ONS data shows rising toll of climate crisis, with officials warning this summer on track to set further records
Over 40,000 more people died on the hottest days in England between 1988 and 2025 than would be expected, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.
The figures do not include this summer, when England has sweltered under a succession of heatwaves and is on track to record its highest ever number of heat-related deaths. The UK Health Security Agency announced on 30 July that an estimated 2,877 people had died in the May and June heatwaves alone. The total is almost double the figure for the whole summer in 2025.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/26/2026 - 04:47
08/26/2026 - 02:00
Civil society groups argue climate crisis means transport sector needs to urgently reduce its carbon emissions
Dozens of civil society groups have demanded the UK government do more to promote cycling and walking, after this summer’s extreme heat exposed the desperate need to decarbonise transport.
This summer’s heatwaves and wildfires were “immediate, real-world manifestations of the climate emergency”, the groups said, making reform of transport – responsible for more carbon emissions than any other sector in the UK – an urgent priority.
Continue reading...
08/25/2026 - 23:00
Protests and petitions planned amid growing concerns over impact of climate crisis on numbers of Alpine rodent
Animal rights campaigners are gearing up for protests and petitions aimed at persuading the French government to ban the hunting of Alpine marmots.
Open season on the rodents, members of the squirrel and groundhog family, begins in September, a few weeks before they go into a long winter hibernation.
Continue reading...
08/25/2026 - 23:00
Even low levels of traffic noise can negate the benefits of listening to natural sounds, researchers say
Hearing the trill or whistle of a bird while going about daily life is well known to boost people’s mood. But a new study suggests the psychological benefits of hearing birdsong are being threatened by traffic noise.
Researchers found that even low levels of traffic noise negatively affected the benefits to wellbeing that could otherwise be derived from listening to natural sounds.
Continue reading...
08/25/2026 - 22:31
Seals and sea lions often communicate by touch and share spaces with wild birds, placing them at risk of infection from H5N1 virus
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Since H5 bird flu arrived in Portland, Victoria, the situation has been “pretty grim” with many dead and suffering birds on the beach, and the dilemma of how to dispose of the carcasses, according to local resident Lynn Murrell.
But since the first confirmed case in a fur seal on Sunday at Beachport, South Australia – a two-hour trip over the border – people have been worried for their local “pet seal”, known as Sammy.
Continue reading...
08/25/2026 - 17:40
As wildfires rage and intense heat builds across the region, daytime highs of 110-11F (43-46C) are forecast
Surging temperatures are expected to broil more than 45 million people as a heat dome settles in across the south-western US through the end of August and into early September, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
As wildfires rage in some parts and intense heat builds across the region, daytime highs of 110-115F (43-46C) are forecast, with limited cooling relief in the evenings and overnight. Experts predict that some record highs could be tied or broken this month and the weather agency warned of the scorching late summer heat as a potential health hazard.
Continue reading...
08/25/2026 - 10:59
Drivers concerned that bus operator’s offer to retrofit cabs on 730 buses will not be complete by next summer
London bus drivers have resumed strike action over having to work in high temperatures, amid fears that proposed improvements to air conditioning will not be complete by next summer.
About 1,500 members of the Unite union working across north London and Essex are taking part in the four-day strike from Tuesday to Friday, after industrial action earlier this month. Further stoppages are planned for the coming weeks.
Continue reading...
08/25/2026 - 10:00
The Albanese government approved a proposal allowing the park to create carbon credits worth hundreds of millions of dollars, sparking a schism among environmentalists
What qualifies as a win in environmental campaigning?
Is it when a huge forest area that is home to a stack of threatened species, including koalas, and has been the focus of years and years of campaigning, is protected from logging?
Continue reading...
08/25/2026 - 09:00
Robert Corrigan has been dealing with the ‘smart’ rodents all his life – and believes there are better solutions to deal with the growing infestation in the world’s cities
“The rodents have paid for every single bill I’ve ever had – every mortgage, every car payment, every pint of Guinness,” says Dr Robert Corrigan. “It’s been a great ride and I’m still at it.”
New York-based Corrigan is one of the most respected voices in the world of rodentology. Now in his 70s, he has devoted his entire adult life to studying rats and our relationship with them.
Continue reading...
08/25/2026 - 07:00
Local governments working with firms also linked to fossil fuel giants, analysis of federal lobbying disclosures shows
Congressional lobbyists working for fossil fuel firms that are exacerbating the climate crisis are simultaneously representing more than 300 local governments raising funding to recover from climate damage, according to a new analysis.
The research by F Minus and Make Polluters Pay reviewed congressional lobbying disclosures for the first quarter of 2026, finding that another 568 local governments hired fossil fuel lobbyists to work on non-climate related issues during that time, some of which included climate adjacent issues, like healthcare and home insurance.
Continue reading...
