Category Archives: Environment

Dramatic images show the first floods in the Sahara in half a century

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More than year’s worth of rain fell in two days in south-east Morocco, filling up lake that had been dry for decades

Dramatic pictures have emerged of the first floods in the Sahara in half a century.

Two days of rainfall in September exceeded yearly averages in several areas of south-east Morocco and caused a deluge, officials of the country’s meteorology agency said in early October. In Tagounite, a village about 450km(280 miles) south of the capital, Rabat, more than 100mm (3.9 inches) was recorded in a 24-hour period.

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Glitter has lost its shine – but scientists may have found a safer substitute

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Shimmery cellulose-based alternative looks safer for soil than conventional microplastics, Australian-led research finds

Even before Taylor Swift donned “glitter freckles”, the sparkly stuff was prolific – sold in tiny vials at craft shops, and sprinkled on to a variety of products from clothing to Christmas decorations, cards and makeup.

Glitter ends up everywhere: in the environment as well as the carpet.

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Hellish heat and primal fear: Croatian firefighters on frontline of climate crisis

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Firefighters are stoic about the risks they face but say climate change has affected every part of the job

A short drive and a world away from the tourist-thronged old town of Split, past retirees clambering out of cruise ships and stag parties stumbling into beachside bars, Ivan Sanader studied a smouldering hillside that stank of smoke.

The night before, he had fought a fire that charred the slope and threatened to engulf a roadside restaurant. Now, the commander of a mobile firefighter centre in Croatia was issuing orders to stop it flaring back up.

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Australia’s coalmines and gasfields may be emitting twice as much methane as declared, report warns

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Superpower Institute says analysis of Queensland, NSW and Victorian sites shows need for independent reporting of greenhouse gas emissions

Australia’s coalmines and gasfields may be emitting twice as much methane as they currently declare, underscoring the need to introduce independent reporting of the potent greenhouse gas, an energy thinktank has warned.

The Superpower Institute’s Open Methane tool used satellites and ground-based verification to identify 20 “sites of concern” – all involving coal and gas operations – that are releasing “around double” the amount of methane reported.

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Hurricanes like Helene twice as likely to happen due to global heating, data finds

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Analysis shows Gulf’s heat that worsened Helene 200-500 times more likely because of human-caused global heating

As Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida, fueled by a record-hot Gulf of Mexico, a new analysis has shown how the Gulf’s heat that worsened last month’s Hurricane Helene was 200 to 500 times more likely because of human-caused global heating.

Helene, one of the deadliest storms in US history, gathered pace over the Gulf before crashing ashore with 140mph winds.

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China to head green energy boom with 60% of new projects in next six years

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IEA says faster clean energy rollout being led by solar power in China with country set to boast half of world’s renewables by 2030

China is expected to account for almost 60% of all renewable energy capacity installed worldwide between now and 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.

The IEA’s highly influential renewable energy report found that over the next six years renewable energy projects will roll out at three times the pace of the previous six years, led by the clean energy programmes of China and India.

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Teacher Hannah Willow crowned as Glasgow’s first tree-hugging champion

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Willow was event’s surprise victor, and is now strategising for the world championships in Finland

Hannah Willow had little doubt what she wanted. She wanted the glory of being crowned Glasgow’s first champion tree hugger. And she got it.

“I thought it was just a charity event,” Willow said, after her triumph in the inaugural event on Sunday. “When I was told it was a competition my inner child took a somersault; I didn’t realise that until just before it started.

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Energy industry trade body chief to head UK’s climate watchdog

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Emma Pinchbeck will take over as chief executive of Climate Change Committee next month

The government’s official climate watchdog has appointed the head of the energy industry’s trade association to lead its work helping to drive the UK’s emissions to net zero by 2050.

Emma Pinchbeck, the head of Energy UK, will take up the role of chief executive of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) from early next month after four years at the helm of the trade association.

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Ramos-Horta says $74bn Timor Sea gas project could begin within months if Australia signs treaty

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Timor-Leste president’s trip comes amid mounting pressure for Labor to finalise an agreement

The $74bn Greater Sunrise gas project, which has been decades in the making, could be under way by the end of the year, the Timor-Leste president, José Ramos-Horta, said.

But he also said the pipeline and accompanying processing work must go to his nation, not Darwin.

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Water companies in England and Wales told to pay £158m penalty to customers

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Ofwat says firms must lower bills next year after poor performance on issues such as sewage spills and leaks

Water companies in England and Wales will have to return nearly £158m to customers through lower bills next year after falling further behind on key targets including sewage spills and leaks.

The regulator, Ofwat, announced the penalties as part of its annual review of companies’ performance.

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Scientists contest environment minister’s claim of ‘blitzing’ Australia’s ocean reserve expansion goal

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Tanya Plibersek claims Labor is protecting 52% of its ocean territory, but experts say that is ‘misleading’

Scientists have challenged Tanya Plibersek’s claim that Australia is protecting more than half of its oceans and has “blitzed” a 30% target, arguing industrial longline fishing will still be allowed in some areas the government says it is conserving.

The environment minister told a “global nature positive summit” in Sydney on Tuesday the government had quadrupled the size of the sub-Antarctic Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve, a world heritage area about 4,000km south-west of Perth.

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Curious koala survives close call at Sydney train station

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Marsupial caught on camera at Casula in city’s south-west, where urban development threatens wildlife

A curious koala has been captured wandering perilously close to a Sydney train line before the native animal was corralled to safety into nearby bushland.

The marsupial was caught on video crawling beneath a fence on to a platform at Casula train station, in the city’s south-west, shortly after 4am on Friday.

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Winter blackouts risk in Great Britain ‘lowest in four years’ despite end of coal

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Energy system operator expects winter power supplies to outstrip demand by almost 9% this year

The risk of winter blackouts in Great Britain has tumbled to its lowest in four years even after the shutdown of the UK’s last coal plant, thanks to investments in low-carbon electricity sources.

The National Energy System Operator (Neso) expects Britain’s winter power supplies to outstrip demand by almost 9% this year in its base case scenario, the greatest margin since the winter of 2019 to 2020.

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Salmon swim freely in Klamath River for first time in more than 100 years

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News comes after Iron Gate dam was removed to let river near California-Oregon border return to natural flow

For the first time in more than a century, salmon are swimming freely along the Klamath River and its tributaries, just days after the largest dam removal project in US history was completed.

Researchers determined that Chinook salmon began migrating on 3 October into previously inaccessible habitat above the site of the former Iron Gate dam, one of four towering dams near the California-Oregon border that were demolished as part of a national movement to let rivers return to their natural flow and to restore ecosystems for fish and other wildlife.

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Large French Alpine ski resort to close in face of shrinking snow season

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Local people and businesses left ‘in lurch’ after council says it cannot afford to support or develop Alpe du Grand Serre

A large French Alpine ski resort has announced it is to close, citing a lack of funds to become a year-round destination, as low- and medium-altitude mountain areas around Europe struggle with a truncated season due to global heating and declining snowfalls.

Local councillors voted not to reopen Alpe du Grand Serre in the Isère this winter, saying they could no longer pay for the mountain lifts or pay to complete a programme to diversify as an all-year tourist destination.

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Missing emu Irwin found dead in Wiltshire river after weeklong search

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Malmesbury sanctuary pays tribute to ‘jolly’ bird, which is thought to have drowned after falling into swollen river at night

The tale of Irwin the missing emu has ended sadly, with the “jolly” big bird’s body found in a river close to the sanctuary where he was last seen alive a week ago.

Staff at the Malmesbury animal sanctuary in Wiltshire believe Irwin slipped into the swollen river while playing with other emus and drowned.

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Canada’s carbon tax is popular, innovative and helps save the planet – but now it faces the axe

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As prime minister Justin Trudeau trails in polls, opposition seek to persuade voters environmental policy is a burden

Mass hunger and malnutrition. A looming nuclear winter. An existential threat to the Canadian way of life. For months, the country’s Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has issued dire and increasingly apocalyptic warnings about the future. The culprit? A federal carbon levy meant to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

In the House of Commons this month, the Tory leader said there was only one way to avoid the devastating crisis: embattled prime minister Justin Trudeau must “call a ‘carbon tax’ election”.

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Flash floods and landslides hit parts of Bosnia, killing at least 16

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Rescuers search for missing after huge volumes of rain fall in area around Jablanica and Konjic, causing sudden flooding

Rescue teams are searching for survivors after flash floods and landslides hit parts of Bosnia, killing at least 16 people and injuring dozens more.

Construction machines worked to remove piles of rocks and debris covering the central town of Jablanica after the rainstorm early on Friday.

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EU leaders back extra Chinese EV tariffs despite split vote

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Decision opposed by five countries including Germany, where car firms say it could be ‘fatal’ blow for industry

EU leaders have given the green light to extra tariffs on electric vehicles from China despite opposition from five countries including Germany, where car manufacturers condemned the decision as a potential “fatal” blow for the auto industry.

The European Commission – which provisionally approved the step in June after an inquiry found that Beijing’s state aid to auto manufacturers was unfair – now has free rein to impose steep tariffs for five years from the end of this month.

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Gap in Albanese government’s new fuel efficiency rules means ‘biggest, dirtiest polluters’ exempt

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New vehicle efficiency standards (NVES) will not apply to at least four large vehicles, source says

New fuel efficiency standards due to come into force from January will not apply to at least four large vehicle models because of a gap within the legislation, the motor industry has been told.

The Albanese government said earlier this year its new vehicle efficiency standards (NVES) would save motorists about $1,000 a year while cutting fuel use and carbon emissions.

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