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Operator brings in independent legal firm to look into whistleblower allegations relating to June heatwave

Great Britain’s grid operator has brought in independent investigators to look into accusations that its staff were involved in a cover-up over the power system being at a greater risk of blackouts during the heatwave.

The government-owned energy system operator will face the scrutiny of an external legal firm after a whistleblower claimed that control room staff were warned against leaving a paper trail relating to efforts to stabilise the power system during record high temperatures in late June.

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Weatherwise, 2026’s warm season has been one for the record books in many parts of the Midwest. A seemingly endless barrage of severe and, at times, deadly thunderstorms and tornados have wreaked havoc on homes and businesses, hundreds of thousands of which experienced power outages as a result.

As climate change is projected to increase severe thunderstorm activity across much of the Midwest, the power sector should heed this year’s pummeling as a wake-up call and reflect on whether it’s ready to withstand more of the same. This year offers an opportunity to imagine more concretely into a climate changed-world, to consider where system vulnerabilities lie, and where investments are needed to ensure our grid is resilient and able to reliably and equitably provide electricity for homes and businesses across the region. 

2026 weather extremes blow past 30-year averages

Taking stock of this year’s weather extremes in the Midwest is personal for me. And not to bury the lede: my family is fine, but we just barely avoided landing in the crosshairs of some of the most dangerous storms that have hit my home state of Wisconsin.

In mid-June, my husband and daughter were hunkered down in a barn in Belleville, Wisconsin, waiting out a severe thunderstorm that produced a tornado down the road. The storm destroyed two homes and severely damaged several more in Belleville. 

On another occasion, my daughter spent her last hour of the school year sheltered in place in her school’s basement as a severe thunderstorm roared through the area, producing 80+ MPH wind gusts. It was such a strong storm that it was eventually classified as a derecho— a particularly extreme class of severe thunderstorms. 

Looking out from the personal to the broader pattern, this has been an astounding year for Wisconsin. This April was the most tornadic on record in 76 years, with 27 tornados touching down across the state versus the more typical single April tornado. May was a relatively calm month, but there were 58 percent more severe storms in June than average. 

Wisconsin is certainly not alone. Most states in the Midwest had above average tornado counts in April. However, Illinois has been the hardest hit, experiencing the most tornados of any state in the US this year. Illinois has already seen 212 tornadoes form—more than three times its annual average of the last thirty years. To date, the National Weather Service has issued a whopping 812 severe thunderstorm warnings in Illinois.

StateNWS Severe Thunderstorm WarningsNWS 30-Year Average Severe Thunderstorm Warnings (1996-2025)Tornados That Formed30-Year Average Tornado Counts (1996-2025)Illinois81260821264Wisconsin4743474625Michigan 3313612614Examples of 2026 year-to-date severe thunderstorm warnings issued in the Midwest by the National Weather Service (NWS) and tornado counts as compared with long-term, 30-year averages. (Numbers collected through 7/7/26.)  Consequences for our power system

The deadly and damaging severe storms that have hit the Midwest this year have been incredibly consequential for power outages, and things are not slowing down yet. On Independence Day weekend, deadly, climate change-driven extreme heat and severe thunderstorms drove prolonged power outages for hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the Midwest, leaving many in dangerous, hot conditions. 

Nearly two million homes and businesses lost power as a result of a series of severe thunderstorms that hit the Midwest and Ohio Valley in mid-June, according to an analysis by PowerOutage.us. Thousands of homes and businesses lost their power for multiple days on end as a result of the storms, including in my hometown of Madison, where the storms downed power lines and broke power poles. Check out this incredible simulation of the power outages caused by some of the severe thunderstorms rolling through on June 10. 

Unfortunately, this year is unlikely to be an anomaly with respect to severe storms causing power outages in the Midwest. Important aspects of severe thunderstorm activity are already strengthening as a result of human-caused climate change. 

In addition, warmer temperatures—and with them, thunderstorms—are expected to occur earlier in the Midwest as they did this spring, lengthening the timeframe within which severe thunderstorms can form. And climate change is forecast to increase the likelihood of extreme heat that can co-occur with severe storms and strain the power system as happened on Independence Day weekend, leaving communities in harm’s way.

It is therefore critical that power sector actors heed the warning that this year is giving them. As my colleagues and I recommend in our report Power After the Storm, detailed climate risk assessments must be carried out to understand what the grid is going to be up against and how risks should be mitigated and addressed. 

We also urge the power sector to transition to electricity grids powered by clean energy so that we can prevent the worst impacts of climate change from manifesting. Finally, we encourage engagement with communities in order that investments and decisions reflect the needs of all customers that our electricity grids are meant to serve. 

By taking lived experiences from this year into account together with advances in climate science, we can make our electricity grid more resilient and ready to handle the more extreme weather that is headed our way.

The author would like to thank the Wisconsin State Climatology Office for their assistance with some of the statistics used in this blog.

National Fire Chiefs Council say emergency services dealing with 19 wildfires across Britain, many near urban areas

The UK is in the grip of a “firewave”, as the summer’s extreme heat produces the ideal conditions for wildfires, scientists and environmentalists have warned.

A particular danger was that more blazes seem to be taking place closer to urban areas rather than in remote countryside, causing hazards to homes and health, they said.

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Pete and Fran Gillam confirmed dead as authorities use DNA samples to identify victims of blaze in Almería

A British couple have been named among the 13 people killed by wildfires in Spain, as authorities race to use DNA to identify victims who were unable to escape the blaze.

Pete and Fran Gillam, who lived in Bédar, the village that bore the brunt of the wildfires on Thursday, were confirmed dead by their family.

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While the full toll will take months to calculate, death statistics already look substantial compared with historical averages.

Breathable fabrics and loose cuts are in. It’s possible to beat the heat without dressing like you’re off to the beach or the lido

Never mind weddings or job interviews. When it comes to getting dressed, the past few weeks have confirmed that the biggest challenge is what to wear to the office during a heatwave. I write this as Europe is grappling with record-breaking temperatures due to the climate crisis. In the UK, fire brigades have issued wildfire alerts, with temperatures reaching more than 36C. My street now resembles an art installation, with varying colours and patterns of bed sheets taped to windows in the battle against the heat. The corner shop has pivoted to selling fans. And everyone is lingering just that little bit longer in the freezer aisle.

Given the somewhat apocalyptic conditions, getting dressed to go to the office is the last thing anyone wants to think about, mainly because it feels wrong to be working. But for those of us who haven’t timed our annual leave to coincide with the heatwave peak, it’s off to work we go.

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A towering apartment development has been approved for the waterfront, even though some residents would have preferred parkland.

Wildfire quickly burnt more than 800 hectares, with villages evacuated, highway partly closed and high-speed rail disrupted

French officials rushed two firefighting planes to the Paris region on Sunday after a “very virulent” fire of “exceptional scale” erupted in the sprawling Fontainebleau forest about 60km (40 miles) south-east of the capital.

The fire began late afternoon in the one-time royal hunting preserve that today is dotted with quiet villages. It raced across 800 hectares (2,000 acres) and was still spreading early on Monday, officials said, causing the partial closure of the A6 highway, the country’s main north-south artery, and disrupting traffic during a busy, heatwave-stricken summer travel weekend.

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Children confirmed safe but men pronounced dead after being brought out of water at Seaton Carew, Hartlepool

Two men have died after going into the water at a beach in County Durham to try to help two children, police said.

Officers were called at about 3.45pm on Sunday after concerns were raised about two children in the water at Seaton Carew beach in Hartlepool.

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Many say communication was chaotic and even nonexistent as flames tore through the area, taking 12 lives in one of the deadliest wildfires on record in Spain.

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Pair airlifted to hospital in two-hour rescue operation after Guardia Civil searched area for survivors

A British couple have been found badly burned and semi-conscious in a Spanish ravine amid deadly wildfires that have swept through the country’s Almería province, according to local media reports.

The couple were on holiday in the region and were thought to be out hiking when they were caught up in the wildfire, which has so far killed 12 people and burned more than 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres). At least 23 people are missing.

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Byelection winner says heatwaves are causing ‘absolute chaos’ and workers need protection from unsafe conditions

The Green MP Hannah Spencer is to introduce a bill in parliament that would pave the way for a maximum workplace temperature in the UK, as the country grapples with increasingly frequent heatwaves.

If passed, the legislation will create an independent body to recommend maximum safe workplace temperatures and set out how those recommendations should be implemented.

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Environmental and refugee groups have joined forces to benefit lives and wildlife in Wales and elsewhere

Shielding his eyes from the blinding midday sun, Abdullah, a Sudanese asylum seeker, gazes out at the expanse of green in Tŷ Mawr country park in north Wales.

“This place is so beautiful,” he says. “It feels a very long way from the Home Office.”

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Dozens of projects are in development across US despite concerns over environmental and health risks

The plan to bury carbon under remote Indiana farmland is supposed to be a slam dunk for the climate, according to its supporters – all generously funded by US tax dollars.

But as far as Melissa Harrison and some other residents of Clymers, Indiana, are concerned, it just might be the end of their town. “This is our place,” she says. Generations of her family are buried in the cemetery, and she is raising her five grandchildren in one of several dozen white-clapboard homes among corn fields and industrial plants serving the farming industry.

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Weather cycle threatens harvests worldwide, adding to inflation already fuelled by the Iran war

Economists are warning that a “super” El Niño weather cycle this year could cause a severe shock to global food prices lasting into 2028.

As the Iran war pushes up world food prices to the highest level in three years, economists said supply chains faced “two shocks at once” stoked by extreme weather linked to global heating.

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With ticks, we’ve barely begun to fight back. The longer we wait, the more territory they will claim across both our geographic and psychic maps.

Microsoft, Amazon and Google say they still aim to achieve net zero output despite construction boom

Microsoft, Amazon and Google’s collective carbon emissions have increased by nearly a fifth in the past year, driven largely by datacentre construction.

In the financial year ending March 2026, the three tech companies emitted 119m mTCO₂e (metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent), or about a third of those of France.

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