13 h. ago How the climate crisis showed up in Americans’ lives this year: ‘The shift has been swift and stark’

Guardian US readers share how global heating and biodiversity loss affected their lives in ways that don’t always make the headlines The past year was another one of record-setting heat and catastrophic storms. But across the US, the climate crisis showed up in smaller, deeply personal ways too.Campfires that once defined summer trips were never lit due to wildfire risks. There were no bites where fish were once abundant, forests turned to meadows after a big burn and childhood memories of winter wonderlands turned to slush. Continue reading...

Society

4 d. ago ‘It brings you closer to the natural world’: the rise of the Merlin birdsong identifying app

Merlin has been trained to identify the songs of more than 1,300 bird species around the worldWhen Natasha Walter first became curious about the birds around her, she recorded their songs on her phone and arduously tried to match each song with online recordings. After a friend recommended Merlin Bird ID, a free app, she tried it in her London garden and was delighted to discover the birds she assumed were female blackbirds – “this is how bad a birder I was” – were actually song thrushes and mistle thrushes.“I’m obsessed with Merlin – it’s wonderful and it’s been a joy to me,” says Walter, a writer and human rights activist. “This is what AI and machine-learning have been invented for. It’s the one good thing!” Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago ‘Ghost resorts’: as hundreds of ski slopes lie abandoned, will nature reclaim the Alps?

With the snow line edging higher, 186 French ski resorts have shut, while global heating threatens dozens moreWhen Céüze 2000 ski resort closed at the end of the season in 2018, the workers assumed they would be back the following winter. Maps of the pistes were left stacked beside a stapler; the staff rota pinned to the wall.Six years on, a yellowing newspaper dated 8 March 2018 sits folded on its side, as if someone has just flicked through it during a quiet spell. A half-drunk bottle of water remains on the table. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Cyclones, floods and wildfires among 2025’s costliest climate

Christian Aid annual report’s top 10 disasters amounted to more than $120bn in insured lossesCyclones and floods in south-east Asia this autumn killed more than 1,750 people and caused more than $25bn (£19bn) in damage, while the death toll from California wildfires topped 400 people, with $60bn in damage, according to research on the costliest climate-related disasters of the year.China’s devastating floods, in which thousands of people were displaced, were the third most expensive, causing about $12bn in damage, with at least 30 lives lost. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago The Guardian view on adapting to the climate crisis: it demands political honesty about extreme weather | Editorial

Over the holiday period, the Guardian leader column is looking ahead at the themes of 2026. Today we look at how the struggle to adapt to a dangerously warming world has become a test of global justiceThe record-breaking 252mph winds of Hurricane Melissa that devastated Caribbean islands at the end of October were made five times more likely by the climate crisis. Scorching wildfire weather in Spain and Portugal during the summer was made 40 times more likely, while June’s heatwave in England was made 100 times more likely.Attribution science has made one thing clear: global heating is behind today’s extreme weather. That greenhouse gas emissions warmed the planet was understood. What can now be shown is that this warming produces record heatwaves and more violent storms with increasing frequency. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago US voters linking climate crisis to rising bills despite Trump’s ‘green scam’ claims

New polling shows 65% of registered US voters believe global heating is affecting cost of livingMost Americans now connect the worsening climate crisis with their cost of living pressures, with clear majorities also disagreeing with moves by the Trump administration to gut climate research and halt windfarms, new polling has found.About 65% of registered voters in the US think that global heating is affecting the cost of living, according to the polling by Yale University. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Shackled, alone and scared: the grim reality for women forced to give birth in prison

Across the world, incarcerated pregnant women are often held in deplorable conditions, leading some to miscarry or give birth alone inside a cell, say campaignersRead more in our Women in prison seriesDina Hernández was 35 weeks pregnant when she was arrested near her home in San Salvador in March 2024. The 28-year-old human rights activist, who was with her five-year-old son, was accused of “illicit association” with gang members and jailed without evidence.Three weeks later, her family received a call from the prison authorities to collect the body of her newborn baby. The cause of death has not been investigated and the family has no idea what happened, or whether Hernández – who is believed to remain in prison – received any postnatal care. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Arctic endured year of record heat as climate scientists warn of ‘winter being redefined’

Region known as ‘world’s refrigerator’ is heating up as much as four times as quickly as global average, Noaa experts sayThe Arctic endured a year of record heat and shrunken sea ice as the world’s northern latitudes continue a rapid shift to becoming rainier and less ice-bound due to the climate crisis, scientists have reported.From October 2024 to September 2025, temperatures across the entire Arctic region were the hottest in 125 years of modern record keeping, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said, with the last 10 years being the 10 warmest on record in the Arctic. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Glaciers to reach peak rate of extinction in the Alps in eight years

Climate crisis forecast to wipe out thousands of glaciers a year globally, threatening water supplies and cultural heritageEurope live – latest updatesGlaciers in the European Alps are likely to reach their peak rate of extinction in only eight years, according to a study, with more than 100 due to melt away permanently by 2033. Glaciers in the western US and Canada are forecast to reach their peak year of loss less than a decade later, with more than 800 disappearing each year by then.The melting of glaciers driven by human-caused global heating is one of the clearest signs of the climate crisis. Communities around the world have already held funeral ceremonies for lost glaciers, and a Global Glacier Casualty List records the names and histories of those that have vanished. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Changes to polar bear DNA could help them adapt to global heating, study finds

Scientists say bears in southern Greenland differ genetically to those in the north, suggesting they could adjustChanges in polar bear DNA that could help the animals adapt to warmer climates have been detected by researchers, in a study thought to be the first time a statistically significant link has been found between rising temperatures and changing DNA in a wild mammal species.Climate breakdown is threatening the survival of polar bears. Two-thirds of them are expected to have disappeared by 2050 as their icy habitat melts and the weather becomes hotter. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Warming oceans made Asia’s deadly floods far worse, scientists say

Sea surface temperatures over the North Indian Ocean were 0.2C higher than the average over the past three decades, researchers say

Events

2 w. ago Warming oceans made Asia’s deadly floods far worse, scientists say (cloned)

Sea surface temperatures over the North Indian Ocean were 0.2C higher than the average over the past three decades, researchers say

Events

3 w. ago ‘Not normal’: Climate crisis supercharged deadly monsoon floods in Asia

Cyclones like those in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia that killed 1,750 are ‘alarming new reality’The climate crisis supercharged the deadly storms that killed more than 1,750 people in Asia by making downpours more intense and flooding worse, scientists have reported. Monsoon rains often bring some flooding but the scientists were clear: this was “not normal”.In Sri Lanka, some floods reached the second floor of buildings, while in Sumatra, in Indonesia, the floods were worsened by the destruction of forests, which in the past slowed rainwater running off hillsides. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Ocean warmed by climate change fed intense rainfall and deadly floods in Asia, study finds

Ocean temperatures warmed by human-caused climate change fed the intense rainfall that triggered deadly floods and landslides across Asia in recent weeks, according to an analysis released Wednesday

Events

3 w. ago BA A380 flight dumps fuel off coast of Scotland and diverts back to major UK airport

A LONG haul British Airways flight suffered a technical issue and dumped fuel off the Hebrides before heading back to London today. According to global flight tracking service FlightRadar24, BA flight BA285, flying from London Heathrow to San Francisco, entered a holding pattern west of the islands for one hour. The drama was observed by...

Transport

3 w. ago In this age of authoritarians, online abuse of women is soaring – and it’s leading to ‘real

Our UN report reveals the link between the online misogyny and offline crimes that are hounding women out of public lifeNetworked misogyny is now firmly established as a key tactic in the 21st-century authoritarian’s playbook. This is not a new trend – but it is now being supercharged by generative AI tools that make it easier, quicker and cheaper than ever to perpetrate online violence against women in public life – from journalists to human rights defenders, politicians and activists.The objectives are clear: to help justify the rollback of gender equality and women’s reproductive rights; to chill women’s freedom of expression and their participation in democratic deliberation; to discredit truth-tellers; and to pave the way for the consolidation of authoritarian power.Dr Julie Posetti is the director of the Information Integrity Initiative at TheNerve, a digital forensics lab founded by Nobel laureate Maria Ressa. She is also a professor of journalism and chair of the Centre for ...

Events

3 w. ago Caribbean reefs have lost 48% of hard coral since 1980, study finds

‘Destructive’ marine heatwaves driving loss of microalgae that feed coral, says Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network Caribbean reefs have half as much hard coral now as they did in 1980, a study has found.The 48% decrease in coral cover has been driven by climate breakdown, specifically marine heatwaves. They affect the microalgae that feed coral, making them toxic and forcing the coral to expel them. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Sri Lanka issues fresh landslide warnings as Cyclone Ditwah death toll crosses 600

Ongoing monsoon rains are hitting areas already devastated by cyclone and further destabilising hillsides

Events

3 w. ago Aerial footage shows devastating aftermath of flooding in Indonesia

Drone video has shown the extent of the devastation in Aceh after Indonesia and parts of southeast Asia were hit by deadly flooding.

Events

3 w. ago Survivors plead for urgent aid after catastrophic floods and landslides killed over 1,500 in Asia

Emergency crews are racing against time after catastrophic floods and landslides struck parts of Asia, killing more than 1,500 people

Events