Category Archives: Environment

‘I’ve never seen heat this bad. It’s not normal’: Italy struggles as temperature tops 40C

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Anticyclone Caronte could send thermometer to 48C/118F as Mediterranean heatwave intensifies

• Read more: Acropolis closes to protect tourists

A fierce anticyclone named after Cerberus, a three-headed monster-dog that features in Dante’s Inferno, had not even ended before Italians were warned that a more intense one called Caronte, or Charon, who in Greek mythology was the ferryman of the dead, was on its way.

Italy sweltered in temperatures reaching highs of 38C over the weekend, while Caronte will grip the country from Monday, sending the mercury beyond 40C in central and southern regions, with the islands of Sicily and Sardinia possibly hitting a peak of 48C.

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Florida rocked by home insurance crisis: ‘I may have to sell up and move’

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Soaring hurricane-cover premiums are bad news for the state’s homeowners – and Ron DeSantis is accused of dragging his feet

Households in Florida, the third most populous state in the US, have been grappling for some time with a property insurance crisis that is making home ownership unaffordable for many. After at least six insurers went insolvent in Florida last year, Farmers on Tuesday became the latest to pull out of the Florida market, saying in a statement that the decision was based on risk exposure in the hurricane-prone state.

Climate change is threatening the very existence of some parts of Florida. And the costs are already being felt by Floridians. At the end of 2022, average annual property insurance premiums had already risen to more than $4,200 in Florida – three times the national average.

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In America’s ‘Voltage Valley’, hopes of car-making revival turn sour

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EV manufacturer Lordstown Motors, lauded by Trump in 2020, has gone bankrupt – what now for the once-proud auto-making region?

When Lordstown Motors, an electric vehicles (EV) manufacturer in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley, declared bankruptcy last month, it was the latest blow to a region that has seen decades of extravagant promises fail to deliver.

The 5,000 new jobs executives vowed to create in 2020 generated fresh hope for the shuttered General Motors Lordstown plant, which once functioned as an economic engine for the area and a critical piece of the nation’s industrial heartland.

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Invasive snake wrestled into submission by hunters is Florida’s longest

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Video of capture of Burmese python measured at 19ft – as long as an adult giraffe is tall – was posted on Instagram

A snake believed to be the longest invasive Burmese python ever recorded was captured by two Florida hunters after a mighty struggle.

Stephen Gauta and Jake Waleri caught the humungous reptile in Big Cypress national preserve near the Everglades in southern Florida earlier this week after it lunged at Waleri, 22, who then wrestled it back to the ground.

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Foreign Office cannot say how many climate officials it has

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Exclusive: Former envoy raises concerns over possible ‘deliberate defunding of climate diplomacy under Sunak government’

The UK Foreign Office has said it does not know how many of its officials and diplomats are working on climate change and energy issues, in response to freedom of information requests.

The government has frequently described itself as a world leader on climate issues and the Foreign Office recently stated that “climate change remains an area of utmost importance and is a central focus of our diplomatic relations on a daily basis”.

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Drought leaves millions in Uruguay without tap water fit for drinking

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After years of underinvestment, reservoir has had to be topped up from estuary, raising health concerns

More than half of Uruguay’s 3.5 million citizens are without access to tap water fit for drinking, and experts say the situation could continue for months.

Some had predicted the crisis years ago when pointing out the vulnerability of the single reservoir supplying water to the metropolitan area around the capital, Montevideo.

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Councils in England and Wales join calls for ban on disposable vapes

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LGA says single-use e-cigarettes are a litter blight and cause problems in bin lorries and recycling centres

Councils are joining paediatricians in calling for a ban on disposable vapes owing to the environmental damage they cause and the soaring number of young people taking up the addictive products.

The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils in England and Wales, said urgent action was needed to save taxpayers’ money – as single-use e-cigarettes are costly to recycle without going through special treatment – protect the planet and keep children safe.

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Just Stop Oil protesters disrupt BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall

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Two demonstrators removed almost immediately after sounding air horns and throwing confetti on the stage

Two Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted the opening night of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall after running on to the stage, setting off confetti cannon and sounding air horns.

The pair were taken off stage at the west London venue within moments of unfurling their orange banners on Friday evening, according to footage on social media.

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Court grants reprieve to brown bear that killed Italian jogger

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Animal fatally attacked Andrea Papi, 26, who was first person to be killed in Italy by a bear in modern times

An Italian court has suspended a ruling that a brown bear should be put down for mauling to death a jogger in the Alps.

The animal, a 17-year-old female identified as JJ4, was captured after the fatal attack on Andrea Papi, 26, near his village of Caldes on 5 April. He was the first person in Italy to be killed in a bear attack in modern times.

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Deep-sea mining causes huge decreases in sealife across wide region, says study

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Scientists caution against rush to mine the seabed, and say it could be decades before the full impact on marine life is known

Animal populations appear to decrease where the deep sea is being mined, and the impact on marine life of the controversial industry may involve a wider “footprint” than previously expected.

According to analysis of seabed ecology undertaken after drilling tests in 2020 in Japan – the country’s first successful extraction of cobalt crusts from deep-sea mountains – there was a decrease in marine life such as fish and shrimp at the site a year later. The density had dropped even further in areas outside the impact zone, by more than half.

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Sydney’s unseasonably warm weather set to stay as BoM continues ‘El Niño’ watch

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The Bureau of Meteorology’s long-range forecast expects more warm weather for the east coast, with Sydney hitting a top of 23C on Saturday

Sydney is expected to hit 23C on Saturday, with the unseasonably warm weather forecast to continue for the rest of the winter.

Hugh McDowell, a meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said the bureau’s long-range forecast showed Sydney could expect more unseasonable temperatures.

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NSW delays decision about future of country’s biggest power station until after energy security review

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Owner Origin Energy say ‘nothing has changed’ on plan to shut the coal-fired Eraring plant no sooner than August 2025

The New South Wales government says it will hold off any decision about the future of the country’s largest power station until at least next month, after it receives a “health check” on the state’s energy security.

Origin Energy, owner of the 2880MW Eraring plant near Lake Macquarie, also said on Friday that “nothing had changed” on the plan to shut the coal-fired power station no sooner than August 2025.

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Environment charity bids to encircle London in ‘M25 for nature’

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CPRE London hopes to surround capital in trees by weaving existing areas of green belt in outer boroughs

An environmental charity is bidding to create an “M25 for nature” that would encircle London in woodland, hedgerows and street trees to boost biodiversity, carbon capture and wellbeing.

The countryside charity CPRE London hopes to weave together existing areas of green belt in the city’s 18 outer boroughs to create an uninterrupted ring of trees around the capital.

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ACCC to compel companies to back up environmental claims with evidence

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Australia’s competition watchdog publishes draft guidelines in a bid to stamp out greenwashing

Companies should have evidence to back up claims they make about their environmental sustainability, according to draft guidelines developed by the competition watchdog in a bid to stamp out greenwashing.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) published the draft guidance on Friday after its recent greenwashing internet sweep identified concerning practices ranging from overstating climate action to companies developing their own certification schemes.

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Nationals accuse Labor of ‘hypocrisy’ over response to scathing APVMA report – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Cabinet meeting to decide Lowe’s successor today

Philip Lowe will be replaced as the Reserve Bank governor, with today’s cabinet meeting to decide his successor, Guardian Australia has confirmed.

If I was asked to continue in the role, I would be honoured to do that and I would continue.

If I am not asked to continue in the role, I will do my best to support my successor, and the treasurer has said he will make an announcement before the end of this month.

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Severe thunderstorm warning for parts of Vermont, New York, Vermont and Ohio Valley – live

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Latest storm warning comes just days after areas of Vermont and New York were hit with flash flooding, raising concerns over more damage

Meterologist Ben Frechette from NBC5 reported that a tornado risk is going up slightly in north-eastern NewYork state:

As some parts of the US are sweltering, Vermont was bracing for more rain on Thursday.

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Scottish ministers have ‘duty’ to protect seabed from harmful fishing, says court

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Licensing for scallop dredging and trawling must comply with National Marine Plan after judicial review by Open Seas charity

The Scottish government should stop approving licences for fishing vessels using methods believed to cause harm to habitats, a charity working to protect marine life has urged, after a court declared a routine licensing decision to be unlawful.

Scotland’s highest court ruled that the Scottish government had failed to act in accordance with Scotland’s National Marine Plan (NMP) when varying fishing licences last December, after a judicial review by the conservation charity Open Seas. It is legally obliged to act in accordance with its environmental duties, as stated in the NMP, when making these decisions.

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Loophole lets farmers pollute UK rivers with excess manure – report

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Investigation finds polluting farmers may not face action after breaking the rules

A loophole in the UK’s pollution legislation allows farmers to pollute rivers by spreading excess manure, an investigation has found, with those acting unlawfully not facing any action in most cases.

The government introduced new farming rules for water in 2018, aimed at cleaning up England’s waterways. However, after lobbying from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), including at least two meetings with ministers, the guidance was watered down.

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Scottish windfarm built in 1995 to be ‘repowered’ with new turbines

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ScottishPower expects Hagshaw Hill to produce five times as much energy with half the turbines by early 2025

One of Britain’s oldest onshore windfarms will soon be “repowered” so it can generate five times as much green electricity as it did in 1995 – with almost half as many turbines.

The owner of the Hagshaw Hill windfarm, ScottishPower, began dismantling 26 turbines on its site in rural South Lanarkshire on Wednesday.

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Arkansas warned over ‘life-threatening’ flash floods; Florida ocean temperatures hit record high – as it happened

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California governor launches campaign aimed at protecting residents from extreme heat; US president says extreme heat and floods linked to climate

The National Weather Service in New Orleans has warned of scattered storms that are expected to deliver flash flooding in the area later today.

Rainfall is expected to reach 2 to 5 inches per hour (or more at times), with the potential flash floods likely to take place mainly from late morning through the evening hours.

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