Breaking Waves: Ocean News

09/03/2026 - 11:52
Although it's scientific consensus that the climate crisis is happening, climate change denialists have found support in the highest office during the second Trump administration and significantly influenced current climate and environment policies. The Guardian's fossil fuel and climate reporter Dharna Noor explains why such rhetorics could be dangerous for our planet Continue reading...
09/03/2026 - 10:00
Bureau of Meteorology suggests El Niño has already broken records, with Pacific Ocean temperature change exceeding 2C in six months Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here The growing El Niño weather phenomenon to Australia’s east is already breaking heat records, with forecasts showing it will likely easily surpass previous events, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology. Separate research suggests climate change has greatly shortened the odds of the event hitting record extremes. Continue reading...
09/03/2026 - 09:00
Wildfire victims rebuilt their homes in Lahaina only to find USPS had ‘eliminated’ their addresses – while houses that didn’t burn receive mail as normal Two months after a devastating wildfire whipped through Lahaina in August 2023, Pam Reader was allowed back to see what was left of her home. With a heavy heart, she returned to the Hawaiian oceanside town now filled with endless blocks of burned houses. As she rounded her corner, she saw the only thing remaining was her bright turquoise mailbox. “It was an old crappy mailbox,” Reader said. “It was metal, though, which is why I think it survived.” Continue reading...
09/03/2026 - 07:51
Climate crisis could increase incursions of Aedes aegypti, which can transmit Zika virus and dengue, experts say An mosquito capable of transmitting tropical diseases has been found breeding in homes in east London, with experts warning that the rapidly warming climate will lead to greater “incursions of invasive mosquitoes”. This is the first time the species has been identified breeding in the UK and the fourth time it has been detected. Continue reading...
09/03/2026 - 07:30
From New York to Quebec, photographer Bryan Anselm spent months capturing spaces overrun with plastic and the actions individuals and groups are taking to reduce waste In New York City, the plastic we discard has a way of remaining in plain sight. There are few alleys to hide residents’ refuse, and the clear recycling bags leave their contents on full display. In a city built on a dense grid, lightweight wrappers, bags and bottles spill from overflowing bins and skitter down sidewalks, collecting in gutters and corners before the wind carries them on. All that plastic is a layer of the urban landscape, as familiar as subway grates and fire escapes, revealing a messy and unflattering aspect of city life. “Garbage is not what we cast out, but the prime locus of meaning in our lives,” the character Nick Shay says in Don DeLillo’s Underworld. Continue reading...
09/03/2026 - 07:22
Water levels at Iguazú Falls, on the border of Brazil and Argentina, have reached five times the average volume after heavy rains. The national park has stayed open to visitors with a safety protocol in place for their safety. The park's biologist and sustainability manager has said the water levels may be influenced by the El Niño phenomenon Continue reading...
09/03/2026 - 04:00
As graduates of an online training course gather from across the continent, the consensus is overwhelming: computers and saving animals go together On a bitingly cold night in Lapalala Wilderness nature reserve in South Africa’s Limpopo province, Duncan Kanyakera watches as instructor Jacques Viljoen deploys a thermal drone in search of a lone cheetah. Once the drone has disappeared into the inky sky, Kanyakera, from Tsavo in Kenya, and 20 other conservation professionals from across Africa turn their attention to the open-air screen in anticipation. Many of the students – from 11 African countries as far flung as Benin, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar – witnessing the demonstration have earned their places at Lapalala after performing well on an online training programme for protected area technicians (PAT) run by the Connected Conservation Foundation (CCF). Also on the course, are five members of Peace Parks staff in training. Continue reading...
09/03/2026 - 01:00
Event is likely to be largest in at least 1,000 years and will pile extra heat into a world already in a climate crisis The El Niño climate phenomenon is “supersizing before our eyes”, the UN has said. The event is near certain to shatter temperature records, according to the latest forecasts. The El Niño is likely to be the largest in at least 1,000 years and will pile extra heat into an atmosphere where temperatures are already rising rapidly due to global heating. The combination means 2027 is set to “blow apart” the record and be the hottest year ever recorded. Continue reading...
09/03/2026 - 00:00
Thousands of heat-related deaths in record-breaking temperatures appeared to only intensify hosts’ climate denials As the first heatwave of the record-breaking summer arrived on 23 May, GB News host Cristo Foufas was not happy: “I am sick to death of the naysayers saying firstly that we’re all going to die and that we have to put out heat alerts, because, you know, just drink some water and drink a bit less rosé in the sunshine.” “We used to call it Darwinism,” replied co-host Renée Hoenderkamp. She is a medical doctor. Continue reading...
09/03/2026 - 00:00
Small changes are what I’m aiming for – 10-minute workouts, cleaning out my handbag. Then I’m less likely to have failed come October Are you a January resolutions or a September reset person? The latter has always felt more propitious to me, light of the exhaustion of Christmas and with the weather still on our side. Last week, when the Pavlovian response to buying new stationery (for my kids) kicked in, I found myself following a rote impulse to sort my life out by replacing the bag in the vacuum cleaner and committing to an unsustainable course of personal change. This is it! The beginning of a new way of life, driven by sharp pencils and the crispness of autumn. I mean, it won’t last. But while most of us have read enough advisories cautioning against new year resolutions as durable, somehow September still promises the earth. I can’t shake it. As soon as the breeze picks up and the leaves start to turn, I feel my pilot light ignite – and the urge to sign up to unaffordable personal training sets in. It feels like an ancient response. I’m not writing this while leaning on a dry stone wall or managing my sheepdogs, but still; the sensory changes brought in by autumn surely activate latent energies in all of us. If you can avoid pumpkin spice and survive the costume search for Halloween, September triggers good feelings of renewal via the psychic memory of our serf forebears bringing in the harvest. Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...