CO2 in air hit new high last year, with scientists concerned natural land and ocean carbon sinks are weakening
Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere soared by a record amount in 2024 to hit another high, UN data shows, deepening the climate crisis that is already taking lives and livelihoods across the world.
Scientists are worried that the natural land and ocean “sinks” that remove CO2 from the air are weakening as a result of global heating, which could form a vicious circle and drive temperatures up even faster.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
10/15/2025 - 05:33
Chancellor accused of removing environmental protections to win short-term growth and save her budget
UK politics live – latest updates
Last-minute changes to the government’s planning bill have sparked a furious backlash from nature groups who have mounted an attack on the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, over her plans to remove environmental protections.
The changes to the legislation come as it enters its final stages before being signed into law.
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10/15/2025 - 03:00
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year is an annual competition hosted by the Natural History Museum in London, which awards top honours in various categories for outstanding photography
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10/15/2025 - 02:10
The Advertising Standards Authority agrees with River Action that the food safety body’s 2023 advert misled the public
The UK’s advertising watchdog has upheld a complaint that Britain’s biggest farm assurance scheme misled the public in a TV ad about its environmental standards.
The Red Tractor scheme, used by leading supermarkets including Tesco, Asda and Morrisons to assure customers their food meets high standards for welfare, environment, traceability and safety, is the biggest and perhaps best known assurance system in Britain.
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10/15/2025 - 00:22
In today’s newsletter: Flooding is predicted to become so bad that some towns may need to be abandoned, and it’s not even campaigners raising the alarm – but insurers
Good morning. For years, whenever I read about parts of Britain being wrecked by flooding, it always felt like something distant – because until your house is flooded, it’s hard to imagine it happening, isn’t it? Not any more.
According to a Guardian investigation, millions more homes across England, Scotland and Wales are at risk of devastating floods. In England alone, the number of properties exposed to flooding is expected to rise by more than a quarter, from 6.3m to 8m. The story gets worse for those in high-risk areas for flash flooding – which is harder to predict and protect against – where the frequency could surge by up to 66% by 2050. The picture is so bleak that, startlingly, some towns may one day have to be abandoned altogether.
Israel-Gaza war | The fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its first test on Tuesday when Israel said the flow of aid into the devastated Palestinian territory would be cut by half and the crucial Rafah border crossing with Egypt would not open as planned, blaming Hamas for delays in the return of bodies of hostages.
UK child abuse inquiry | Keir Starmer’s national grooming gangs inquiry has stalled amid wrangles over its remit and difficulties in finding a senior legal figure willing to become its chair, the Guardian has been told.
Economics | The global economy has shown “unexpected resilience” to Donald Trump’s tariffs, but the full impact is yet to be felt, the IMF has warned. The forecast for economic growth in the UK has also been modestly increased, from 1.2% to 1.3% this year – though slightly downgraded next year, also to 1.3%.
Madagascar | Andry Rajoelina, the president of Madagascar, has said he fled the country in fear for his life after a military rebellion but did not announce his resignation in a speech broadcast on social media. They were Rajoelina’s first public comments since the a military unit called Capsat turned against his government in an apparent coup.
Music | D’Angelo, the Grammy-winning R&B singer who helped pioneer the sound of neo-soul, has died after a struggle with pancreatic cancer. He was 51.
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10/15/2025 - 00:00
Botanist trying to conserve highly vulnerable rhizanthella that survives by feeding on nutrients from a fungus
Rhizanthella is an extraordinary orchid that lives its entire life underground. It flowers below ground, has no leaves and survives by feeding on nutrients from a fungus that gets its food from the soil and by connecting with roots of the broom bush, Melaleuca uncinata.
Rhizanthella was an international sensation when it was first discovered by a farmer ploughing a field in Western Australia in 1928. It still remains incredibly difficult to find, usually by searching areas with the right habitat and carefully scraping away soil searching for the blooms buried underneath – tiny reddish flowers wrapped in creamy-pink bracts. The blooms also have a heady scent of vanilla, and may be pollinated by termites or tiny flies.
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10/15/2025 - 00:00
Allegations related to flood control projects have sparked widespread anger and protests in the Philippines
Philippine health worker Christina Padora waded through July’s waist-high flood water to check on vaccines and vital medications stored in the village clinic, something she had regularly done during previous typhoons.
But this time she didn’t make it. Taking hold of a metal pole that she failed to see was connected to a live wire, the 49-year-old was fatally electrocuted in the water.
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10/14/2025 - 23:00
Climate advisers warn that current plans to protect against extreme weather are inadequate
Britain must prepare for global heating far in excess of the level scientists have pegged as the limit of safety, the government’s climate advisers have warned, as current plans to protect against extreme weather are inadequate.
Heatwaves will occur in at least four of every five years in England by 2050, and time spent in drought will double. The number of days of peak wildfire conditions in July will nearly treble for the UK, while floods will increase in frequency throughout the year, with some peak river flows increasing by 40%.
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World Ocean Explorer Wins Gold Medal Serious Simulation Award from Serious Play Annual International Competition
10/26/2023 - 14:35
For Immediate Release October 19, 2023
Sedgwick, Maine USA World Ocean Explorer, a 3D virtual aquarium and educational simulation, was recently cited for excellence, winning a Gold Medal Award in the 2023 International Serious Play Awards Program.
World Ocean Explorer is an innovative 3D virtual aquarium designed for educational exploration of the world’s oceans. With interactive exhibits and a lobby space, visitors can immerse themselves in realistic marine environments, including a DEEP SEA exhibit funded by Schmidt Ocean Institute, showcasing unprecedented deep-sea discoveries off Australia. Targeted at 3rd graders and beyond, this immersive experience offers a range of perspectives on the ocean environment and can be explored through guided tours or user-controlled interfaces. Visit DEEP SEA at worldoceanexplorer.org/deep-sea-aquarium.html.
Serious Play Conference brings together professionals who are exploring the use of game-based learning, sharing their experience, and working together to shape the future of training and education. For more information on Serious Play Award Program visit seriousplayconf.com/international-serious-play-award-programs.
World Ocean Explorer is a transformative virtual aquarium designed to deepen understanding of the world ocean and amplify connection for young people worldwide. Organized around the principles of Ocean Literacy and the Next Gen Science Standards, World Ocean Explorer brings the wonder and knowledge of ocean species and systems to students in formal and informal classrooms, absolutely free to anyone with a good Internet connection. As an advocate for the ocean through communications, World Ocean Observatory believes there is no better investment in the future of the sustainable ocean than through a new approach to educational engagement that excites, informs, and motivates students to explore the wonders of our marine world and to understand the pervasive connection and implication for our future, inherent in the protection and conservation of all aspects of our ocean world.
World Ocean Explorer presents an astonishing 3-dimensional simulated aquarium visit, organized to reveal the wonders of undersea life, with layers of detailed data and information to augment the emotional connection made to the astonishing beauty and complexity of the dynamic ocean. Within each of the virtual exhibits, students visit exemplary theme-based sites with myriad opportunities to understand the larger perspectives of scientific knowledge as organized and visualized to dramatize the impact and change on ocean life as a result of natural and human-generated events. Through immersion among displays, mixed media and 3D models, the experience of an aquarium visit will be brought into classrooms or home school environments as a free, accessible, always available opportunity for teaching and learning. All of this will be available to a world audience without physical limitation or cost. World Ocean Explorer, a project of the World Ocean Observatory, receives support from the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, Visual Solutions Lab, the Climate Change Institute, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, and The Fram Museum Oslo. To learn more about the current and future exhibits of World Ocean Explorer, visit worldoceanexplorer.org.
media contact
Trisha Badger, Managing Director, World Ocean Observatory | director@thew2o.net +12077011069
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