The Guardian Climate Change

Residents of Los Angeles have fled deadly wildfires engulfing the suburbs of the West Coast megalopolis, as firefighters struggled to contain the flames overnight amid fears they would worsen. Tanner Charles posted this footage to X saying 'video of the moment my friend and I abandoned his house after we tried to save what we could. Please be praying for him and his family.' California officials ordered more than 30,000 people to evacuate their homes as hillside blazes ripped through the coastal Pacific Palisades neighbourhood. People escaped by car and on foot

• California wildfires – latest updates

Blazes devastate affluent Pacific Palisades with more than 30,000 people under evacuation orders

• California wildfires – latest updates

Fast-moving wildfires raging through Los Angeles have left Hollywood movie actors and reality TV stars fleeing their hillside mansions, as wind-whipped blazes devastated affluent neighbourhoods along the coast.

More than 30,000 people have been put under evacuation orders in LA, and a state of emergency has been declared as the infernos swept through the Pacific Palisades, a ritzy area near Malibu popular with celebrities.

How a team of researchers is reducing skin temperature under clothes and energy bills with some forward fashion thinking

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This year is on track to be the hottest in recorded history. With rising temperatures and more intense and frequent heatwaves, keeping cool in summer will get harder. Air conditioning can only go so far, especially when extreme heat raises the risk of electricity outages.

Wearing light, loose-fitting clothing is well recognised health advice to beat the heat in sweltering temperatures, especially important given that heatwaves kill more people than any other extreme weather event.

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Hillside homes abandoned and 30,000 evacuated as infernos rip into north and west areas of Californian city

• Southern California wildfire – live

Residents of Los Angeles have fled wildfires engulfing the suburbs of the US’s second city, as firefighters struggled to contain the flames overnight amid fears they would worsen on Wednesday morning.

California officials have ordered more than 30,000 people to evacuate their homes as hillside infernos ripped through the coastal Pacific Palisades neighbourhood. People escaped by car and on foot.

Exodus from target-setting group is attempt to head off ‘anti-woke’ attacks from rightwing politicians, say analysts

• Business live – latest updates

The six biggest banks in the US have all quit the global banking industry’s net zero target-setting group, with the imminent inauguration of Donald Trump as president expected to bring political backlash against climate action.

JP Morgan is the latest to withdraw from the UN-sponsored net zero banking alliance (NZBA), following Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs. All six have left since the start of December.

The tiny nation of Niue has raised £3m selling sponsorship of its marine protected area at just over £100 for a square kilometre

Niue, also known as the Rock of Polynesia, is one of the tiniest island states in the world. It takes a mere two hours to drive around it, giving views of its rugged limestone cliffs and occasional sandy coves. These coves give way to caves and chasms, once used for storage, burial sites and even as living spaces. But perhaps what visitors seek most are its crystal clear waters, home to spinner dolphins, eels, grey reef sharks, sea snakes and humpback whales.

Now the island is engaged in an innovative plan to try to conserve these vast and pristine territorial waters. The scheme, which has been running for a year, involves selling off sponsorship of the ocean surrounding the island to individuals or companies for NZ$250 (£116) a square kilometre. So far, it has raised NZ$7m, nearly halfway to its target.

By the time Jon Oei’s family drove toward the ocean, it was dark and the power was out: ‘There were no lights, and everything was on fire’

• Live coverage: Pacific Palisades fire doubles in size
• Full report: windstorm fuels California wildfire

In the past few months, Jon Oei’s parents, who live in the highlands of the Pacific Palisades, have received multiple wildfire evacuation orders, the most recent in the early hours of New Year’s Eve, he said.

So on Tuesday, when a wildfire began not far from the family’s home, they did not immediately evacuate.

A guide to the steps you can take before, during and after a fire as they grow more frequent and more intense

As the climate crisis makes wildfires in the American west more frequent, longer and more intense, preparedness can help residents across minimize damage and prevent loss.

Here are steps that can be taken before, during and after wildfires to protect yourself and others, compiled from government guides, fire association websites and weather service advisories.

Fueled by major windstorm, Pacific Palisades fire touches museum site but officials say collection safe

• Follow live: Palisades blaze doubles in size to nearly 3,000 acres

A rapidly spreading wildfire in southern California reached the grounds of the Getty Villa museum north of Santa Monica on Tuesday, but officials said no structures had burned and the collection was safe.

The Pacific Palisades fire, fueled by a major windstorm and prompting mass evacuations in Los Angeles county, burned some trees and vegetation on site at the Getty Villa, but museum leaders said the galleries and archives were protected.

A wildfire has erupted in Pacific Palisades, an affluent community north of Santa Monica, on Tuesday consuming more than 1,200 acres and destroying homes. A large swath of the region is under what officials have described as ‘extreme risk’ from a destructive storm. The city of Los Angeles has declared a state of emergency for the 'wind event'

• Wildfire destroys homes as strong winds hit southern California

Fire quickly consumed hundreds of acres in the Pacific Palisades, an affluent community north of Santa Monica

A fast-moving wildfire erupted in Los Angeles county on Tuesday, quickly consuming more than 1,200 acres and destroying homes in an affluent community along the Pacific Ocean.

Whipped by unusually strong winds, the fire prompted frenzied evacuations through winding roads in the Pacific Palisades, an area north of Santa Monica, with residents fleeing on foot as flames approached.

Waterways can protect biodiversity, help with water security and keep cities cooler, says Canal & River Trust

Protecting the UK’s canals is crucial for improving the nation’s resilience to climate change, campaigners have said.

A report by the Canal & River Trust charity found canals could play a “critical role” in biodiversity, decarbonisation and climate adaptation.

Approach could be used to limit outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue fever, which results in 390m cases annually worldwide

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Toxic male mosquitoes will poison females with their semen in a new population control method developed by Australian researchers.

The method involves genetically engineering males to produce spider and sea anemone venom proteins, which they inject into females during mating, reducing their lifespan.

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Ban includes entire Atlantic coast, eastern Gulf of Mexico, Pacific coast off California, Oregon and Washington, and part of Bering Sea

Joe Biden has banned offshore drilling across an immense area of coastal waters, weeks before Donald Trump takes office pledging to massively increase fossil fuel production.

The US president’s ban encompasses the entire Atlantic coast and eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Pacific coast off California, Oregon and Washington, and a section of the Bering Sea off Alaska.

The ex-president was a pioneer on renewable energy and land conservation but his 1980 defeat was a ‘fork in the road’

When a group of dignitaries and journalists made a rare foray to the roof of the White House, Jimmy Carter had something to show them: 32 solar water-heating panels.

“A generation from now,” the US president declared, “this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people.”

Global heating is supercharging storms, floods and droughts, affecting entire ecosystems and billions of people

The climate crisis is “wreaking havoc” on the planet’s water cycle, with ferocious floods and crippling droughts affecting billions of people, a report has found.

Water is people’s most vital natural resource but global heating is changing the way water moves around the Earth. The analysis of water disasters in 2024, which was the hottest year on record, found they had killed at least 8,700 people, driven 40 million from their homes and caused economic damage of more than $550bn (£445bn).

Global heating has made conditions more favourable for growing grapes – and finding the right variety is key

Heard the one about Irish wine? Like its English counterpart, it is no longer a joke, with more than a dozen vineyards now producing bottles to emulate those of the terroirs of France, Spain and Italy.

At about €60 (£50) a bottle and produced in small quantities, it is far from a commercial activity, but efforts over the last 10 years have produced what one retailer described as an “arguably very fine” rosé.

Watch Duty – which began in California and has expanded across 14 states – alerted the public to more than 9,000 wildfires in 2024

Cristy Thomas began to panic as she called 911 for the second time on a warm October day but couldn’t get through. She anxiously watched the plume of black smoke pouring over her rural community in central California get larger.

Then she heard a familiar ping.

The main issues confronting policymakers around the world seem particularly portentous this new year

January is always a time for new beginnings and fresh thinking. But with Donald Trump heading for the White House and a new(ish) Labour government in charge of a faltering UK economy, the onset of 2025 seems especially portentous.

Forecasting is a mug’s game, as former Bank of England governor Mervyn King used to say about predicting exchange rates; but here are some of the big economic questions to ponder, as the new year gets under way:

Ports including in Saudi Arabia and the US projected to be seriously damaged by a metre of sea level rise

Rising sea levels driven by the climate crisis will overwhelm many of the world’s biggest oil ports, analysis indicates.

Scientists said the threat was ironic as fossil fuel burning causes global heating. They said reducing emissions by moving to renewable energy would halt global heating and deliver more reliable energy.