National Trust says latest figures encouraging – with numbers of birds on the rise – but work still to be done
England’s most important tern colonies are showing signs of recovery after being hit by years of bird flu, flooding and increasingly unpredictable weather, new figures from the National Trust reveal.
The trust reported record numbers of little terns at Long Nanny in Northumberland, one of the UK’s most important breeding sites for what is the country’s second-rarest breeding seabird.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
09/29/2026 - 23:00
09/29/2026 - 21:02
A record 157,957 new EVs were sold nationally between January and June, according to the Electric Vehicle Council
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Australians are buying electric vehicles at record levels, with sales more than doubling year on year and occurring at a rate equivalent to one EV sold every 100 seconds.
A record 157,957 EV sales occurred between January and June – an 117% increase on the same period last year, according to a new report released by the Electric Vehicle Council.
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09/29/2026 - 19:00
Coverage levels fall a million square kilometres short of the long-term average, with global heating likely driving losses
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Antarctica’s winter sea ice has peaked at its third-lowest level on record, falling a million square kilometres – or almost 400,000 square miles – short of the long-term average, scientists have confirmed.
Confirmation of the peak meant the four lowest years on record for the continent’s sea ice – a vital component of the planet’s climate and critical for marine life – had all occurred in the past four years.
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09/29/2026 - 11:28
Federal workers’ union alleges EPA illegally terminated agreement with the goal of repressing political dissent
The union representing more than 8,000 workers at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a lawsuit against the agency and administrator Lee Zeldin on Tuesday alleging the agency illegally terminated the union’s collective bargaining agreement.
The lawsuit, filed by two local unions of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), claims the agency failed to justify the contract’s termination and was motivated by a desire to repress political dissent, a violation of the employees’ first amendment rights.
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09/29/2026 - 10:19
District judge orders record fine for region and says incidents of pollution cannot be tolerated
A water company has been ordered to pay a record fine of almost £8m for hundreds of sewage spills at popular bathing spots and sensitive habitats in Cornwall and Devon.
On one occasion, untreated sewage gushed through a harbour wall on a bank holiday weekend but South West Water (SWW) engineers took 10 hours to attend.
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09/29/2026 - 08:00
Utility disconnections were up 28% in 10 states in July 2026 – the hottest month ever recorded in the US – compared with July 2024, data shows
A record hot summer collided unhappily with rising energy costs for households across the US that struggled to the point where many were disconnected from their electricity supply, even as dangerous heat baked their communities.
In July, the hottest month ever recorded in the US, 173,598 households were shut off from their electric supply by utilities across 10 states, figures provided to the Guardian show. This snapshot of American life points to a worsening problem, with the rate of electricity disconnections surging 28% compared to July 2024.
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09/29/2026 - 07:00
If more cities start regulating outdoor lighting, we humans could make the environment better for all living creatures
Every night, I can turn off the lights in my room – but I can’t do anything about the outdoor lights in the walkway or parking lot that leak through the curtains. Living in Portland, where the night is still illuminated by street lights, porch lights and parking lot glare, I forgot what it actually feels like to sleep in darkness.
I was excited when I realized my travels to a residency in south-east Oregon would show me a sky I hadn’t experienced in decades. In the Oregon outback, part of the International Dark Sky Places network, I would be surrounded by 2.5m acres of unpolluted night in every direction.
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09/29/2026 - 04:28
Amanda Blanc says flooding threat is ‘absolutely increasing’, as she also warns ministers over ‘kite flying’ before budget
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The boss of Britain’s biggest insurer has said that homes being built now in England could become uninsurable in the future because they are sited in flood-risk areas.
Amanda Blanc, the chief executive of Aviva, said the flooding threat was “absolutely increasing”.
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09/29/2026 - 01:00
Food and Agriculture Organization urges governments to make forest restoration a national priority
The world faces a “narrowing window” to restore forests essential for food security and resistance to the climate emergency, a United Nations report has warned.
More than 489m hectares (1.2bn acres) of forests have been cleared since 1990, while an even greater area is degraded, the world body said in a call for governments to make forest restoration a national priority.
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09/29/2026 - 00:00
Indigenous communities play crucial role, as ‘genetic bank’ area of wetland offers hope for critically endangered reptile
In the 1990s, conservationists in Cambodia feared the Siamese crocodile had disappeared for good. Fishing and hunting had devastated the species throughout the 20th century, leaving populations across its native south-east Asia on the brink of extinction.
But in villages dotted among the wetlands of the remote Cardamom mountains, Indigenous Chorng communities still reported seeing them. Passing this knowledge to researchers surveying the area in 2000 led to an official recording of the species – and bolstered the mission to revive the population.
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