government will look at banning disposable barbecues as wildfires continue to rage across the UK, Andy Burnham has said.
Disposable barbecues have been the cause of a number of serious fires over the last few years, but campaigners were critical of the prime minister’s failure to link those fires more broadly to the climate crisis.
Macclesfield, Cheshire, July 2026: a large woodland fire that was tackled by dozens of firefighters. Cheshire fire and rescue service said a discarded barbecue was the probable cause
Three separate fires in one day around London, July 2026: in Feltham, 6 hectares of heathland close to houses were damaged. The London fire brigade urged people not to use disposable barbecues and to properly extinguish cigarettes after crews tackled three grass fires.
The Trossachs, Scotland, May 2025: covered 2 hectares in the Glen Finglas region of the national park. Glen Finglas is the biggest Woodland Trust site in the UK. The barbecue understood to have sparked that fire was found with a burger still on the grill.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/12/2026 - 09:20
08/12/2026 - 09:04
Thanks to the drought, these black-and-white beauties are struggling to catch worms in the rock-hard earth. But there’s still good foraging on well-watered fairways and greens
Name: Badgers.
Age: European badgers live for five to eight years in the wild. They have been in the UK, where this story is set, for half to three-quarters of a million years.
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08/12/2026 - 08:11
Winds of more than 80mph, severe flooding and tornadoes swept through Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky
Powerful storms swept across the midwest on Tuesday, leaving three dead and more than 800,000 without power in four states as winds gusts of more than 80mph (130km/h) tore down trees and power lines.
In Indiana, a four-year-old child died after a tree fell on his home in Geneva Township and a person died in a suspected weather-related house explosion in Portage, a city about 30 miles south-east of Chicago.
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08/12/2026 - 07:19
As London restaurants say wild birds are smaller and fewer this year, experts say countryside should not be ‘playground for bloodsports’
Every year on 12 August, fans of traditional British cuisine flock to plush restaurants in Mayfair to dine on grouse served with bread sauce and game chips. But those hoping to find the small wild birds, sourced from the UK’s moorlands, may be disappointed.
Wildfires have been raging on moors across the UK, burning habitats and incinerating wildlife, after record-breaking heat turned the landscape into a tinderbox.
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08/12/2026 - 07:00
The gigantic aquatic acrobats are exciting Brazil’s tourists as numbers recover from whaling. But some marine biologists question how booming tourism and conservation can coexist
The anticipation is palpable onboard the Boaventura II as the yacht sets off from Rio de Janeiro at sunrise. Once beyond the Cagarras Islands, rocky outcrops just three miles off Ipanema beach, the group gathers at the bow and starts scanning the horizon.
They do not have to wait long. “Eleven o’clock!” someone calls out, as a pod of bottlenose dolphins appears, playfully diving in and out of the water. Then, two spouts of vapour hanging in the air signal the reason for the outing: a pair of humpback whales. The majestic mammals surface to breathe with an unhurried chuff, before revealing the underside of their fluke as they dive back underwater.
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08/12/2026 - 06:30
Plans for hyperscale datacenter in Palm Beach county prompt concerns over water and electricity demands
About 16 miles (26km) west of the Mar-a-Lago estate on President Donald J Trump Highway, near the northern edge of the Florida Everglades, developers have proposed a hyperscale datacenter on a 202-acre (82-hectare) parcel of land surrounded by water. Local environmentalists warn that the proposed 600MW datacenter in western Palm Beach county could damage the wetlands, which the federal government and the state of Florida have spent a combined $6bn to restore after decades of drainage and development.
One concern is that the datacenter could exacerbate an existing issue of toxic bacterial blooms in a water system which has already been stressed by drought, fertilizer runoff and warm water temperatures. In recent summers, the bright blooms of blue-green algae have covered nearly half of Lake Okeechobee, which feeds into the Everglades.
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08/12/2026 - 06:00
South African scientist’s breakthrough research shows soil fungus could be used in fight against devastating crop pest
Hearing about fields full of dead caterpillars enveloped in a mysterious white substance intrigued the South African scientist Letodi Luki Mathulwe. Something was killing off the African armyworm – one of the most devastating pests for farmers in east and southern Africa.
The white substance was a naturally occurring fungus and it was wiping out the caterpillar, which gained its name from its march-like advance through fields of crops.
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08/12/2026 - 05:00
With wing spans up to 3ft, the shy cownose ray species typically arrive in Long Island waters in the warmer months
Drone footage of dozens of stingrays in the ocean off New York has captivated beachgoers and marine enthusiasts, offering a rare bird’s-eye view of a species that scientists say has visited the area for decades.
The footage was captured last Friday off the coast of Southampton on the Long Island peninsula by Joanna Steidle, a Hamptons-based professional drone pilot known for her aerial ocean shots. It shows cownose rays gliding through the water en masse near the surface.
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08/12/2026 - 05:00
My child and I were bonding over our hit-and-miss approach to reaping crops. But with heatwaves pushing more of Britain into drought, it’s starting to feel like a luxury we can’t afford
For the first time in my life, I live in a home that has real outdoor space. What a concept! There are no downsides to a garden. Back in spring, I made grand plans – I watched all the TikToks, I bought seeds and trays and pots and grow bags, I ordered soil, a trowel and a watering can. I knew what I was after: super-tiny-scale subsistence farming with a side of Zen. A little fruit, a little veg, lots of flowers to attract pollinators. And I knew I wanted my elder child to gain an understanding of how things come to be and how to cope if and when they fail.
We love a tomato side salad, so that was the first thing we attempted. The seedlings flourished and then died in the first heatwave of the season. An omen, surely. The dahlias, ranunculus and freesias refused to grow, let alone bloom. My enthusiasm began to wane.
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08/12/2026 - 04:36
Exclusive: England ‘desperately unprepared’ for effects of crisis including water shortages and heatwaves
UK heatwave live – latest updates
Just 20 staff are working on climate adaptation within a key government department tasked with protecting the environment and maintaining food security, a freedom of information request has revealed.
The officials make up 0.3% of staff within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
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