Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves/www.nationaltrust.org.uk/www.lloyds.com/the-market/tools-and-resources/research/exposure-management/emerging-risks/emerging-risk-reports/science/www.lloyds.com/the-market/tools-and-resources/research/exposure-management/emerging-risks/emerging-risk-reports/science/www.un.org/sg/www.guidestar.org/profile/www.guidestar.org/profile/46-5693943 en Europe heatwave live: UK issues rare red temperature warnings; French PM to hold crisis meeting after heat deaths https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/europe-heatwave-live-uk-issues-rare-red-temperature-warnings-french-pm-hold-crisis-mee <p>Temperatures could hit 38-40C in parts of England and Wales, smashing June record set in 1976; red alerts in France after 19 heat deaths</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/22/europe-record-heatwave-temperatures-forecast-reach-44c">Two children found dead in car in France as heatwave hits Europe</a></p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>The heatwave affecting large parts of Europe is known as an Omega block</strong> because it takes the shape of the Greek letter, with a bulge of hot air in the middle and cooler air either side, an expert says.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/europe-heatwave-live-uk-issues-rare-red-temperature-warnings-french-pm-hold-crisis-mee" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 23 Jun 2026 05:28:48 +0000 admin 103665 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org A thousand years old and 20 storeys high: tracking down Taiwan’s tallest trees https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/thousand-years-old-and-20-storeys-high-tracking-down-taiwan-s-tallest-trees <p>The country’s biggest tree – named Heaven Sword of the Da’an River – is a carbon-storing behemoth hosting whole neighbourhoods of wildlife. But this and other giant trees are under threat</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/thousand-years-old-and-20-storeys-high-tracking-down-taiwan-s-tallest-trees" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 23 Jun 2026 04:00:30 +0000 admin 103664 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org More trees can mean fewer birds, new study reveals https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/more-trees-can-mean-fewer-birds-new-study-reveals <p>Trees planted to protect farmland from wind may not be the biodiversity boost many assume. In Japan’s wetland farming landscapes, shelterbelts benefited some birds but sharply reduced grassland and wetland species that need open space. Researchers found grassland bird abundance dropped by more than 70% near shelterbelts.</p> Mon, 22 Jun 2026 13:14:03 +0000 admin 103663 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org UK Met Office issues rare red weather warning for Wednesday and Thursday https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/uk-met-office-issues-rare-red-weather-warning-wednesday-and-thursday <p>People in southern Wales and area of England from Kent and Sussex to Somerset and Birmingham urged to protect themselves from extreme heat</p> <p>The UK’s Met Office forecasters have issued a rare red weather warning for Wednesday and Thursday in the face of extreme heat and humidity.</p> <p>It covers southern Wales as far west as Swansea, and an area of England that includes London and runs from the inland areas of Kent and Sussex, all the way across to Somerset, as far north-west as Birmingham, and as far north-east as southern Cambridgeshire.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/uk-met-office-issues-rare-red-weather-warning-wednesday-and-thursday" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 22 Jun 2026 11:22:17 +0000 admin 103661 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Two children found dead in car in France as heatwave hits Europe https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/two-children-found-dead-car-france-heatwave-hits-europe <p>Number of countries issue alerts with sustained and rising temperatures expected to present danger to health</p> <p>Two children aged four and two have been found dead in their family’s car in south-eastern France, the local prosecutor said, as a large swathe of western Europe suffers a ferocious heatwave forecast to shatter absolute temperature records.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/two-children-found-dead-car-france-heatwave-hits-europe" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 22 Jun 2026 10:14:40 +0000 admin 103660 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org From mobile jungles to shadow art: how Dutch people try to beat the heat https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/mobile-jungles-shadow-art-how-dutch-people-try-beat-heat <p>A national heatwave plan has been activated to help people stay cool during the Netherlands’ increasingly hot summers</p> <p>Households in Amsterdam are being urged to hang their curtains outside their windows as health experts recommend simple hacks to moderate the heatwave rolling across the Netherlands, where homes were built for old-fashioned damp and coldish northern European weather.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/mobile-jungles-shadow-art-how-dutch-people-try-beat-heat" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 22 Jun 2026 04:00:50 +0000 admin 103659 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org The regenerative wealth of Blue Gold: lessons from Oman for sustainable ocean economies https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/regenerative-wealth-blue-gold-lessons-oman-sustainable-ocean-economies <p>npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 22 June 2026; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-026-00220-2">doi:10.1038/s44183-026-00220-2</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/regenerative-wealth-blue-gold-lessons-oman-sustainable-ocean-economies" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 22 Jun 2026 04:00:00 +0000 admin 103662 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Western Australian poultry farms locked down as second wild bird dies from H5N1 bird flu https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/western-australian-poultry-farms-locked-down-second-wild-bird-dies-h5n1-bird-flu <p>Poultry producer Ingham’s announces move, as a brown skua and a giant petrel the first confirmed H5 cases on Australia’s mainland</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/jun/22/australia-politics-live-labor-coalition-one-nation-capital-gains-tax-reform-ndis-anthony-albanese-angus-taylor-question-time-ntwnfb">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></p> </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/western-australian-poultry-farms-locked-down-second-wild-bird-dies-h5n1-bird-flu" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 22 Jun 2026 02:45:18 +0000 admin 103658 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org France cancels events and restricts alcohol consumption amid brutal heatwave https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/france-cancels-events-and-restricts-alcohol-consumption-amid-brutal-heatwave <p>Sports and nationwide music festival affected, with temperatures for some expected to reach 42C from Monday</p> <p>Authorities in France have placed more than a third of the country under a red heat alert, cancelled some outdoor sports events and restricted alcohol consumption at the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/20/paris-braces-tourist-influx-street-festival-fete-de-la-musique">nationwide Fête de la Musique</a> event amid a brutal heatwave forecast to push temperatures above 40C.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/france-cancels-events-and-restricts-alcohol-consumption-amid-brutal-heatwave" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sun, 21 Jun 2026 13:01:47 +0000 admin 103657 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Assessing the carbon market potential of global seagrass recovery https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/assessing-carbon-market-potential-global-seagrass-recovery <p>npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 21 June 2026; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-026-00218-w">doi:10.1038/s44183-026-00218-w</a></p> <p>Assessing the carbon market potential of global seagrass recovery</p> Sun, 21 Jun 2026 04:00:00 +0000 admin 103656 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org