Section

Environment

Climate crisis, wildlife, energy and the natural world.

62,402 stories · Page 4 of 2972

Environment stories

‘Tiny bit of rain and the sewage comes’: Brighton swimmers vent fury at sea pollution

Checking for sewage spills has become as normal as checking the weather forecast, say swimmers on East Sussex beaches

Pippa Neill Environment reporter30 Aug

South West Water has worst environmental record in England, analysis shows

Exclusive: Friends of the Earth finds greatest sewage discharge in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset

Pippa Neill Environment reporter30 Aug

Plug-in solar panels could save households up to $370 a year – if Australia made them legal as in the UK

A plug in solar kit that costs about $1,000 ‘pays for itself in three years’, one expert said

Petra Stock29 Aug

Country diary: We’re going on a nurdle hunt

Whitley Bay, North Tyneside: A huge community effort is under way to clear up a spill of these disastrously resilient beads. We take a family trip to the beach to do our bit

Richard Smyth29 Aug

Is the environmental impact of datacentres finally cutting through?

In this week’s newsletter: Anti-datacentre sentiment is growing across the political spectrum in the US – and the public is only just finding out about the potential effects on their energy bills

Dharna Noor28 Aug

This US city only has one supermarket for 45,000 people. New legislation seeks to fix that

Big grocery can use anti-competitive clauses to block other stores from entering a market. Rhode Island is the second state to ban that practice

Lela Nargi28 Aug

The chefs turning down the heat by switching from gas to electric

As well as being quieter, cheaper to run and easier to clean, induction cookers can cut kitchen temperatures by up to 10C

Fiona Harvey Environment editor28 Aug

Weather tracker: More extreme rain in Japan and a tornado in France

Flash flooding and mudslides in Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures, while convective storms hit western Europe

Brendan Wood and Faye Hulton for MetDesk28 Aug

Air pollution affects us all, but there is a way we can breathe easier

In this week’s newsletter: contaminants from fossil fuels, traffic and wildfires damage nearly every part of our bodies – but initiatives such as low-emission zones and cycle routes can make our cities cleaner and safer

Fiona Harvey28 Aug

Country diary: While all else withers, this plump fungus is in its prime

Tunstall Valley, Weardale: Called chicken of the woods, it is reducing this oak tree to dust, molecule by molecule

Phil Gates28 Aug

‘Nature thrives when given a chance’: restored Cheshire wetland now a haven for rare grebe

Woolston Eyes in Warrington, a dumping ground for canal dredgings, has become best place in UK for black-necked grebe

Patrick Barkham28 Aug

El Niño climate patterns supercharged by burning of fossil fuels, study finds

‘Godzilla’ event currently brewing could push 50 million people into acute hunger before the end of next year

Oliver Milman27 Aug

We need new reservoirs – and it’s a job for the state, not private companies

Letters: David Griffiths says mayors could be empowered to build water infrastructure, while Kevin Whately suggests incorporating communal storage into new housing estates

27 Aug

Government must prioritise heat pump installation to tackle climate chaos

Letter: Colin Hines says Andy Burnham’s focus should be on drastically cutting fossil fuel use in a way that reduces bills and generates secure jobs

27 Aug

A new energy scheme gives Australians three hours of free power a day – but there could be an expensive catch

Solar Sharer program was designed for homes without rooftop solar, but observers say supply and peak use charges are ‘much higher’

Petra Stock Climate and environment reporter27 Aug

How decoding beluga whales’ chitchat may save them – and teach us more about ourselves

From humpbacks learning the latest songs to sperm whales’ ‘clan codas’, drones and AI learning are helping reveal another dimension to the concept of culture

Emma Bryce27 Aug

‘Forever chemicals’ surge during pilot of Thames Water plan to combat drought

Exclusive: utility company wants to draw off tens of millions of litres of water a day from Thames and replace it with treated effluent

Sandra Laville Environment correspondent27 Aug

Country diary: A stonking great harmful hornet? Ah it’s only a fly

The Marches, Shropshire: For this hoverfly, pretending to be far more dangerous than it actually is has been a useful evolutionary technique

Paul Evans27 Aug

Japan killed 14,000 bears after a rise in deadly attacks on people – but is a cull the answer?

Bears killed 13 people in Japan last year, as a lack of forest foods increased human-wildlife conflict. But the controversial cull in response has raised concerns with conservationists

Gloria Dickie27 Aug

Top of the crops: record heatwaves help deliver bumper UK berry harvest

Investment in climate-resilient irrigation enables this year’s haul to rise 6% on 2025’s already bigger-than-usual yield

Sarah Butler27 Aug

Plug-in balcony solar panels to go on sale in UK for first time

DIY system will be stocked by big retailers, starting with Argos, enabling more homes to lower bills by generating own electricity

Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent26 Aug