Breaking Waves: Ocean News

‘The most dangerous day’: bushfires break out in Victoria as BoM warns of catastrophic conditions to come

admin — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 04:12:36 +0000

Temperatures recorded by Thursday lunchtime included 44.9C at Tarcoola in SA, 45.8C at Hopetoun airport in Victoria, 43.7C at Paraburdoo, WA and 43C at Hay, NSW

Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

Outrage as Trump withdraws from key UN climate treaty along with dozens of international organisations

admin — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 02:50:16 +0000

Experts decry move to leave UNFCCC as ‘embarrassing’ as president orders withdrawal from 66 international groups

Donald Trump has sparked outrage by announcing the US will exit the foundational international agreement to address the climate crisis, cementing the US’s utter isolation from the global effort to confront dangerously escalating temperatures.

Fly-arousing orchid and zombie fungus among 2025 botanical and fungal finds

admin — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:01:52 +0000

Scientists also name an overlooked snowdrop growing in the UK and a fruit that tastes like banana and guava

A zombie fungus that springs from a trapdoor and a flame-like shrub named after the fire demon in the Studio Ghibli film Howl’s Moving Castle are among the species of plant and fungi named by scientists in 2025.

What should Australians do when the heat is on? | Fiona Katauskas

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 23:44:44 +0000

It might be time to face some cold, hard facts

See more of Fiona Katauskas’s cartoons here

Smaller farms in England to be prioritised for nature funding, minister to announce

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 22:30:50 +0000

Emma Reynolds is expected to say an application window for the Sustainable Farming Incentive will be opened to smaller and new farms first

Smaller farms will be prioritised for nature funding, the environment secretary is to announce, in a shake-up of post-EU nature subsidies.

Emma Reynolds is expected to tell the Oxford Farming Conference on Thursday that in June an application window for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) will be opened solely for smaller farms and new entrants to the scheme, with larger farms only allowed to apply from September.

Indian police raid home of environmental activists over anti-fossil fuel campaign

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 17:52:54 +0000

Sarat Sampada founders Harjeet Singh and Jyoti Aswati say allegations are ‘baseless, biased and misleading’

Police have raided the home of one of India’s leading environmental activists over claims his campaigning for a treaty to cut the use of fossil fuels was undermining the national interest.

Investigators from India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) claim Harjeet Singh and his wife, Jyoti Awasthi, co-founders of Satat Sampada (Nature Forever), were paid almost £500,000 to advocate for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty (FFNPT).

Indian police raid home of environmental activists over anti-fossil fuel campaign

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 17:52:54 +0000

Sarat Sampada founders Harjeet Singh and Jyoti Aswati say allegations are ‘baseless, biased and misleading’

Police have raided the home of one of India’s leading environmental activists over claims his campaigning for a treaty to cut the use of fossil fuels was undermining the national interest.

The LA wildfire victims still living in toxic homes: ‘We have nowhere else to go’

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 11:00:13 +0000

A year after the Eaton fire, residents returning to Altadena confront lingering contamination and little official clarity

One year on from the Eaton fire, long after the vicious winds that sent embers cascading from the San Gabriel mountains and the flames that swallowed entire streets, a shadow still hangs over Altadena.

Construction on new properties is under way, and families whose homes survived the fire have begun to return. But many are grappling with an urgent question: is it safe to be here?

We study glaciers. ‘Artificial glaciers’ and other tech may halt their total collapse | Brent Minchew and Colin Meyer

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 11:00:11 +0000

How might we prevent sea-level rise? Satellite-based radar, solar-powered drones, robot submarines and lab-based ‘artificial glaciers’ could all play a role

Specieswatch: tough times for reindeer as rain increases in warming Arctic

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 06:00:34 +0000

When rain falls on snow it creates a layer of ice that impedes feeding, which in turn has reduced herds’ birthrates

Reindeer survive typically harsh Arctic winters by using their specially adapted hooves to scrape through the snow to nibble on the lichen and moss below. But paradoxically a warming climate is making it harder for them to reach this food, and research shows it has led to a drop in reindeer birthrates.