Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Clicks, grunts and squeals: the wonders of whale communication – podcast

admin — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 04:00:43 +0000

Ever since the earliest known recording of whale song was made in 1949, researchers have been captivated by the wails, rumbles, clicks, grunts and squeals of their communication. As technology improves, scientists are decoding the intricate patterns that make different species’ vocalisations distinctive. Madeleine Finlay hears from Emma Bryce, a journalist who has spent months investigating human efforts to understand whale song.

Kākāpō rising: 90 chicks swell population of the world’s heaviest parrot

admin — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 02:57:21 +0000

Critically endangered New Zealand bird enjoys record breeding season triggered by mass fruiting of native tree, pushing its numbers to 325

The population of the world’s heaviest parrot, the kākāpō, has surpassed 300 birds for the first time in 75 years, after a record breeding season triggered by the mass fruiting of a native New Zealand tree.

Rising microplastics in soil a threat to UK food security, MPs and campaigners say

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 23:01:38 +0000

Report calls for legally binding targets to cut microplastic pollution as soil ‘is a complex living ecosystem’

The accumulation of microplastics in soil presents an emerging threat to the UK’s food security, according to scientists, MPs and campaigners who have called for legally binding targets to cut microplastic pollution.

How intense rains in the Grand Canyon turned into a deadly disaster

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 22:02:05 +0000

Flash flooding in Arizona tourist destination was likely triggered by compounding climate factors, such as drought and warming in Pacific Ocean

Remote Grand Canyon lodge hit by deadly flash flood boasts fabled history

Remote Grand Canyon lodge hit by deadly flash flood boasts fabled history

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 21:12:24 +0000

Phantom Ranch, set up by Teddy Roosevelt, has welcomed exhausted hikers to its famed cabins for over a century

Two dead and nearly 80 rescued after Grand Canyon flash flood

Phantom Ranch has been a solitary refuge visited by some of the most famous names of history. More typically, it’s been a beacon for the half-collapsed, exhausted and overheated hikers trudging down the Grand Canyon for more than a century.

Two people dead and nearly 80 rescued after Grand Canyon flash flood

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:03:47 +0000

Officials say one person still unaccounted for as forecast heavy rain and thunderstorms threaten further flooding

A second death was confirmed by National Park Service officials on Monday after a flash flood sent a surge of water and debris through an area of the Grand Canyon over the weekend.

Ben Jennings on the end of the UK summer – cartoon

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:12:47 +0000

Border area between Nepal and China where 33 Australians are missing still almost entirely cut off

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:00:28 +0000

Majority of missing Australians were near Gyirong Port minutes before impact. Rescuers say the area is now destroyed, covered in metres of silt and debris

Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

The datacentre power spat highlights a hidden truth: we’re not building renewables fast enough to meet our needs | Alison Reeve

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:00:27 +0000

A battle over datacentre power sources is only part of the picture. Australia needs a much bigger electricity system to meet all future demand

Anthony Albanese has been clear that he wants a set of national standards to ensure datacentre growth accelerates Australia’s push to renewables and keeps a lid on power prices. At the centre of his desired policies was a “BYO power” requirement – a condition that all new datacentres would be powered by 100% renewable electricity.

Cross-party talks needed to tackle climate crisis, say Lib Dems

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 11:48:23 +0000

Andy Burnham urged to seek consensus over response to extreme heat and forthcoming ‘super El Niño’

Andy Burnham should call a cross-party meeting to discuss the UK’s response to worsening extreme weather, including the forthcoming ‘super El Niño’, the Liberal Democrats have said.