Fires being driven by climate change - NOT by rewiliding! www.thetimes.com/uk/weather/a...

England and Wales had driest July on record

The Met Office said it was the most parched July since at least 1836, with some areas getting no rain at all — resulting in droughts, crop damage and wildfires

thetimes.com

There's relatively little evidence tough immigration policies deter people from migration journeys. But Russia/China filling in where UK, US & EU aid abandons nations to conflict and climate threats is clearly us ceding any role in supporting people and managing an increasingly unstable world.

Ceuta is a warning the West cannot ignore

Europe must re-engage with crisis-hit states in the Sahel, where population growth will make mass migration inevitable

thetimes.com

Welcome to the frontpage of the Daily Telegraph* website... * The newspaper that has relentlessly spent the past three decades seeking to belittle climate science and undermine climate action at every turn

There’s a 35-40% chance that the average temperature will hit 2°C above pre-industrial levels for one month next year, projections show, as a result of the fuel a strong El Niño brings to the climate change fire. origin.www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

El Niño May Push Global Warming to 2C or Higher in the Short Term

There’s a 35% chance that the average temperature will hit 2C above pre-industrial levels for one month next year, projections show.

origin.www.bloomberg.com

"It is climate change that sets the timetable for action. Pretending we have the time to move at a more gentle pace is just wishful thinking. We need the force of this military assessment to jerk us back into reality." Lord Deben on warnings of the national security threat posed by climate change.

Climate change is now a national security threat – ministers must act

A leaked military report has warned that prolonged high temperatures and volatility in weather patterns now pose an existential risk to Britain's food security, economy and geopolitical stability. If ...

independent.co.uk

Kokushobi: cruelly hot day. A new term coined by Japan's weather agency to describe extreme heat. Helpful in moving away from the idea that a hot sunny day is just nice weather. Sure, it can be - at mid-20°s C. But high 30°s and 40°s is extreme weather, and it's dangerous. Cruelly hot nails it.

Japan temperatures soar over 40C, marking first 'cruelly hot day'

The term was introduced in April by the weather agency to describe days when temperatures reach 40C.

bbc.co.uk

As Ed Miliband leaves his post as energy and net-zero secretary, a final tally: There have been an incredible 251 newspaper editorials attacking him and his approach to net-zero since the start of 2024 That amounts to two editorials a week, mainly in the Sun, Daily Mail, Times and Daily Telegraph.

Have you noticed an opaqueness to the blue sky this morning? Wildfire smoke from North America is drifting south across the UK, meaning the clear skies may not be as blue as you might expect 🌤️

Weird thing is most testing will show you that one of the most vote losing positions Labour could adopt is explicit anti-Net Zero signalling. This is because climate still disproportionately matters to Lab/Green voters while Lab/Reform voters don’t care either way...

Arieh Kovler@ariehkovler.com · 3w ago

It's kind of weird how watering down Net Zero has become a political litmus test in Labour. Net Zero was in the last TORY manifesto!

LOVE this. On Silly Sausage Britain and our better angels! Well worth a read.

Sofie Jenkinson@sofiejenkinson.bsky.social · 3w ago

So I wrote about it again lads. See what you think. It's just my view of the Britain I think exists. Would love to know yours, and what you think our v specific silly British things are – because there were simply too many good ones to list www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

So, the whole 'but we're just 1% of emissions' argument pushed by those who would argue we needn't act to get to net zero - it's not just a UK thing! A nice piece of analysis of how widespread it is, and what would happen if all the countries where it's found just rolled with it, and gave up!

‘But we’re just 1% of emissions’: do smaller countries’ climate efforts matter?

Past and present leaders of wealthy nations such as UK and Germany have argued their actions are insignificant

theguardian.com

We've been talking about the 1976 heatwave for 50 years! That's when the June heat record was last broken - 35.6°C. But we've hit 36°C this afternoon. Just as MPs are set to debate UK emissions targets to hit net zero - the only scientific way to stop our climate getting hotter and more dangerous.

“News stories about heatwaves often do not mention the influence of climate change or the burning of fossil fuels on increased temperatures – eg 3 in 5 stories during the May heatwave did not – while 2/5 of those about net zero make no mention of climate change."

What happened in Makerfield? Some new constituency polling between @persuasionuk.bsky.social & Convergent (most accurate pollster in the race!), covering among other things: - Burnham assembling a coalition Lab needs nationally - 'Get Starmer out' + 'public ownership' at the centre of it. 🧵👇

The President just said we're on the cusp of a deal with Iran. Today's post explores two fun facts: 1. It's the fiftieth time he's said this. (I counted!) 2. Even so, stocks rose on the news. newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/how-to-pri...

How to Price A Liar

For the 50th time this year, we're on the cusp of peace. Apparently.

newsletter.platypuseconomics.com

Here's a fun job - come and work with us @eciu.net as head of transport. eciu.net/about/vacanc...

Head of Transport Programme

Do you want to help inform how the UK understands and debates transport policy and the role of EVs in the net zero transition?

eciu.net

UK food imports are facing increasing pressure from climate change, as farmers in poorer nations who produce essential supermarket staples are becoming unable to work due to severe heat stress, experts have warned. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

The UK food imports most at risk from ‘El Nino’ heat stress this summer

Coffee, fruit and rice are all at risk

independent.co.uk

As we head into Pride Month, here's one for the 'why do we still need Pride' brigade - sweeping criminalisation of LGBTQ+ rights in Ghana, as it hosts a conference designed to urge the spread of such laws to other African nations. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

People ‘panicking’ as Ghana passes sweeping law criminalising LGBTQ+ activity

Community groups say some fear they could lose homes, jobs and access to healthcare if the new law is ratified by President John Dramani Mahama

theguardian.com

“As the CCC rightly has pointed out, investing in adaptation is very important. But governments also need to double down on net zero, because there will come a point at which we can no longer adapt, which is why decarbonising has to remain at the forefront of everything.”

Record UK heatwave has ‘fingerprints of climate change all over it’

‘It’s clearly exceptional when the May temperature record falls not once but twice in two days’

independent.co.uk

The hottest May Day, breaking the record that was set .... yesterday. Which broke a record that had stood for the previous 82 years. And broken now by a margin of more than 2°C.

Met Office - weather and climate@metoffice.gov.uk · 2mo ago

Today is now the hottest day in May on record with Heathrow and Kew Gardens provisionally reaching 35°C Until yesterday the highest temperature in May was 32.8 °C, but we've now exceeded that record on consecutive days by a full two degrees Celsius 🌡️

We've read the new Code of Practice. Here's what you need to know.

The Code of Practice: what you need to know | Good Law Project

The updated code of practice for services, public functions and associations has been laid before Parliament. Here’s what that means.

goodlaw.social

NEW ANALYSIS: What's going on in Spain? Spain's wholesale electricity price in early 2026: €44/MWh. Italy: €127. Germany: €96. UK: €103. Wind+solar now deliver 44% of generation. Gas sets the price in just 9% of hours, down from 55% in 2022. Full analysis: janrosenow.substack.com/p/spain-just...

Spain just became one of Europe's cheapest power markets. Here is how.

How wind and solar quietly pushed gas off the margin, and the wholesale price followed.

janrosenow.substack.com

"The world's food system is fracturing under the weight of biodiversity loss, climate shocks, and escalating geopolitical conflicts ... These chronic pressures on the intricate global network pose a significant threat to the world economy, society, and even human survival."

World food system could collapse without urgent action, experts warn

One expert argued that humanity is currently driving a ‘mass extinction event’

independent.co.uk

The more clean energy a country has, the less it pays when gas prices spike. The chart shows electricity price sensitivity per €1/MWh rise in gas across EU countries in 2025. @creacleanair.bsky.social energyandcleanair.org/eu-countries...

How depressing that Stonewall should appoint as chair someone whose first thought on being appointed is to defend Rowling’s poisonous and dangerous campaign against trans people’s rights.

‘Things could go backwards’: Kezia Dugdale on safety, LGBTQ+ rights and the future of Stonewall

Exclusive: Former Scottish Labour leader says she feels more scared as a lesbian today and calls for a kinder debate on transgender issues

theguardian.com

Trump "provides a dangerous example of what happens when leaders fail to learn from history. The current crisis offers leaders who reject Trumpism the chance to complete a clean energy transition that started 50 years ago in the wake of a conflict that was both very different & painfully familiar."

The oil shocks of the 1970s transformed the world - this crisis will have an even bigger impact

New paper argues the twin energy shocks triggered by the wars in Ukraine and Iran will hasten the peak in global fossil fuel demand and usher in a new era of electrification

businessgreen.com

Why tipping points are so terrifying. Not only could AMOC collapse plunge northern nations into extreme cold that could limit ability to grow food, but it risks releasing way more CO2 into the atmosphere, and triggering other tipping points, like the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Collapse of key ocean current may release billions of tonnes of carbon

If the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation shut down, the knock-on effects could release hundreds of billions of tonnes of CO2, raising global temperatures even further

newscientist.com

As Hungary votes, would recommend this piece about how Viktor Orban has used public money to bankroll an international ultraconservative network - including Roger Scruton cafes and €10k a month for failed Reform candidate Matt Goodwin democracyforsale.substack.com/p/orbans-brits

What happens to Britain's radical right if Orbán loses?

Inside the money, power and patronage connecting Hungary and the British right

democracyforsale.substack.com

Are we heading for ‘super El Nino’ – and what could we expect?

Are we heading for ‘super El Nino’ – and what could we expect?

Experts say climate pattern could supercharge extreme weather events and push temperatures to record highs

theguardian.com

“A conflict like this is development in reverse ... You will see an enduring impact, especially in the poorer countries, where you push people back into poverty ... often the people who used to be in poverty, got out of it, and are now being pushed back.” Meanwhile, we cut overseas aid...

Iran war could plunge 32 million into poverty, says United Nations

‘Development in reverse’ taking place involving rising energy and food costs and weaker economic growth

theguardian.com