Breaking Waves: Ocean News

UK wasp numbers soar after unusually warm and dry spring

admin — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 04:00:30 +0000

The scourges of picnics have arrived early and in greater numbers amid ideal conditions for colonies to thrive

If dodging swooping gulls trying to steal your chips wasn’t already enough, you might be spending your bank holiday trying to keep wasps away from your ice cream too.

Britain is in the middle of a wasp boom. Not only have they arrived earlier than expected, but there are more of them than in recent summers. Experts say 2025 is an excellent year for them.

Monkeys falling from trees and baking barnacles: how heat is driving animals to extinction

admin — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 04:00:30 +0000

With the number of very hot days rising as well as average temperatures, more and more animals are vulnerable. But while some species can adapt, others are seeing huge population declines

The residents of Tecolutilla, Mexico, knew the heatwave was bad when they heard the thuds. One by one, the town’s howler monkeys, overcome with dehydration and exhaustion, were falling from the trees like apples, their limp bodies smacking the ground as temperatures sizzled past 43C (110F) in spring last year.

Voices arguing that climate action is a waste of time are getting louder. Here’s why they are wrong | Clear Air

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 23:57:06 +0000

Optimism may be hard to come by but the evidence shows some progress on emissions is not just possible – it’s happening before our eyes

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Brazil issues last-ditch plea for countries to submit climate plans ahead of Cop30

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 16:38:38 +0000

Only 28 countries have submitted carbon-cutting proposals to the UN, with some of the biggest emitters yet to produce plans

Brazil has issued an urgent call for all countries to come forward with strengthened national plans on the climate, in a last-ditch attempt to meet a key September deadline.

Legal stoush between NSW and commonwealth halts crucial water flows into Murray-Darling

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 15:00:16 +0000

Scientist warns long suspension poses potential risks to some wetland areas and native species of fish and birds

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Deadly wildfires show Spain must better prepare for climate crises, says Sánchez

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 13:33:44 +0000

PM says wildfires are proof climate emergency is getting worse, and that sustained non-partisan effort is needed

The wildfires that have devoured 382,000 hectares of land in Spain and killed four people underscore the need to “readjust and recalibrate” the country’s preparation and response capacities as part of a non-partisan effort to tackle the impacts of the climate emergency, the prime minister has warned.

Wildfire smoke far more dangerous to health than thought, say scientists

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 12:56:18 +0000

Deaths from short-term exposure to fine particulates spewed by forest fires underestimated by 93%

Choking smoke spewed by wildfires is far more dangerous than previously thought, a new study has found, with death tolls from short-term exposure to fine particulates underestimated by 93%.

Researchers found that 535 people in Europe died on average each year between 2004 and 2022 as a result of breathing in the tiny toxic particles known as PM2.5 that are released when wildfires rage.

Ed Davey calls for review of terrorism legislation after Palestine Action arrests – as it happened

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 08:20:40 +0000

The Lib Dem leader is seeking a review of the laws to prevent the ‘en masse’ arrests

Parents in England are skipping meals and turning to buy-now-pay-later services such as Klarna in order to afford school uniforms before the autumn term, according to a survey.

Where camels die of thirst: Morocco’s oasis emergency – in pictures

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 06:01:10 +0000

Before It’s Gone is a series about the climate crisis and water scarcity in Morocco by photographer M’hammed Kilito, who highlights the degradation of countless oases

Early ripening of berries in UK shows nature is under stress, say experts

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 06:00:09 +0000

Hot summer also causing trees to shed their leaves as concerns raised over ‘food gap’ for wildlife in autumn

Autumn is the “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”, according to the poet John Keats – but anyone hoping for a glut of blackberries this September may be sorely disappointed.