To tackle extreme heat, Andy Burnham needs to urgently take these three radical steps
The UK has entered its fifth successive heatwave. More than 70% England and all of Wales are now under drought conditions. That means 45 million people are now living in a drought area in England, with more than 27 million facing water use restrictions. Dangerous wildfires are have been blazing across the country. Firefighters have […]
There’s nothing ‘wild’ about most wildfires – humans start them and have made them more dangerous
A wildfire needs a name long before anyone knows what caused it. When the pines of the Gironde in southwestern France caught light in July, the fire was being reported within hours under the name of the ground it was burning. By the time it had taken 40,000 hectares, that name was fixed in every […]
High infant formula milk prices are putting babies at risk
CameraCraft/Shutterstock We have all seen an increase in the cost of our food shop over the last few years. In March 2023, food price inflation in the UK hit a record peak of 19.1%. But price rises for infant formula milk have been steeper still. Infant formula, which was already expensive, rose by an average […]
Iran oil spill: the war is leaving environmental scars that ceasefires cannot heal
The mangrove forests of Qeshm Island off the coast of southern Iran. Nmarandi / Shutterstock Oil slicks moving along Iran’s southern coast have reached the Hara mangrove forests of Qeshm Island. Iranian authorities say the extent of the contamination is still being assessed and the source of the oil pollution has not yet been established. […]
Want to support Ukraine? Read its books
Since 2013, Vladimir Putin has argued that Ukrainians and Russians are “one people”. It’s an attempt to erase Ukrainian identity, part of an assault that has been ongoing for centuries. Since the full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia has regularly targeted Ukraine’s cultural institutions and publishing ecosystem. This summer alone, Russian attacks have destroyed nearly 10 […]
Eight in ten adults track their own health – new survey
Enrique Micaelo/Shutterstock.com Before breakfast, you may already have checked your sleep score, resting heart rate or blood oxygen level. By bedtime, you might look at your step count, stress score or even an estimate of your biological age. For millions of people, keeping tabs on health and wellbeing has become almost as routine as checking […]
An astronomer on what it’s really like to stargaze for a living
metamorworks/Shutterstocl Jodie Foster tearing up a dirt road, yelling stellar coordinates into a walkie-talkie à la the 1997 sci-fi film Contact. Control rooms alive with a cacophony of “enhance that signal”. Real-time discovery. That’s what I pictured when my PhD supervisor told me I’d be going observing at a telescope. Cut to 2am on top […]
Extreme weather is making work difficult for many people – this is what needs to change
Extreme temperatures have led to some workers being forced to take sick leave. Dragon Images We have experienced several heatwaves in the UK this summer, and workers suffering from heat stress is among the biggest causes of weather-related sick leave here. Very high temperatures can cause symptoms like heat rashes and cramps, or even exhaustion […]
Hosepipe bans make climate change more tangible – but restrictions can provoke resistance
S_Photo/Shutterstock Drought is affecting almost three-quarters of England and around 27 million people are under water use restrictions or hosepipe bans. When a hosepipe ban comes into force, it does something that decades of climate summits and net zero targets have struggled to do. It makes climate change personal. Psychologists call this a reduction in […]
The 18th-century British artists who turned India into a picturesque fantasy
Bengal Village Scene by George Chinnery (1819-1821). Birmingham Museums Trust In 1825, English artist George Chinnery left Calcutta for Macau, chased away by his disgruntled wife Marianne and his creditors. He’d been based in India for the past 23 years, having previously lived in Hyderabad and Dacca. Besides running a debt of around 30,000 rupees […]