Environment

• Climate crisis | The Guardian2026-10-15✓ Read

  Severe drought declared in six areas of England as reservoirs run low

  Some reservoirs in south-east and south-west at critically low levels as water companies call for non-essential user bans on businesses A severe drought has been declared in six areas of England with some reservoirs at critically low levels, threatening public supplies. Parts of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex have moved into severe drought, and urgent measures are being taken to secure public supplies of water after the UK experienced its hottest summer on record. Continue reading

  C
• Inside Climate News2026-10-15✓ Read

  As Wildfires Intensify, Communities Have a Bigger Role to Play

  As France confronts increasingly destructive wildfires, researchers say its largely top-down approach leaves residents with little role in preparing for them. In parts of the U.S., communities are experimenting with a different approach.By Alissa de Chassey On July 22, Aurélie Filleau and her husband were given 10 minutes to get their children and a few possessions into the car before evacuating their house in Le Porge, a town near Bordeaux, France.

  I
• Inside Climate News2026-10-15✓ Read

  Texas Land Commissioner Treads Carefully as Trump Border Wall Advances on State Property

  Dawn Buckingham has long supported President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. But now the federal government plans to build a wall on cherished state land.By Martha Pskowski Border wall construction in the Big Bend region puts Republican Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham in a bind: back President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda or respond to growing bipartisan opposition to the wall.

  I
• Inside Climate News2026-10-15✓ Read

  Regenerative Growers in Florida Aim to Improve Soil for Health of Food, Environment, Consumers and Workers

  The broad set of practices is becoming more popular at a time when climate change is stressing the state’s land—and the people who work on it.By Sara Pepitone Blueberries, green beans, yellow squash, red onions, purple cabbage, oranges. At markets across Florida, colorful produce signals freshness and nutrition and attracts consumers.

  I
• Climate crisis | The Guardian2026-10-15✓ Read

  ‘I am still a child, it cannot be good to be married’: how drought forces Afghan families to sell girls as brides

  As climate breakdown pushes families to starvation, many feel forced to ‘sacrifice’ daughters to save siblings. Photographer Elise Blanchard travelled the country speaking to girls as young as eight, 10 and 14 who have been engaged or married to repay debts or pay for food

  C
• Nature Climate Change2026-10-15✓ Read

  Warming oceans hit the battlefield

  Nature Climate Change, Published online: 15 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02782-y Marine radar signal propagation is highly sensitive to fine-scale vertical changes in water vapour. Now research shows that long-term increases in sea surface temperatures are strengthening the frequency and intensity of the features that allow radar signals to travel further than expected.

  N
• Nature Climate Change2026-10-15✓ Read

  Prioritizing demand-side use of clean hydrogen for cost-effective mitigation

  Nature Climate Change, Published online: 15 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02763-1 Clean hydrogen is widely proposed for hard-to-abate sector decarbonization, but its limited supply requires prioritizing sectors with the highest value. This study evaluates ten sectors and identifies key no-regret uses, while highlighting the need for specific demand-side policies.

  N
• Nature Climate Change2026-10-15✓ Read

  Combining climate policy instruments for a just transition to a climate-neutral economy

  Nature Climate Change, Published online: 15 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02757-z A distributional analysis of European Union climate policy pathways traces the costs of reducing carbon dioxide emissions to the level of households based on their spending and income patterns. We find that different equity considerations, including income inequality and within-group impact divergence, can shape optimal climate policy design with carbon prices, transfers, standards and subsidies.

  N
• Nature Climate Change2026-10-15✓ Read

  High wind speed reduces water use efficiency across terrestrial ecosystems

  Nature Climate Change, Published online: 15 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02781-z The role of wind in ecosystem water use efficiency remains unclear. The authors show that water use efficiency declines with increasing wind speed, driven mainly by increases in evapotranspiration and secondarily by reductions in gross primary productivity.

  N
• Nature Climate Change2026-10-15✓ Read

  Warming-driven lower-tropospheric stratification intensifies ducting over global oceans

  Nature Climate Change, Published online: 15 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02774-y Atmospheric ducts are waveguides that affect electromagnetic propagation in the atmosphere, affecting radar and other technologies. Here the authors show that warming intensifies such ducting over mid- to low-latitude oceans.

  N
• Inside Climate News2026-10-14✓ Read

  Isaias Made It To Birmingham. The Consequences Were Deadly

  Devolin “Bobo” Webster was killed by a falling tree as the remnants of Hurricane Isaias swept through Alabama. His death illustrates the dangers tropical systems pose far inland.By Lee Hedgepeth BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—It’s hard to forget Uncle Bobo.

  I
• Inside Climate News2026-10-14✓ Read

  New York Candidates for Governor Clash Over Energy Policy

  High utility bills, the state’s clean energy transition and data centers’ growing electricity needs emerged as flashpoints during a gubernatorial debate.By Lauren Dalban Incumbent New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman clashed over high energy costs in the state’s only gubernatorial debate, offering sharply different visions for how to keep electricity affordable as demand rises.

  I
• Inside Climate News2026-10-14✓ Read

  How Rewilding Could Help Atoll Islands Keep Pace With Rising Seas

  Healthy ecosystems may give some of the world’s most vulnerable islands a better shot at survival, new research shows.By Bob Berwyn Coral-fringed tropical atolls are among the landforms most threatened by global warming, but many have a potential superpower: Healthy ecosystems may help them keep pace with rising seas.

  I
• Inside Climate News2026-10-14✓ Read

  Climate Change Is Increasing Simultaneous Exposure to Heat Waves and Wildfire Smoke

  Heat and wildfire smoke are dangerous on their own. A new study says more people are facing both at once.By Katie Surma More than 1 billion people per year were exposed to heat waves and fire pollution at the same time from 2010-2019, a sharp jump from the decade before it, according to a new study that highlights the growing public health crisis caused by global warming.

  I
• Climate crisis | The Guardian2026-10-14✓ Read

  For the future of green politics, look beyond the Green party | Zoe Williams

  Environmentalists of all political hues must find the language and ideas that turn passion for climate action into impetus, says Guardian columnist Zoe Williams

  C
• Climate crisis | The Guardian2026-10-14✓ Read

  Plan unveiled to increase share of land farmed organically in England to 10%

  Government says ambition for 2036 will be good for food and climate resilience, but concerns remain over funding The government has set an ambition to increase the share of English land farmed organically to 10% by 2036, but concerns remain over how the transition will be funded. Currently, just 3.4% of England’s agricultural land is farmed organically, one of the smallest shares in Europe. France, for example, farms 10.4% of its land organically, and aims to increase this to 18% by 2027. Continue reading

  C
• Inside Climate News2026-10-14✓ Read

  New Study Reveals Clues About the Origins of Nepal’s Deadly Flood

  Using seismic data from Nepal and China, researchers identified dozens of small seismic events in the weeks before the August rock-and-ice collapse and ensuing flood.By Alissa de Chassey A new study in the journal Seismica presents the first comprehensive seismic analysis of what happened during the disastrous flood in Nepal on Aug. 26. But exactly what triggered the mountainside to give way remains unclear.

  I
• Climate crisis | The Guardian2026-10-14✓ Read

  Is it really ‘madness’ to account for emissions from fossil fuels burned overseas? The Coalition sure thinks so |Temperature Check

  The emissions might occur elsewhere, but they generate global harm that scientists can now quantify The Coalition has come up with the perfect solution to deal with the climate pollution from when Australian fossil fuels are burned overseas. We should either just pretend they don’t exist, or ignore the reason why people are concerned about them, even if those people include a majority of high court judges or the international court of justice.

  C
• Climate crisis | The Guardian2026-10-14✓ Read

  I work for a major insurer. Much of my industry is fudging the numbers in the face of the climate crisis | Anonymous

  Insurers are taking on more risk than they should. If – or when – a major disaster hits, the catastrophe will have far-reaching consequences, says an anonymous modeller and whistleblower

  C
• Inside Climate News2026-10-14✓ Read

  The Fire Retardant in the Seafood Chain

  A chemical additive helped stop fishmeal from catching fire on ships, but it carried a downstream carcinogenic risk to modern food systems.By Ian Urbina This story is part of an investigation conducted by an international team of journalists based at The Outlaw Ocean Project. Read the other stories here.

  I

Know a source we’re missing? Tell us about it