Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves/index.php en Rising microplastics in soil a threat to UK food security, MPs and campaigners say https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/rising-microplastics-soil-threat-uk-food-security-mps-and-campaigners-say <p>Report calls for legally binding targets to cut microplastic pollution as soil ‘is a complex living ecosystem’</p> <p>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.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/rising-microplastics-soil-threat-uk-food-security-mps-and-campaigners-say" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 31 Aug 2026 23:01:38 +0000 admin 104432 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org How intense rains in the Grand Canyon turned into a deadly disaster https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/how-intense-rains-grand-canyon-turned-deadly-disaster <p>Flash flooding in Arizona tourist destination was likely triggered by compounding climate factors, such as drought and warming in Pacific Ocean</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/31/grand-canyon-flash-flood-phantom-ranch">Remote Grand Canyon lodge hit by deadly flash flood boasts fabled history</a></p> </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/how-intense-rains-grand-canyon-turned-deadly-disaster" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 31 Aug 2026 22:02:05 +0000 admin 104431 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Remote Grand Canyon lodge hit by deadly flash flood boasts fabled history https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/remote-grand-canyon-lodge-hit-deadly-flash-flood-boasts-fabled-history <p>Phantom Ranch, set up by Teddy Roosevelt, has welcomed exhausted hikers to its famed cabins for over a century</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/31/grand-canyon-storms-flash-flood">Two dead and nearly 80 rescued after Grand Canyon flash flood</a></p> </li> </ul> <p>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.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/remote-grand-canyon-lodge-hit-deadly-flash-flood-boasts-fabled-history" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 31 Aug 2026 21:12:24 +0000 admin 104430 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Two people dead and nearly 80 rescued after Grand Canyon flash flood https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/two-people-dead-and-nearly-80-rescued-after-grand-canyon-flash-flood <p>Officials say one person still unaccounted for as forecast heavy rain and thunderstorms threaten further flooding</p> <p>A <a href="https://x.com/GrandCanyonNPS/status/2094450492357185935">second death was confirmed</a> by National Park Service officials on Monday after <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/30/grand-canyon-flash-flood-arizona-people-missing-evacuated">a flash flood</a> sent a surge of water and debris through an area of the Grand Canyon over the weekend.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/two-people-dead-and-nearly-80-rescued-after-grand-canyon-flash-flood" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:03:47 +0000 admin 104429 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Ben Jennings on the end of the UK summer – cartoon https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/ben-jennings-end-uk-summer-cartoon <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2026/aug/31/ben-jennings-uk-summer-homes-flooding-met-office-drought-cartoon">Continue reading...</a></p> Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:12:47 +0000 admin 104427 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Border area between Nepal and China where 33 Australians are missing still almost entirely cut off https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/border-area-between-nepal-and-china-where-33-australians-are-missing-still-almost-enti <p>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</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/sep/01/nepal-tibet-flooding-missing-australians-penny-wong-anthony-albanese-pacific-islands-forum-liberal-national-coalition-one-nation-politics-reactions-ntwnfb">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></p> </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/border-area-between-nepal-and-china-where-33-australians-are-missing-still-almost-enti" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:00:28 +0000 admin 104426 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org The datacentre power spat highlights a hidden truth: we’re not building renewables fast enough to meet our needs | Alison Reeve https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/datacentre-power-spat-highlights-hidden-truth-we-re-not-building-renewables-fast-enoug <p>A battle over datacentre power sources is only part of the picture. Australia needs a much bigger electricity system to meet all future demand</p> <p>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.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/datacentre-power-spat-highlights-hidden-truth-we-re-not-building-renewables-fast-enoug" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:00:27 +0000 admin 104428 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Cross-party talks needed to tackle climate crisis, say Lib Dems https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/cross-party-talks-needed-tackle-climate-crisis-say-lib-dems <p>Andy Burnham urged to seek consensus over response to extreme heat and forthcoming ‘super El Niño’</p> <p>Andy Burnham should call a cross-party meeting to discuss the UK’s response to worsening extreme weather, including the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/27/el-nino-climate-patterns-fossil-fuels">forthcoming ‘super El Niño’</a>, the Liberal Democrats have said.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/cross-party-talks-needed-tackle-climate-crisis-say-lib-dems" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 31 Aug 2026 11:48:23 +0000 admin 104425 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org US man says ‘hold tight’ to loved ones after wife and toddler killed by lightning https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/us-man-says-hold-tight-loved-ones-after-wife-and-toddler-killed-lightning <p>Kameron Glasgow of Florida honors wife Kenya and daughter Kennedi at local vigil after last week’s tragedy</p> <p>A <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/florida">Florida</a> man whose wife and toddler daughter were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/25/mother-daughter-killed-lightning-florida">killed by a lightning strike</a> while he was near them recently has implored people to “hold … tight” to their loved ones.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/us-man-says-hold-tight-loved-ones-after-wife-and-toddler-killed-lightning" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 31 Aug 2026 10:00:24 +0000 admin 104424 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Bhutan hosts first ‘conscious food summit’ amid threats to global supplies https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/bhutan-hosts-first-conscious-food-summit-amid-threats-global-supplies <p>Organisers say people must revive spiritual relationship with food amid double threat of climate crisis and conflict</p> <p>Mending the broken food system under the threat of climate-driven weather extremes will require more than economic fixes and intensive agriculture, according to the organisers of a pioneering summit this week, who say the world must revive its spiritual relationship with food.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/bhutan-hosts-first-conscious-food-summit-amid-threats-global-supplies" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:38:18 +0000 admin 104423 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org