News in brief: 2nd November - 8th November 2020

The UK's carbon-free future

It is thought that the UK will need specific rules if it is to meet its carbon reduction targets in the future; suggestions are that households appliances will need to have strict standards in energy efficiency, all new homes should be carbon neutral, and new cars should be electric or hybrid

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Raw sewage dumped onto UK beaches

It has become apparent that water companies in the UK have been dumping raw sewage onto bathing beaches around 3,000 times a year; this occurs as a result of overflows after heavy rainfall and there are concerns about the health implications this may have on beach users and sealife

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Danish mink under threat

The Danish government has announced that all mink must be culled after it was suspected that a strain of covid has mutated and passed between cages minks; this is devastating for the mink industry in Denmark but scientists believe that if this does not happen then it will undermine the efforts to find an effective covid vaccine in the future

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News in brief: 14th - 20th September 2020

UK river water quality worsens

The Environment Agency has recently announced that water quality levels in rivers have not improved since the last monitoring figures were released; although water quality has not declined, it is thought that chemicals from farming, sewage discharge, and industries were still higher than desirable and need to be reduced in order to make rivers cleaner for plants and wildlife

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Siberian permafrost thaws out
Areas of Siberian ground that are normally permanently frozen (permafrost) are beginning to thaw out according to scientists who are monitoring the area; as the ground thaws, the soil shifts downwards leaving the landscape covered in lumps and bumps called thermokarsts where water can pool and form lakes

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Greenland ice shelf shatters

A piece of a large ice shelf in Greenland has broken off and shattered into many pieces; the section is thought to be 110 km squared in size and is yet another piece of evidence of rapid climate change in the area which is thought to have warmed by around 3 degrees since 1980

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News in brief: 24th - 30th August 2020

Storm Francis causes widespread flooding

Strong winds and heavy rain brought by Storm Francis has caused widespread flooding across large parts of the UK and particularly Wales; the Met Office put out extreme weather warnings and evacuated people from some areas as wind speeds reached up to 75mph

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Poor wheat harvest pushes up bread prices

The price of bread may rise after the worst wheat harvest in the UK in 40 years; extreme weather has affected crop growth, with flooding causing problems with sowing last autumn and dry spells in the summer limiting nutrient uptake

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Protest over Mauritius oil spill

Thousands of people have gathered to march in protect about the large oil spill off the coast of Mauritius last month; it is thought that around 1,000 tonnes of oil have been spilt into a precious wildlife area, and that the government has done little to clean up the spill or prevent it from happening in the first place
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A good season for butterflies

All the warm weather over spring and summer this year has made it an excellent season for a number of butterfly species; lots of British native species have been seen in abundance although there are still several that are in decline overall
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In pictures - high tide in Mumbai

This picture is just one winner in a competition for environmental photography (Image credit: SL Shanth Kumar)

>> Take a look at more of these pictures; which one is your favourite, and why?

In pictures - drought in Ladybower Reservoir

A depleted Ladybower Reservoir; climate change will make sights like this increasingly common (Image credit: BBC)

>> How does this make you feel about the future? How could we work to conserve water?

News in brief - Tuesday 19th March

Flooding in Mozambique
Cyclone Idai has caused huge areas of Mozambique to become submerged underwater; around 1,000 people are thought to have died after strong winds and heavy rainfall struck the coastal areas at the weekend

Risk of UK water shortages
The Environment Agency is warning that the UK could run out of water within the next 25 years; pressure is being placed on resources because of rising population levels and declining supply due to climate change

The benefits of offshore wind farms
Offshore wind technology in the UK is becoming more cost efficient as turbine designs have rapidly improved; there are currently a significant number of offshore wind farms in shallow seas, but the next step is to look at floating wind farms