Insurers in England and Wales tell of busy August with one reporting near-140% jump in claims
UK insurers are experiencing a surge in the number of homeowners making claims for subsidence after the hottest summer on record, with Hastings Direct reporting a near 140% jump to an all-time high for August.
Insurance firms have been overrun by calls and online queries, as well as a rise in claims during the five heatwaves that followed the warmest spring ever recorded in England and Wales.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
09/05/2026 - 00:00
Experts say invasive species are creating ‘pollinator deserts’ and could have serious impact on food security
British beekeepers have called for a national awareness campaign about the impact of Asian hornets as they warned the invasive species was creating “pollinator deserts” and threatening food security.
Native to south-east Asia, the yellow-legged hornet is thought to have arrived in Europe in 2004 and has continued to spread ever since, its numbers probably boosted by increasingly warm springs and summers.
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09/04/2026 - 21:00
A total fire ban is in place for greater Sydney with extreme fire danger exacerbated by hot and windy conditions
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Summer heat is due to arrive early across much of eastern Australia with potentially record early September temperatures predicted for Brisbane and Sydney, while snow was expected in southern New South Wales.
Maximum temperatures in Sydney during the first days of September were on track to match the city’s midsummer average of 26.4C, warmer than any other start to spring since the city’s Observatory Hill station opened in 1858.
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09/04/2026 - 19:50
Interior department given three months to decide whether wolves can be removed from endangered species list
Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday directing the interior department to consider de-listing gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act and to contemplate whether the agency could make it easier to authorize killing them.
The order gives interior secretary Doug Burgum three months to determine whether gray wolves and Mexican gray wolves have recovered enough for the federal government to de-list them.
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09/04/2026 - 11:09
A mysterious island has emerged in Williston Lake in Canada. A local resident shared a video of a floating 'island' with trees growing from it – which has appeared, disappeared and appeared again within two months. Satellite imagery has confirmed its existence and disappearance, and experts say the rising water level has set free trees that have been growing on woody debris on the shore
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09/04/2026 - 02:21
Energy secretary could recommend new North Sea drilling next week, as ministers also consider approval for Rosebank oilfield
Ministers are poised to approve a controversial new gasfield in the North Sea this month, according to government sources, and are considering approving a major oilfield later this year.
Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, will give her recommendation to approve the Jackdaw field off the coast of Aberdeen as soon as next week, according to people close to the decision, and the formal approval could follow a week after.
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09/04/2026 - 02:00
This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world
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09/04/2026 - 01:35
Mynas are ‘incredibly good learners’ and likely hopped on the inner-city train to scrounge, expert says
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A viral video of common myna birds appearing to calmly ride a Sydney train in place of winged flight has shocked social media users. But not experts, who say it makes perfect sense that avian life has adapted to routinely navigate public transport.
Bird life is ubiquitous in Australia’s urban landscapes. They appear in our shopping centres, our workplaces, our homes. To witness a feathered friend on a train isn’t exceptional.
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09/04/2026 - 01:24
‘Challenging’ weather conditions and lack of snowfall are being blamed after a winter that broke multiple heat records
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Major Australian alpine resorts are closing their ski operations up to a month early after a winter that broke multiple records for heat with limited snow falls being washed away by rain.
Predictions in June that a building El Niño could combine with global heating for a challenging ski season came to pass, with seven resorts either already closed or announcing ski lifts will stop operating this weekend.
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09/04/2026 - 01:00
Exclusive: As millions of people face hosepipe bans, many companies are not required to report, let alone cut, use of public supply
Less than 1% of businesses in England use more water than the daily needs of 10 million people, as millions of households face hosepipe bans and three-quarters of the country is in drought.
Businesses across England use 2.6bn litres a day from the public water supply, which includes potable and non-potable water provided by water companies. In total, businesses account for about 30% of public supply use, with two-thirds of their consumption in water-stressed areas, according to Mosl, the organisation that operates England’s business water market.
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