Another fun chart. Gift link to column with lots more: www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The powerful fires scorching France and Spain are breaking records - and there are still months to go in the fire season go.nature.com/4xaW2Yn

Fires in Europe are breaking records: here’s what the future holds

Nature - Countries such as Spain and France can expect fire regimes more like those of California as climate change favours hot, dry conditions, scientists suggest.

go.nature.com

Summary of Progress in the Implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework bit.ly/KM-GBF-Asses... Source: SBSTTA. (2026). State of biodiversity action: Global report on collective progress in the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (2nd draft).

2026 El Niño models continue their inexorable march upwards. CanSIPS (which used to be among the cooler ones!) released their August runs today, and now show a Nov/Dec peak of 3.6C (CanESM5) and 4.2C (GEM-NEMO). For reference, the prior record El Niño peaked at 2.8C.

Liber Ero postdoc deadline Nov 1. Exceptional opportunity for research in conservation in Canada - highly competitive, best to have gov't and Indigenous partners liberero.ca

From early May to mid-July 2026, soil moisture conditions deteriorated across France. Copernicus helps monitor these conditions and supports authorities with preparedness and early warning activities. This animation shows drier than usual conditions expanding and intensifying over time.

📣 Upcoming online short course on the resilience of urban social-ecological-technological systems (SETS) 🏙️🌱 🗓️ 19-23 October 2026 📚 Online (2-3 synchronous sessions per day) ⚠️ Apply by 8 September 2026 ℹ️ Learn more and apply: socses.org/short-courses/

Yesterday afternoon 14:09 in Lacanau Océan in France. A pale red sun through the smoke tinged everything in Mars style orange. Welcome in the climate emergency! Despite all denial of the fossil fuel lobby, it’s scientific fact: CO2 emissions heat up Earth & make fires worse. 🔥🔥🔥

“The fires that are hitting our country have reached a level that has never been seen before” France’s PM Sébastien Lecornu "...successive heatwaves that dried out vegetation, making it easier for blazes to start and spread." giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

"The Colorado River’s largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, have declined to their lowest combined levels on record. Researchers say the new low underscores the urgent need to cut water use in the seven states that depend on the river." www.latimes.com/environment/...

'A five-alarm fire': Western reservoirs that supply California fall to record low levels

The Colorado River's largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, have declined to the lowest combined levels on record. Researchers say this underscores the urgent need to cut water use.

latimes.com

Climate change does not cause wildfires, but hot and dry conditions make them much more likely to spread. In Canada, 9 of the 10 worst wildfire years were both dryer and hotter than normal. And these fires are burning in areas that were historically not managed or suppressed.

I’m a little embarrassed to post this for the academic crowd, but in case anybody is interested about how things are sometimes done over here: “A few basic things I’ve learned about catastrophe and climate risk modeling after four years in the insurance industry.” www.wtwco.com/en-us/insigh...

“In an unsettled world, the Nordic countries are very attractive...In the Nordics, you can breathe, you can do things, not just lie in the shade because it is too hot ” Hedda Felin, CEO Hurtigruten, Norwegian travel company giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Graphs showing cumulative area burned and carbon emissions in Ontario. Note in terms of area burned 2021 is the top spot but 2026 is top spot in terms of carbon emissions. Both are correct. The reason for this is that the 2026 fires are more severe - consumed more biomass (greater depth of burn).

“…bonds linked to thermal coal are now too risky to sit on its balance sheet, as an international shift away from dirty fossil fuels towards greener energy could end up wiping out their value” www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Bank of England to stop accepting bonds linked to coal for key loans

Campaigners hope move will will force commercial banks to rethink holding assets linked to the fossil fuel

theguardian.com

Wildfire smoke exposure and mortality burden in the USA under climate change Qiu+ doi.org/10.1038/s415... "When monetized, climate-driven smoke deaths result in economic damages that exceed existing estimates of climate-driven damages from all other causes combined in the USA"

Wildfire smoke exposure and mortality burden in the USA under climate change - Nature

Smoke PM2.5 could result in 71,420 excess deaths per year in the USA by 2050 under the SSP3-7.0 high-warming scenario.

doi.org

Smoke from Canadian #wildfires affecting Great Lakes/NE US in recent days predicted to continue out to the N Atlantic in the #CopernicusAtmosphere aerosol optical depth forecast from 16 July 00z atmosphere.copernicus.eu/charts/packa... @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social @ecmwf.int

Our 2026 fire season was quiet, and just like the rapid transition from winter to summer (bypassing spring) in much Canada, our fire season went from quiet to crazy full on. Rapid increase in area burned (and smoke) from fires in the NWT and QC and more recently ON. See hot spot graph below

‘LHS 1140b has all the ingredients for a habitable environment: a relatively rocky planet, a temperature that supports liquid water, and an atmosphere to prevent the water from escaping…’

Earth-like exoplanet could have life-supporting water on its surface

Scientists discover the first confirmed atmosphere in habitable zone outside our solar system on LHS 1140b

theguardian.com

A blanket of wildfire smoke transformed skies across Ontario and Quebec, creating an eerie glow for many residents. See the stunning photos: https://ow.ly/Ln3F50ZnCiF

PHOTOS: Blanket of wildfire smoke creates eerie skies in Ontario and Quebec - The Weather Network

Surface-level smoke from wildfires has infiltrated the skies over parts of Ontario and Quebec, making for orange, yellowish and/or hazy scenery

ow.ly

“…political appointees at federal agencies will have the power to review research grants to ensure they “demonstrably advance the President’s priorities” and to abruptly terminate those, even ongoing clinical trials, perceived as out of line” www.ft.com/content/e003...

Trump is driving another nail into the coffin of US science

Under proposed reforms, political appointees will review grants to ensure they “advance the President’s priorities”

ft.com

Increasing instability of the ocean, ice and atmosphere threatens farming, finance and society. We all need to wake up to that fact go.nature.com/4wLiPda

‘Climate free fall’: why the biggest risk to our economies is yet to be recognized

Increasing instability of the ocean, ice and atmosphere threatens farming, finance and society. We all need to wake up to that fact.

go.nature.com

“Australia has blazed a trail as one of the fastest-growing export markets for Chinese batteries, as part of a rapid shift to domestic renewable energy by one of the world’s largest fossil fuel producers” ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/f28a1ac3-3ab6-4dc0-a807-59ddc8b20468

Australians ‘going gangbusters’ on Chinese batteries in renewable energy shift

Clean energy, backed by storage, now makes up about half of the country’s energy supply

giftarticle.ft.com

79% of major corporations make biodiversity pledges, but only 13% make commitments detailed enough to support accountability. A study assessed 180 transnational corporations and found that biodiversity pledges are increasing but most commitments are too vague to measure progress: buff.ly/BOjR0rn

Scaleup Europe Fund eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-fund/sca... giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... designed to provide large-scale growth capital to European companies "Swedish private equity firm EQT expects the vehicle to exceed its initial €5bn fundraising target"

Scaleup Europe Fund

EIC Fund Investment Guidelines & Approach

eic.ec.europa.eu

Shetland backs plan to connect islands with £1.5bn undersea tunnels www.bbc.com/news/article... inspired by tunnels in Faroes islandstudiesjournal.org/article/1237... where "a massive tunnel-building project started six decades ago aiming to reverse negative demographic trends and outmigration"

Shetland backs 'transformative' £1.5bn plan to replace ferries with tunnels

The undersea links between some of the UK's most northerly islands could be in place within eight years.

bbc.com

‘I know that story’: Líl̓wat-led research project links ancient stories to modern Mount Meager hazards

‘I know that story’: Líl̓wat-led research project links ancient stories to modern Mount Meager hazards

Researchers from SFU and UBC will study landslides, flooding and climate change while centring community knowledge

dlvr.it

"From 2000 to 2025 Africa’s urban population soared from 248m to 829m—or from 32% to 57% of the total ...106 cities have at least 1m people." forecasts "from 2025 to 2050 the physical area of cities in sub-Saharan Africa will grow by 90%" www.economist.com/middle-east-...

“Unlike most weapons systems, which were designed by arms experts and military men, most new Ukrainian weapons are being developed by people like me who have never built a weapon before—people more likely to think about ease of use and user safety”-Iryna Terekh washingtonmonthly.com/2026/06/01/c...

Could the Tide Be Turning in Ukraine?

Kyiv’s growing long-range strike capacity showcases its growing military might and determination to end dependence on Western allies.

washingtonmonthly.com

Over 70 years and across the globe, falling birth rates haven't slowed growth. Scarcity of young workers spurs labor-saving innovation, raising GDP per working-age adult and wages, from Daron Acemoglu, David Autor, Keelan Beirne, and Andrew Scott www.nber.org/papers/w35401