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Findings come after third-hottest April on record globally and amid fears of more brutal European summer weather
Economic inequality adds more than 100,000 deaths to the vast toll from heat and cold in Europe each year, research has found.
Cutting levels of inequality to match that of Europe’s most equal region, Slovenia, as measured by the Gini index, would reduce temperature-related mortality by as much as 30%, equating to 109,866 people, the study found.
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Naturalist says he has been ‘overwhelmed by greetings’ as milestone is marked with event at Royal Albert Hall
David Attenborough said he had been “completely overwhelmed by birthday greetings” for his centenary on Friday and thanked wellwishers “most sincerely”.
The naturalist said he had hoped to celebrate his 100th birthday quietly. Instead, the milestone will be marked with a live event at the Royal Albert Hall broadcast on BBC One, featuring music from his programmes as well as stories and reflections from public figures and leading advocates for the natural world.
In a recorded audio message shared on Thursday night, Attenborough said: “I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly, but it seems that many of you have had other ideas.
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Promises to cut emissions and use more fuel-efficient planes fail to stop rise, with Ryanair’s carbon footprint 50% up on 2019
Emissions from flying in Europe have now passed pre-pandemic levels, with Ryanair’s carbon footprint 50% higher than in 2019, research has shown.
Total aviation emissions continue to increase despite industry pledges to decarbonise and the introduction of more fuel-efficient planes, driven by the massive expansion of low-cost carriers.
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Turning parking bays into green spaces and prioritising cyclists may be the fastest routes to improving urban life
Clean air, safer streets and a stable climate are among the reasons doctors and environmental experts want fewer cars clogging our roads. Reduced dependence on fuel – especially when prices are high and most countries rely on imports – is another.
Yet while some cities with world-class public transport are debating how to tackle the stubborn minority of journeys still made by car, others – particularly in the US – have become so dependent on driving that opting out is almost impossible.
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Oil firm seeks to reduce stake in carbon capture and storage projects in north-east of England after schemes fail to win over shareholders
BP plans to sell stakes in two flagship carbon capture and storage projects in the north-east of England as the company continues to retreat from the green agenda.
The oil company hopes to reduce its share in the Net Zero Teesside (NZT) project, which aims to develop the UK’s first gas power plant to be fitted with a controversial carbon capture system to remove its emissions.
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Temperature swings have left crops across the Plains in terrible conditions, with some farmers opting not to harvest
Merrill Nielsen’s wheat crop looked healthy after he planted it in the fall on his 2,500-acre farm in north-central Kansas, about 50 miles west of Salina, the plants benefiting from higher-than-normal November rainfall.
But an abnormally warm and dry winter, followed by extreme temperature variability, stressed the developing wheat. In the winter-to-spring transition, temperatures fluctuated from 70 to 80F on some days and lows in the teens or low 20s on other days.
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In this week’s newsletter: Readers have flooded the crowdfunder of Steve Green after his inspirational story of DIY environmental activism was told
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For many people, owning a yacht is the ultimate dream. But recently I reported on what happens when that dream is abandoned, and one man’s uphill battle to clean up rotting boats left behind in Cornwall, England.
In this week’s newsletter, it’s my pleasure to revisit Cornish boat engineer Steve Green, who says he “nearly fainted” when hundreds of Guardian readers flooded his crowdfunder with donations and notes of thanks after we told his story.
The man who blew up a nuclear power station and disappeared
How car-loving American cities fell so far behind their global peers on public transit
As household bills soar, is it time for a working-class climate agenda?
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With the war on Iran, Ukraine, AI and climate breakdown increasing the likelihood of a nuclear war, the clock stands closer to midnight than ever before. So who decides how many seconds we have left – and can we buy ourselves more time?
The Earth is getting hotter. Conflicts are raging, in the Middle East and Ukraine, each increasing the chance of nuclear war. AI is infiltrating almost every aspect of our lives, despite its unpredictability and tendency to hallucinate. Scientists, tinkering in labs, risk introducing new, deadly pathogens, more destructive than Covid. Our pandemic response preparedness has weakened. The Doomsday Clock – a large, quarter clock with no numbers, keeps ticking, counting down the seconds until the apocalypse. Tick. Tick. Tick. In January, we reached 85 seconds to midnight. Experts believe humanity has never stood so close to the brink.
“What we have seen is a slow almost sleepwalk into increasing dangers over the last decade. And we see these problems growing. We see science advancing at a rate that defies our ability to understand it, much less control it,” says Alexandra Bell, CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the organisation that sets the Doomsday Clock. She speaks of the “complete failure in leadership” in the US and other countries, which are doing little to address global, catastrophic threats, even as they feed into one another. Climate change increases global conflict, for instance, and the incorporation of AI into nuclear decision-making is, frankly, terrifying.
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As electric vehicle sales hit all-time highs, the need for more places to plug in is growing – fast
Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint
Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.com
Australia is having an electric vehicle moment.
Close to 25,000 electric vehicles were sold in Australia in March, an all-time record and an increase of 69.6% compared with March 2025, according to the Electric Vehicle Council of Australia. Although still lagging behind countries like China where close to half of new passenger vehicles sold are electric, soaring petrol prices on the back of the war in Iran have accelerated interest in EV ownership in Australia.
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Oxfordshire’s Ray Valley Solar already generates clean energy for 7,000 homes, and is now crowdfunding storage to marry daylight with evening demand
Tucked away among hedgerows on a large field between a motorway and the River Ray, one of the UK’s largest community-owned solar parks is hard to spot from the surrounding country lanes.
But the nearly 36,000 solar panels installed on the site are literally a shining example of what can be achieved when a renewable energy project is co-owned by local people.
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