Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Drought brings autumn harvest two weeks early, Waitrose says

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 12:46:32 +0000

Farmers that supply the supermarket are already harvesting wheat, oilseed rape and oats amid dry conditions

Harvests are coming two weeks early because of drought, Waitrose has said, as it prepares to stock autumnal fruit in summer.

The farmers that supply the supermarket are already harvesting wheat, oilseed rape, oats and malting barley, a fortnight before they generally would, according to the supermarket. A lack of rainfall coupled with the hot weather has caused the crops to race through their growing stages and come to maturity early.

Eden Project wildflower centre issues climate warning as it marks 25th year

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 11:27:59 +0000

Changing weather patterns are affecting planting and pose a threat to a variety of species, says head of development

Rising temperatures in the spring and unpredictable autumns are making the huge task of restoring the UK’s lost meadows even more challenging, the National Wildflower Centre (NWC) has warned.

Brazil authorities suspend key Amazon rainforest protection measure

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 09:34:53 +0000

Suspension of soy moratorium could open up area of rainforest the size of Portugal to destruction

One of the key agreements for Amazon rainforest protection – the soy moratorium – has been suspended by Brazilian authorities, potentially opening up an area the size of Portugal to destruction by farmers.

Psychedelic rock! Formations that mess with your mind – in pictures

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 06:01:01 +0000

In Glass Mountain, Michael Lundgren captures remote American landscapes with a haunting stillness, revealing the hidden rhythms and enthralling mystery of the natural world

The surprising reason timber plantations explode into megafires

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 05:32:18 +0000

Industrial forests, packed with evenly spaced trees, face nearly 50% higher odds of megafires than public lands. A lidar-powered study of California’s Sierra Nevada reveals how dense plantations feed fire severity, but also shows that proactive thinning could prevent forests from collapsing into shrubland ecosystems.

Angela Rayner hit with legal challenge over datacentre on green belt land

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 05:00:03 +0000

Exclusive: Campaigners complain no environmental assessment made for 90MW Buckinghamshire facility

The deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, has been hit with a legal challenge after she overruled a local council to approve a hyperscale datacentre on green belt land by the M25 in Buckinghamshire.

‘Landmines have become the greatest protectors’: how wildlife is thriving in the Korean DMZ

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 05:00:03 +0000

The demilitarised zone between North and South Korea has become an ecological oasis with nearly 6,000 species documented, including rare cranes, deer and bears

Standing on top of a small mountain, Kim Seung-ho gazes out over an expanse of paddy fields glowing in their autumn gold, the ripening grains swaying gently in the wind. In the distance, North Korea stretches beyond the horizon.

“It’s so peaceful,” says the director of the DMZ Ecology Research Institute. “Over there, it used to be an artillery range, but since they stopped firing, the nature has become so beautiful.”

This is where tree planting has the biggest climate impact

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 04:34:57 +0000

Planting more trees can help cool the planet and reduce fire risk—but where they are planted matters. According to UC Riverside researchers, tropical regions provide the most powerful climate benefits because trees there grow year-round, absorb more carbon dioxide, and cool the air through processes like evapotranspiration, or “tree sweating.”

Sun, sea and struggle: growing up in England’s coastal towns – podcast

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 02:00:02 +0000

Helen Pidd grew up in Morecambe, and life in seaside towns has only got harder since she was a teenager. She went back to find out why

As a teenager, the Today in Focus presenter Helen Pidd could not wait to leave her home town on the Lancashire coast. But today she looks back with fondness at her time spent at the fairground or misbehaving on the beachfront, and watching bands at the local music venue.

Californians brace for worst multiday heatwave of the year

admin — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 19:12:43 +0000

Temperatures are expected to spike with a trio of heat, thunderstorms and fire risks compounding dangers

Californians are bracing for the first major heatwave of the year, a multiday scorcher that could bring triple-digit temperatures, pose significant threats to public health and sharply heighten wildfire risks.