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‘False autumn’: stressed trees drop leaves early after scorching English summer
Season will be less vibrant with trees such as birches, which usually offer a striking burst of yellow leaves, already bare
Among a canvas of copper, red and purple autumn leaves on display at Wisley garden in Surrey, south-east England, one tree stands conspicuously naked.
“The birch has lost all its leaves,” says Guy Barter, the chief horticulturist at the Royal Horticultural Society. “That’s the effect of drought, so it’ll have no autumn colour this year.”
Continue reading...Bay of Bengal cyclones fuel non-monsoon extreme precipitation on the central Tibetan Plateau
In the synthetic biology era, engineered fungi could mitigate carbon dioxide emissions and enhance environmental resilience
‘Realistic and reassuring’: UK public ‘responding calmly’ to Be Ready campaign
Government’s emergency planning advice has sparked sales of essentials but no panic stockpiling, say prepping shop owners
When the UK government launched its “Protect and Survive” public information campaign in 1980 on how to stay alive after a nuclear attack, it was met with a combination of scepticism, disbelief and derision.
The advice included how to build a “fallout room” at home, how to whitewash windows to protect from a blast, and how to store a dead body for up to five days.
Continue reading...Tinned mackerel, hand-crank radios and bags for poo: crisis-prepping guides around the world
UK allies have long urged people to stockpile supplies for a crisis. How are people from France to Australia being advised to prepare?
The UK has told people to fill their pantries with food for three days in case of catastrophe, joining a host of countries urging citizens to ready themselves for core systems failing.
Such advice, once dismissed as the preserve of preppers, has become more common in government circles as climate breakdown worsens weather extremes and geopolitical tensions turn cyber-attacks and sabotage into a regular occurrence.
Continue reading...The US west has lost nearly 300 glaciers since the 1960s. Climate crisis is drastically shrinking what’s left
At the midpoint of the last century the region had 1,450 glaciers and a new study reveals the extent of losses
Continue reading...At Cop17, the pressure is on to rescue a deal that could end the destruction of nature
As world leaders struggle to meet deadlines to halt nature loss set four years ago, a rare leopard in host country Armenia offers a symbol of what is at stake
The Armenian capital Yerevan is chock-a-block right now with officials, scientists and environmentalists from all over the world gathering for Cop17. Everyone is here to try to rescue a historic deal to end the destruction of nature.
The pressure is on. Targets set for 2030 are woefully off track, and the nearly 200 countries present need to agree on a plan to speed things up. All this is happening at a time when national budgets are tight and leaders are distracted by conflict, protests and the global energy crisis.
This Norwegian village is one of the fastest-warming places on Earth. How can its people save it?
What does the UK’s approval of the Jackdaw gasfield mean?
US extreme weather survivors are a growing group – now they want to be a political force
Continue reading...Heat killed ‘staggering’ 50,000 people in Europe’s cities this summer, scientists warn
People succumbed to heat at highest rates in Malta, Italy and Hungary, with health issues, loneliness and poverty exacerbating toll
Heat killed a record 50,000 people in European cities this summer, new research suggests, with scientists blaming climate breakdown for two in every three of the deaths.
Morgues and funeral homes filled with bodies from June to August as the heat added by planet-baking pollution cut short an extra 32,000 lives in urban areas, the researchers found. Hot days pushed vulnerable bodies into overdrive and warm nights prevented them from recovering.
Continue reading...In allowing coal expansion in the Hunter, Chris Minns is pouring fuel on the climate fire. His decision will come back to hurt us all | Jack Egan
The high court found NSW is responsible for emissions from burning exported coal. What message does it send when the government can step in and bypass the law?
As someone who lost their home in the black summer bushfires, I was buoyed by the high court finding in favour of a small community group in the Hunter Valley earlier this month.
Led by two retired science teachers, Wendy Wales and Tony Lonergan, the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group took on a massive coal corporation and won. As a fellow schoolteacher, I felt a particular sense of pride seeing these ordinary Australians act on their care for their community and future generations.
Continue reading...Climate-driven water stress in the United States is seasonal, regional, and shaped by adaptation
Tibetan Plateau uplift increased western North Pacific tropical cyclone frequency
Climate warming boosts frequency and intensity of southern Africa’s rainfall extremes
Global-scale variability of glacier velocity and mass loss across terminus environments
Efficient carbon dioxide separation with molecularly thin bilayer carbon membranes
Heat Waves Killed an Estimated 50,000 in European Cities, a Likely Record
Andy Burnham vows UK will hit net zero target despite Jackdaw gasfield approval
PM pledges commitment to address climate crisis, saying in Guardian article that his ‘determination is unwavering’
Andy Burnham has said he will not “abandon the responsibility” of fighting the climate crisis after the government approved the Jackdaw gasfield, pledging to block new North Sea licences and keep Britain on track for net zero by 2050.
The comments are the prime minister’s most forthright yet on net zero, after many MPs have privately cast doubt on the authenticity of his commitment to tackling the climate crisis.
Continue reading...Burnham to reveal plans for AI unit to tackle wildfires after scorching summer
PM will also announce funding for specialised protective gear and the deployment of military aircraft
The UK government is to create an AI Cobra unit to spot wildfires after this year’s record-breaking summer saw devastating blazes across the country.
The country experienced its hottest-ever summer this year, with prolonged dry periods and extreme heat fuelling wildfires that triggered an emergency alert to mobile phones in England and Wales. Figures released on 8 October showed a clear upward trend in the number of fires recorded each year.
Continue reading...Every Briton should stockpile water and food supplies, government advises
Be Ready campaign aims to prepare UK for impact of climate crisis, technological dependency and threats by hostile state
Every Briton is being urged to stock up to nine litres of bottled water and three days’ worth of food in new government guidance designed to ensure that households can survive a weather, cyber or other serious emergency.
The Be Ready campaign is aimed at persuading people to stock up with supplies to last 72 hours, amid growing official concern about the impact of the climate crisis, technological dependency and hostile state threats.
Continue reading...We will make the net-zero transition work for Britain – approving the Jackdaw gasfield is part of the plan | Andy Burnham
Protecting jobs and strengthening energy security in the short term does not mean wavering on Labour’s deep commitment to a cleaner, greener future
On Wednesday, the energy secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, gave the go-ahead for gas production to begin at the Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea. This has been the subject of fierce debate for many years, with strong views on both sides. I want to explain what the decision means and how it fits with Britain’s climate commitments.
At a time of acute global instability, it makes sense to responsibly use our resources here at home. Gas from this field will begin heating our homes and powering our businesses this winter. In the longer term, it will significantly strengthen our energy security by increasing domestic gas production by about 6% and support the UK’s energy supply for more than a decade. Wednesday’s decision will also protect hundreds of jobs in Scotland and add almost £3bn to the UK economy over the lifetime of the project.
Andy Burnham is prime minister of the United Kingdom
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