Breaking Waves: Ocean News

08/17/2025 - 11:35
Canada’s response to the extreme weather threat is being upended as the traditional epicentre of the blazes shifts as the climate warms Road closures, evacuations, travel chaos and stern warnings from officials have become fixtures of Canada’s wildfire season. But as the country goes through its second-worst burn on record, the blazes come with a twist: few are coming from the western provinces, the traditional centre of destruction. Instead, the worst of the fires have been concentrated in the prairie provinces and the Atlantic region, with bone-dry conditions upending how Canada responds to a threat that is only likely to grow as the climate warms. Continue reading...
08/17/2025 - 10:00
After a historic land buyback by the US Forest Service, Tlingit crew members are demolishing culverts to restore streams, salmon runs and cultural history deep in the Tongass national forest The morning begins with a sense of anticipation – the calm before 1,200lbs of explosives detonate a stream culvert buried 10ft in Alaska’s Tongass national forest. Jamie Daniels, 53, and his crew of Tlingit forestry workers take cover in a glade of alders. Continue reading...
08/17/2025 - 10:00
Exclusive: Study expected to confirm there are enough suitable sites to support bird of prey’s return After more than 150 years, golden eagles could be set to return to England, as a study is expected to confirm there are enough suitable sites to support the reintroduction of the UK’s most iconic bird of prey. Golden eagles, which can have a wingspan of more than 2 metres, are occasionally seen in areas such as Northumberland. However, these birds come from a growing population in southern Scotland. A recent project to reintroduce the birds in Scotland is likely to be a model for any reintroduction in England. Continue reading...
08/17/2025 - 08:00
I’ve often laughed at those who are voluntarily extremely frugal. But in a world of dwindling resources, aren’t the real weirdos the ones throwing yacht parties and sending Katy Perry into space? Here’s a silly season story for you: a 51-year-old woman in the German town of Spaichingen in Swabia is under criminal investigation on suspicion of filling watering cans from her neighbour’s water butt. The total estimated value of the purloined water: €0.15. It’s wonderfully daft. She allegedly hid behind a bin to evade detection and, according to reports, the police declared, with Solomonic gravity: “Once it is in the barrel, [the water] no longer belongs to the heavens.” Who knows what motivated this nano-crime: a moment of midlife madness? Some kind of grudge? But water is metered in Germany so there might a kind of extreme parsimony at work (Swabian housewives are legendarily thrifty, apparently). Continue reading...
08/17/2025 - 01:00
Photographer Jill Mead joins the crowds of people heading to the Kent seaside town in the summer heat Continue reading...
08/16/2025 - 05:08
Mediterranean bryozoans, including the “false coral,” are showing alarming changes in structure and microbiomes under acidification and warming. Field studies at volcanic CO₂ vents reveal that these stressors combined sharply reduce survival, posing risks to marine ecosystems.
08/16/2025 - 01:32
Near-disaster in Paüls is latest incident to show Spain’s vulnerability to the effects of the climate emergency On Saturday, the people of Paüls will celebrate the feast of their patron saint, Sant Roc, with a mass, followed by a communal meal eaten at stone tables, jota folk dances and a profound and lingering sense of relief. Last month’s wildfire – which turned the night skies a hellish orange, blackened the surrounding hills and devoured 3,300 hectares (8,154 acres) of land – was a near-disaster that stirred memories of the 2009 blaze in nearby Horta de Sant Joan that killed five firefighters. Continue reading...
08/15/2025 - 13:04
Conservationists flag dangers of human interaction after ‘Reggie’ filmed playing with family The public has been warned to keep away from an injured dolphin that was filmed dancing and playing with swimmers off the coast of Dorset earlier this month. The Marine Management Organisation (MMO), a government-backed agency responsible for England’s seas, said it was “increasingly concerned about a lone dolphin spotted in Lyme Bay, Dorset, following multiple potential marine wildlife disturbance offences observed online and shared on social media”. Continue reading...
08/15/2025 - 12:56
A bottlenose dolphin surprised a family on their morning swim in Dorset this month, appearing to playfully engage with them. However, the UK's Marine Management Organisation has since asked the public to keep away from the injured creature, warning that such encounters 'can harm dolphins leading to injury, death or aggression' Public warned to keep away from injured dolphin filmed with Dorset swimmers Continue reading...
08/15/2025 - 12:17
Associated British Foods says 160 jobs will be lost at Vivergo site in Hull after ministers refuse to fund rescue The UK’s largest bioethanol plant is to close after being dealt a body blow by Keir Starmer’s trade deal with Donald Trump. The owner of the Vivergo plant in Hull, owned by Associated British Foods (ABF), said it would close with the loss of 160 jobs, just hours after the government said it would not fund an industry rescue package. The first redundancies will be made on Tuesday. Continue reading...