Breaking Waves: Ocean News

August usually sends me into an anxious funk, but I think I’ve worked out how to handle 2026’s terrifying heat and apocalyptic images Unfortunately for hairdressers, “How’s your summer going?” is a loaded question this year. Even basking lizards and barbecue obsessives are wavering in their sun worship as cataclysmic wildfires engulf our nearest neighbours (and threaten the UK), Wales and parts of England experience drought, and farmers issue dire warnings about our food supply in the near future. Rescue centres are filling up with dehydrated hedgehogs and the Environment Agency is having to rescue fish. Lazy, joyful, sunscreen-scented days are giving way to stifling, existentially terrifying ones spent skulking in the dark (assuming you don’t need to be out in the extreme heat, as many workers do), sweatily scrolling through apocalyptic images. Vanity Fair has decreed it’s a “sad-girl summer”, highlighting the female singer-songwriters soundtracking the myriad anxieties of an “undeniably cruel” 2026 season, but it’s not just the girlies who are sad – many of us are struggling and we still have August to survive. How? Continue reading...

Council leaders say crumbling infrastructure and lack of water are jeopardising government’s plans for new homes The government’s housebuilding agenda is hitting the stark reality of a lack of water and crumbling infrastructure across the east and south-east of England. Half the country was declared to be in serious drought this week, for the second consecutive year, with the Environment Agency warning of dire consequences for the economy, environment and wildlife. Continue reading...

In Oregon and Washington, low humidity and powerful winds have put officials on alert for wildfire spread A heatwave scorching the western US region has elevated the risk of hazardous fire conditions particularly in parts of Oregon and Washington, where low humidity and powerful winds have put officials on alert for wildfire spread. The National Weather Service has forecast blistering temperatures through early next week that could climb from 110F to 120F across the south-west. In the Pacific north-west, highs reaching into the 90s are expected in the days to come. Continue reading...

Scientists discovered unusually high water-vapor supersaturation inside deep tropical clouds, creating conditions in which tiny aerosol particles could intensify storm updrafts. The finding suggests earlier studies may have missed the effect because they were looking in the wrong types of clouds.