Category Archives: Climate crisis

‘Silent killer’: experts warn of record US deaths from extreme heat

Posted on by

Fears of new high death toll this year as prolonged heatwave causes spike in hospitalizations from people who work outside

The punishing heatwaves that have scorched much of the US could result in a record number of heat-related deaths this year, experts have warned, amid a spike in hospitalizations from collapsing outdoor workers.

Among those needing hospital treatment are heat-exhausted hikers and even people who have suffered severe burns from touching blistering concrete and asphalt.

Continue reading...

Leak reveals ‘touchy’ issues for UAE’s presidency of UN climate summit

Posted on by

Exclusive: Long list of ‘sensitive’ topics for petrostate include oil and gas production, emissions and Yemen war crimes

A comprehensive list of “touchy and sensitive issues” for the United Arab Emirates, which is running the next UN climate summit, has been revealed in a document leaked to the Guardian.

The document sets out the government-approved “strategic messages” to be used in response to media requests about the issues, which range from the UAE’s increasing production of oil and gas to people trafficking.

Continue reading...

Teenager among 15 heat-related deaths as Japan and South Korea swelter

Posted on by

In South Korea, 12 people died from heat-related deaths last weekend, while in Japan, three people died including a 13 year-old on her way back from school

Twelve people have died from heat-related causes in South Korea as it swelters through a heatwave, while in Japan it emerged a 13-year-old girl had died from heatstroke on her way back from a school club.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that at least five of those who died over the weekend were farmers, and at least seven were over 70, including some in their 90s. Most of the country has been under a heatwave warning – issued when temperatures pass 35C – since Tuesday. Over the previous week, three people are believed to have died from heat-related causes.

Continue reading...

Phoenix’s record streak of temperatures above 110F ends after 31 days

Posted on by

Reprieve expected to be brief, with the forecast calling for highs again above 110F for several days later in the week

Phoenix’s record stretch of daily highs over 110F (43.3C) ended Monday as cooling monsoon rains slightly tempered the dangerous heatwave that suffocated the American south-west throughout July.

The region, from Texas across New Mexico and Arizona and into California’s desert, has been grappling with historic heat since June. Phoenix and its suburbs sweltered more intensely than most, with several records including the 31 consecutive days of 110F days. The previous record was 18 straight days, set in 1974.

Continue reading...

Greece wildfires under control but strong winds still a threat, say officials

Posted on by

‘No active front’ in Rhodes, Corfu and central Greece blazes as more than 460 firefighters remain on alert

Wildfires that have scorched Greece for more than two weeks are under control, but firefighters remain in key hotspots as strong winds remain a threat, officials have said.

“Scattered fire pockets are being extinguished,” the fire department said on Saturday, adding that there was “no active front” in the three biggest wildfires in Rhodes, Corfu and central Greece that forced thousands of people to flee.

Continue reading...

‘This is another beast’: UN chief heat officer on living amid fires, how to cool cities and fears for her daughter

Posted on by

Eleni Myrivili, whose job is to help cities prepare for extreme heat, says many people do not understand how deadly it can be

It is “shocking” how little people know about the danger of hot weather, the United Nations global chief heat officer has said, as high temperatures bake cities across the northern hemisphere and politicians backslide on climate promises.

A study this month found that extreme heat in Europe last summer killed 61,000 people, most of whom were women and older people. As well as killing people through heatstroke, hot weather can push the bodies of people with heart and lung disease into deadly overdrive.

Continue reading...

Federal government under fire for hiring KPMG on health and climate while firm advises fossil fuels

Posted on by

Doctors and independent MPs say despite Labor’s reassurances, work should have been conducted by public servants and a clear conflict of interest exists

Doctors, health researchers and crossbench MPs have criticised the federal government for paying consultancy giant KPMG to help shape its national health and climate strategy, raising concerns about the firm’s work with the fossil fuel industry.

The new strategy, which will be delivered by the end of the year, will outline ways to ensure the health system is prepared for the impacts of climate change and suggest measures to reduce emissions.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Body of hiker missing since 1986 found near Matterhorn

Posted on by

Police confirm remains discovered on melting glacier in Swiss mountains are those of German climber

The remains of a German mountain climber who disappeared while crossing a glacier near the Matterhorn mountain nearly 40 years ago have been discovered in melting ice.

Two climbers found the remains on 12 July while hiking along the Theodul Glacier in Zermatt, Valais, southern Switzerland, police said on Thursday.

Continue reading...

Khan dismisses Sunak’s attack on his housebuilding record in London as ‘desperate nonsense’ – UK politics live

Posted on by

Mayor of London hits back at prime minister over ‘pathetic gesture politics’

Rishi Sunak has failed to give his full backing to Sir Howard Davies, chairman of NatWest, in interviews this morning, PA Media reports.

PA says that Sunak did not back calls for the resignation of Davies in a pooled interview this morning – but also that Sunak would not say whether he had confidence in him.

What I said right at the start of this was that it wasn’t right for people to be deprived of basic services because of banking, because of their views.

This isn’t about any one individual, it’s about values – do you believe in free speech and not to be discriminated against because of your legally held views?

As a result of this policy, a dozen classrooms of children, including some of the most traumatised and vulnerable children in the world, have gone missing and, sickeningly for us, 50 children are still missing from the hotel used in Brighton and Hove.

Importantly the high court also makes clear that the home secretary already has the power to require local authorities across the country to take children into foster care via a statutory rota system called the national transfer scheme.

Continue reading...

Trump hit with further counts in classified documents case as second aide charged – as it happened

Posted on by

The blog is now closed, but you can read more about Donald Trump’s new charges here and about Hunter Biden’s ongoing legal challenges here.

Joe Biden will soon speak on his administration’s efforts to protect workers from extreme heat, including by asking the labor department to issue a “hazard alert” as swaths of the US struggle with scorching temperatures.

“The hazard alert will reaffirm that workers have heat-related protections under federal law. As part of the alert, the Department of Labor will provide information on what employers can and should be doing now to protect their workers, help ensure employees are aware of their rights, including protections against retaliation, and highlight the steps the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently taking to protect workers,” the White House announced. “Additionally, the Department of Labor will ramp up enforcement of heat-safety violations, increasing inspections in high-risk industries like construction and agriculture, while OSHA continues to develop a national standard for workplace heat-safety rules.”

Continue reading...

‘Project 2025’: plan to dismantle US climate policy for next Republican president

Posted on by

Rightwing groups penned a conservative wish list of proposals for the next conservative president to gut environmental protections

An alliance of rightwing groups has crafted an extensive presidential proposal to bolster the planet-heating oil and gas industry and hamstring the energy transition, it has emerged.

Against a backdrop of record-breaking heat and floods this year, the $22m endeavor, Project 2025, was convened by the notorious rightwing, climate-denying thinktank the Heritage Foundation, which has ties to fossil fuel billionaire Charles Koch.

Continue reading...

Electricity prices down almost 60% a year on from Australia’s short-lived energy crisis

Posted on by

Emissions from national electricity market also fell more than 6% in June quarter, Australian Energy Market Operator says

Emissions from Australia’s main electricity grid dropped more than 6% in the June quarter from a year ago to a record low for the period, and wholesale prices stabilised, the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) said.

For the June quarter, wholesale power prices averaged $108 per megawatt hour on the national electricity market (NEM), down almost 60% from the same period a year ago when the market was suspended during a short-lived energy crisis.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: rental pressure ‘most concerning’ aspect of inflation picture, Jim Chalmers says

Posted on by

Follow live news updates today

The minister for sport and aged care, Anika Wells, says her focus is on people in sport, not the infrastructure, following the announcement Victoria was pulling out of hosting the Commonwealth Games.

Wells has told ABC Radio she was not warned by Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, ahead of time about the decision, and found out along with the rest of the country when he stood up to make the announcement.

I care for our athletes. I think that that dream of competing on home soil for your country is one of the most potent dreams that motivate our high performance athletes and possibly our kids as well to go from from playground to podium.

But given how many events that Australia does already have on the green and gold runway and the World Cups – we’re hosting four Women’s World Cups across the next five years, including the one that is on right now – as long as we have opportunities for people to go from playground to podium.

Governments continue to make decisions that disregard or contradict the Agreement.

… Overall progress against the priority reforms has been slow, uncoordinated and piecemeal.

Here is potential for the proposed Voice to the Australian Parliament (as well as state and territory representative bodies), together with current treaty processes and justice commissions, to strengthen accountability for matters covered by the Agreement.

But regardless of the outcomes of these processes, governments will still be responsible for adopting a fundamentally new way of developing and implementing policies and programs that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as they have committed to do in the Agreement.

Continue reading...

‘Like a blowtorch’: Mediterranean gripped by wildfires as blazes spread in Croatia and Portugal

Posted on by

‘There is no magical defence mechanism,’ says Greek prime minister as fires burn in northern Africa and southern Europe

Wildfires were burning in at least nine countries across the Mediterranean as blazes spread in Croatia and Portugal, with thousands of firefighters in Europe and north Africa working in extreme heat to contain flames stoked by high temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds.

High temperatures and parched ground sparked wildfires in countries on both sides of the Mediterranean, with at least 34 people killed in Algeria, where 8,000 firefighters on Tuesday battled blazes across the tinder-dry north. Fires burned in a total of 15 provinces, leading to the evacuation of more than 1,500 people.

Continue reading...

Florida ocean records ‘unprecedented’ temperatures similar to a hot tub

Posted on by

The 90-100F readings add to previous warnings over warming water putting marine life and ecosystems in peril

The surface ocean temperature around the Florida Keys soared to 101.19F (38.43C) this week, in what could be a global record as ocean heat around the state reaches unprecedented extremes.

A water temperature buoy located in the waters of Manatee Bay at the Everglades national park recorded the high temperature late on Monday afternoon, US government data showed. Other nearby buoys topped 100F (38C) and the upper 90s (32C).

Continue reading...

Labor push for publicly owned plantations to end native forest logging

Posted on by

Party’s environment lobby group wants forestry policy focused on restoring native forests, arguing they have more value as a carbon and biodiversity sink

More than 300 Labor branches have backed a push by the party’s environmental arm for the Albanese government to fund an expanded, publicly owned plantation industry to ensure the country gets the timber it needs and end native forest logging.

A report by the Labor Environment Action Network (Lean), the ALP’s largest internal lobby group, calls for the party’s national conference next month to support an industry policy focused on restoring native forests. It says they have greater value if treated as a carbon and biodiversity sink than if logged to produce mainly low-value products such as wood chips, pallets and power poles.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Increased public funding for forest protection and restoration, recognising that scientists have estimated $1.69bn a year is needed to arrest species loss.

Training and support for existing native forest industry workers and Indigenous custodians to work in new conservation and plantation roles.

A government-owned national natural capital corporation to manage the national plantation estate and help farmers take part in carbon and biodiversity markets.

A nationwide restoration program focused on 252 ecosystems identified as having less than 30% of vegetation remaining. It says this would require 13,000 workers for 30 years.

Investment in a national landcover database and vegetation mapping, based on the system used in Queensland, which has reported higher levels of land-clearing than reflected in national accounts.

Continue reading...

Storms and wildfires kill seven in Italy as extreme weather continues

Posted on by

Three people killed in Sicily fires and four in northern storms as hundreds forced to flee homes

Seven people have died in the past 24 hours as two extreme weather events split Italy between wildfires in the south and violent storms in the north.

Fires in Sicily caused the temporary closure of Palermo airport after temperatures in the city climbed to 47C on Monday.

Continue reading...

Sunak’s tweet associating Labour with ‘criminal gangs’ labelled ‘desperate and pathetic’ by shadow cabinet minister – UK politics live

Posted on by

Jim McMahon, MP for Oldham and shadow environment secretary, criticises prime minister for tweet about Labour and immigration law firms

Michael Gove has been accused of showing how “disjointed” the government’s net zero strategy is by Greenpeace UK.

In a statement released after Gove’s media interview round this morning, in which the levelling up secretary appeared to firm up the government’s commitment to at least one green target, while signalling that others might be relaxed (see 10.04am), Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK’s director of policy, said:

Michael Gove has demonstrated how disjointed the government’s new strategy is. If ministers genuinely want to help lower costs for households, they should be doing everything in their power to switch our homes, energy and transport systems away from expensive, climate-wrecking fossil fuels and run them instead on clean technology and cheap renewables.

Mr Gove is right to reaffirm the government’s commitment to ending the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030 – and Sunak should now do the same, whilst making the transition as easy as possible for people with extensive charging infrastructure and the promised mandate on manufacturers. But allowing more oil and gas drilling, delaying the phase-out of gas boilers and giving landlords longer to insulate the homes of renters will only keep bills high and continue to fan the flames of climate change.

The leaders discussed recent developments on the battlefield and the continued progress by Ukrainian forces despite the challenging conditions. The prime minister added that he was appalled by the devastation caused by recent Russian attacks on Odesa.

Discussing the Black Sea grain initiative, the leaders agreed on the importance of ensuring grain was able to be exported from Ukraine to reach international markets. The prime minister said the UK was working closely with Turkey on restoring the grain deal, and we would continue to use our role as chair of the UN security council to further condemn Russia’s behaviour.

Continue reading...

Rhodes wildfires are climate wake-up call, says UK minister

Posted on by

Patrick Courtown sounds warning as evacuation flights head to Greek island to rescue stranded Britons

Wildfires in Rhodes are a “wake-up call” on the effects of the climate crisis, a UK government minister has said, as empty planes were sent to the Greek island to help bring home stranded Britons.

After a mass evacuation from parts of Rhodes, members of the House of Lords were told the situation was “stabilising” and there was no immediate need for the government to advise people to stop travelling there.

Continue reading...

Mediterranean is a hotspot for climate change, says Greek PM

Posted on by

Kyriakos Mitsotakis warns of difficult summer ahead as wildfires continue to rage and more tourists fly home

The Mediterranean is a “hotspot for climate change”, the Greek prime minister has said, as more tourists boarded repatriation flights home and a firefighting mission ended in tragedy when a water-bombing plane crashed into a hillside.

The water bomber, a Canadair CL215, smashed into a hillside in Evia in the battle to extinguish flames near a village outside Karystos. Greece’s airforce, to which the plane belongs said it was being flown by two Greek pilots, and they had launched a rescue mission.

Continue reading...