The Guardian
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‘Our new normal’: how marine heatwaves affect life in British seas
As warming seas push native species to cooler waters farther north, once-rare visitors have become more common
‘It sounds silly but I thought it was a person in the water waving,” says Kurt Lander, skipper of the Yellowfin charter boat, based out of Brighton. But when he grabbed his binoculars, he realised the fluttering movement he had noticed in the middle of the Channel shipping lane was a pair of sunfish.
The huge fish were lying on their sides and flapping their fins. “Apparently, they do it as a visual attraction to birds,” he says. “They’re trying to get the birds to eat the parasites off them.”
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Reform’s Tice accused of misinformation after urging people to enjoy heatwaves
Nurses, medical experts and green campaigners reject party deputy leader’s dismissal of efforts to reach net zero
Reform’s deputy leader has been accused of spreading misinformation after he dismissed efforts to tackle the climate crisis and urged British people to enjoy the warmth of the recent heatwaves.
Richard Tice prompted a backlash from nurses, medical experts and green campaigners on Monday after he told a press conference he believed it was “arrogant” to try to stop the climate emergency, while encouraging people to focus on upsides such as better English wine.
Additional reporting byDenis Campbell andAjit Niranjan
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Thom Yorke, Romy and Brian Eno among 200 musicians urging PM to reject new North Sea drilling
Robert Smith, Olly Alexander and Paris Paloma also among signatories to letter saying exploitation of Rosebank and Jackdaw fields defies climate reality
More than 200 musicians including Massive Attack and Brian Eno have written to Andy Burnham urging him to reject plans for more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
The letter, signed by 211 artists such as Bobby Gillespie, Olly Alexander and Paris Paloma, called on the prime minister to reject the Rosebank oilfield, warning that the project would fail to lower energy bills or provide energy security as most of the oil was likely to be exported.
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Temperatures to fall across Europe as substantial rain heading for parts of UK
Temperatures could drop by more than 15C compared with last Thursday as cold front moves in
Relief from the unrelenting heat is finally arriving this week across western Europe, with more unsettled conditions bringing the chance of rain. Temperatures are expected to fall back towards the seasonal norm, with some parts of the UK even falling about 3C below normal by Thursday. After such a scorching summer, and with a temperature drop of more than 15C compared with last Thursday’s heat, it may feel surprisingly chilly.
There are signs that some substantial rain could be on the cards for the south of the UK this week as a cold front moves in from the Atlantic on Monday night into Tuesday. As of Monday, parts of southern England had endured 62 consecutive days of no rainfall – this is observed at a Met Office weather station in Wisley, Surrey. Even the last recorded rainfall here on 16 June amounted to just 0.4mm.
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Spotlight on UN desertification summit as it mulls how to spend $12bn war chest
Extreme weather has raised the significance of Cop17 talks starting this week on tackling drought and land degradation
As swathes of the northern hemisphere bake in what could be the hottest year on record, with wildfires blazing across North America and Europe and heatwaves afflicting millions across Asia, the UN’s bi-annual talks on desertification have assumed much greater importance – and have started attracting more money.
Work will begin this week on allocating more than $12bn (£8.9bn) to vulnerable countries to help them deal with drought and land degradation, when scores of countries gather in Mongolia for Cop17.
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