Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Isaias strengthens to become first Atlantic hurricane of 2026 season

admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 09:59:06 +0000

Storm expected to make landfall on US’s northern Gulf coast with risk of flash floods and isolated river flooding

Isaias has become the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2026 season, with wind speeds of 80mph and a minimum pressure of 975mb. It is expected to strengthen further into a category 2 hurricane before approaching the US’s northern Gulf coast on Friday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Week in wildlife: a friendly seal, a furious goldcrest and ‘the swanfather’

admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 07:00:41 +0000

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

Tories overstate net zero cost by nearly £500bn in apparent spreadsheet error

admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 06:00:41 +0000

Exclusive: Badenoch’s flagship conference policy document cites £957bn estimate, twice the total in climate advisers’ data

Kemi Badenoch’s flagship party conference policy document overestimated the cost of net zero by nearly £500bn, seemingly after someone accidentally double-counted figures on a spreadsheet.

Revealed: the ‘black box’ wastewater trade that rakes in millions for UK utility companies

admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 05:00:39 +0000

Exclusive: Firms made more than £340m last year from processing industrial and commercial wastewater at sewage works that are unable to remove many chemical pollutants

Water companies in the UK made more than £340m in revenue last year by pouring billions of litres of industrial and commercial wastewater into sewage treatment works that experts say are not designed to remove most chemicals, leaving pollutants to pass into rivers, seas and farmland.

How a plant selfie in Colombian jungle led to ‘jaw dropping’ giant waterlily find

admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 04:00:37 +0000

Species with leaves large enough to be seen from space is already critically endangered – and plans are afoot to protect it

A chance social media encounter has led to the race-against-time discovery of a new species of giant waterlily that has until now been hidden in the depths of Colombia’s jungle.

But the plant, which is so huge it is visible from space, is already considered critically endangered.

MoD has objected to four windfarms in past year over radar interference fears

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:00:24 +0000

Complaints risks putting defence ministry on collision course with Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

The Ministry of Defence has objected to at least four planned windfarms in the past year over fears the spinning blades could cause “unacceptable interference” with radars used to detect military aircraft.

MoD officials raised concerns in late June over plans for an onshore windfarm in County Durham that could result in aircraft “not being detected” within an RAF Low Flying Area, according to a letter to Britain’s planning authority.

Scientists discover 180,000 giant tortoises on one Seychelles island

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:11:53 +0000

Free-roaming Aldabra population far exceeds human population of Seychelles after decades-long recovery programme

A survey of the world’s largest free-roaming giant tortoise population has discovered that the once endangered species is thriving.

A population of Aldabra giant tortoises lives on an island in Seychelles called Aldabra Atoll.

Can hope save the planet? An endangered parrot that is beating the odds can help us find out | Helen Pilcher

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:05:53 +0000

A new global biodiversity report strikes an encouraging note. But we cannot rest on our laurels – and resilience is key

The new Living Planet Report is out. Published every two years, it assesses the health of the natural world and, historically, it’s made for gloomy reading.

As monarch butterflies migrate for the fall, meet the Chicago woman trying to protect them

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 11:00:18 +0000

Claudia Galeno-Sánchez has turned her home into a sanctuary for the insects by planting native milkweed and wildflowers – and sharing her experience

Along the concrete streets of Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, a vividly colored home stands out among the rest.

Over the past few years, Claudia Galeno-Sánchez has transformed her modest family home, which she shares with her husband and two children, into a sanctuary and educational space dedicated to the monarch butterfly.

July 2026 was worst on record for wildfires in England, data shows

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 10:34:34 +0000

Devastating blaze near Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk among a record 624 wildfires in July this year

This July was the worst on record for wildfires in England, provisional data shows, with England experiencing a clear upward trend in the total number of wildfires recorded.