Breaking Waves: Ocean News

My child and I were bonding over our hit-and-miss approach to reaping crops. But with heatwaves pushing more of Britain into drought, it’s starting to feel like a luxury we can’t afford For the first time in my life, I live in a home that has real outdoor space. What a concept! There are no downsides to a garden. Back in spring, I made grand plans – I watched all the TikToks, I bought seeds and trays and pots and grow bags, I ordered soil, a trowel and a watering can. I knew what I was after: super-tiny-scale subsistence farming with a side of Zen. A little fruit, a little veg, lots of flowers to attract pollinators. And I knew I wanted my elder child to gain an understanding of how things come to be and how to cope if and when they fail. We love a tomato side salad, so that was the first thing we attempted. The seedlings flourished and then died in the first heatwave of the season. An omen, surely. The dahlias, ranunculus and freesias refused to grow, let alone bloom. My enthusiasm began to wane. Continue reading...

PM touts ban on disposable barbecues as areas hit by wildfires – but some Labour MPs will be hoping for more ambitious ideas to tackle crisis Just 20 of 6,600 Defra staff working on climate adaptation amid drought and wildfires UK heatwave live – latest updates Andy Burnham will chair an emergency Cobra meeting in response to the extreme heat, which has caused wildfires and plunged many parts of Britain into drought. The prime minister will meet ministers, officials and agencies as high temperatures continue across the UK, with 33C forecast on Wednesday and up to 38C on Thursday. Continue reading...

Rio Tinto said in December it may cease operations at the Tomago aluminium smelter at the end of its current electricity supply contract Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Anthony Albanese and the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, will mount a major bailout of Australia’s largest aluminium smelter, in a deal worth $2.5bn. Resources giant Rio Tinto said in December it was contemplating ceasing operations at the Tomago aluminium smelter, located north-west of Newcastle, at the end of its current electricity supply contract. Continue reading...

Verdant thinktank says cost could top £25bn a year by 2030 and calls for maximum temperature for working and urban redesign to cool down cities Repeated debilitating heatwaves this summer are likely to have cost the UK economy more than £4bn in lost economic output by the end of July, new analysis shows. Green thinktank Verdant had suggested June’s unseasonally hot weather had an economic cost of £2.36bn. Updating its assessment to include last month’s high temperatures, it finds a £4.4bn hit to output. Continue reading...