Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves en How to keep babies and children safe in heatwaves https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/how-keep-babies-and-children-safe-heatwaves <p>Biological factors mean a child’s core temperature rises faster than an adult’s – and that can result in a medical emergency</p> <p>Children and babies are more vulnerable in heatwaves than healthy adults. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/12/uk-extreme-heat-prompts-cobra-emergency-meeting">As temperatures rise again</a>, how do we keep children safe?</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/13/how-to-keep-babies-and-children-safe-in-heatwaves">Continue reading...</a></p> Thu, 13 Aug 2026 08:13:10 +0000 admin 104219 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Millions face higher water bills as suppliers allowed £3.4bn extra spending https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/millions-face-higher-water-bills-suppliers-allowed-34bn-extra-spending <p>Firms in England and Wales seek to fund measures including supporting new homes and datacentres</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2026/aug/13/uk-economy-gdp-growth-second-quarter-services-june-hot-weather-heatwave-world-cup-business-latest-updates">Business live – latest updates</a></p> </li> </ul> <p>Millions of households in England and Wales face higher bills after water companies were given the green light to spend £3.4bn more than planned, including to support new homes and datacentres.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/millions-face-higher-water-bills-suppliers-allowed-34bn-extra-spending" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 13 Aug 2026 08:10:54 +0000 admin 104220 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Europe heatwave live: Temperatures of 40C expected in Spain, with amber heat health warning in place across large parts of UK https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/europe-heatwave-live-temperatures-40c-expected-spain-amber-heat-health-warning-place-a <p>In France, 80 departments have been placed on an orange heat warning</p> <p>In other news, <strong>Burgas, a coastal city on the Black Sea, will host next year’s Eurovision song contest, the European Broadcasting Union has announced.</strong></p> <p>The Bulgarian holiday resort, the most western city on the Black Sea, has been selected for <strong>the 71st annual competition that was mired in controversy last year over Israel’s participation.</strong></p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/europe-heatwave-live-temperatures-40c-expected-spain-amber-heat-health-warning-place-a" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 13 Aug 2026 07:58:26 +0000 admin 104218 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Britain's scorched fields mean a food crisis – and the government is ignoring the one measure that would help | George Monbiot https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/britains-scorched-fields-mean-food-crisis-and-government-ignoring-one-measure-would-he <p>This summer’s extreme weather and wars in Iran and Ukraine have made our need for food stockpiles more pressing than ever</p> <p>When a business makes long-term plans, they call it prudence. When a government makes long-term plans, they call it communism. Any sustained state intervention attracts the prefix “Soviet-style”, and triggers vicious attacks across the billionaire media. So governments have developed a bias against long-term thinking. This may explain why we no longer maintain strategic food reserves.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/britains-scorched-fields-mean-food-crisis-and-government-ignoring-one-measure-would-he" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 13 Aug 2026 07:00:52 +0000 admin 104217 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Manila river clogged with rubbish after Typhoon Dolphin floods – in pictures https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/manila-river-clogged-rubbish-after-typhoon-dolphin-floods-pictures <p>Days of rain has caused widespread flooding across the Philippines capital, Manila, and filled the city’s waterways with debris. A massive cleanup operation involving teams of workers and heavy machinery is under way</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2026/aug/13/manila-river-rubbish-clogged-typhoon-dolphin-flood-in-pictures">Continue reading...</a></p> Thu, 13 Aug 2026 05:08:16 +0000 admin 104216 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Australia’s largest aluminium smelter to run on renewables by 2033 after Rio Tinto strikes $2.5bn taxpayer bailout deal https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/australia-s-largest-aluminium-smelter-run-renewables-2033-after-rio-tinto-strikes-25bn <p>Rio Tinto makes power supply deal with federal and NSW government to cut emissions and decarbonise, preventing potential closure</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/aug/13/australia-politics-live-news-bargaining-meta-tiktok-housing-migration-question-time-anthony-albanese-angus-taylor-pauline-hanson-labor-coalition-one-nation-ntwnfb">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></p> </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/australia-s-largest-aluminium-smelter-run-renewables-2033-after-rio-tinto-strikes-25bn" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 13 Aug 2026 05:00:25 +0000 admin 104215 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Too smart to eat? Why octopus farms are such a slippery problem https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/too-smart-eat-why-octopus-farms-are-such-slippery-problem <p>As a controversial Spanish plan for sustainable meat on an industrial scale is dropped, it has revived the ethical debate over farming these intelligent wild animals</p> <p>In 2022 Nueva Pescanova, Spain’s largest fisheries business, announced it was investing €65m (£56m) in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/11/my-octopus-eater-critics-say-plans-for-farm-are-unethical-and-unsustainable">world’s first industrial octopus farm</a> and processing plant near the Canary Islands’ port of Las Palmas.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/too-smart-eat-why-octopus-farms-are-such-slippery-problem" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 13 Aug 2026 04:00:50 +0000 admin 104214 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org India fuels worldwide jump in planned coal production https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/india-fuels-worldwide-jump-planned-coal-production <p>Rise in new mine proposals, mainly in states of Odisha and Jharkhand, comes despite plateau in global demand</p> <p>Enough new coalmining projects were proposed last year to increase global supplies by 2.5bn tonnes a year, an increase of 11% from the year before, even as demand for coal plateaus, according to a new report.</p> <p><a href="https://globalenergymonitor.org/">Global Energy Monitor</a>, an NGO, found that India ignited a rise in new coalmine proposals in 2025 despite a global slowdown in the number of mine openings because of falling demand for the fossil fuel.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/india-fuels-worldwide-jump-planned-coal-production" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 13 Aug 2026 04:00:48 +0000 admin 104213 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Nurses fainting in ‘inhumane’ conditions due to extreme heat, union warns https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/nurses-fainting-inhumane-conditions-due-extreme-heat-union-warns <p>RCN calls for more air conditioners as Burnham faces pressure to recognise urgency of adaptation to climate crisis</p> <p>Nurses are collapsing during shifts amid “inhumane and impossible” conditions caused by extreme heat, their union has warned, as Andy Burnham promised to grapple with “the bigger questions” of climate adaptation.</p> <p>Amid growing pressure from Labour backbenches to fully acknowledge the urgency of adaptation measures as the climate crisis bites, Burnham said he was for now focusing on the immediate crises caused by an ongoing summer of extreme heat.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/nurses-fainting-inhumane-conditions-due-extreme-heat-union-warns" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 12 Aug 2026 23:01:42 +0000 admin 104212 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org EJ Swift wins the 2026 Arthur C Clarke award for science fiction https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/ej-swift-wins-2026-arthur-c-clarke-award-science-fiction <p>The writer – who was also shortlisted in 2023 – has won the prize for her book When There Are Wolves Again, a speculative work of eco-fiction set in near-future Britain </p> <p>A novel about rewilding and climate activism in Britain has been named this year’s winner of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/arthurcclarkeaward">Arthur C Clarke award</a> for science fiction.</p> <p>When There Are Wolves Again by EJ Swift is an “ambitious study in the power of long-term hope in the face of climate breakdown”, said the award’s director, Tom Hunter.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/ej-swift-wins-2026-arthur-c-clarke-award-science-fiction" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:00:38 +0000 admin 104211 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org