Analysis finds 3,347 locations used for swimming, rowing and paddleboarding but government has identified just 342
There are hundreds more waterways being used for swimming and boating in England than recorded by the government, data has revealed.
A wide-ranging analysis of the ways that England’s waterways are used for recreation by the government has found 3,347 “water recreation locations” in rivers, lakes and seas around the country. These are places where people take part in activities including swimming, rowing and paddleboarding. The Environment Agency had previously identified 342.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/12/2025 - 06:28
08/12/2025 - 05:00
Maple, a springer spaniel, is part of a project at a Michigan university focused on risk factors affecting the bees’ health
One dog in Michigan hasn’t been content with merely belonging to the species famously known as man’s best friend. She has strived to be bees’ best friend, too.
Maple, a springer spaniel aged nine, is earning news headlines by helping Michigan State University (MSU) researchers identify bacteria that is harmful for bee colonies.
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08/12/2025 - 04:26
Temperatures of 44C predicted as blazes rage across Europe
Europe live – latest updates
Almost 6,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in northern, central and southern Spain as wildfires continue to burn amid a heatwave that could bring temperatures of 44C to some parts of the country.
The deadly heat across large parts of Europe has created what scientists have called a “molotov cocktail” of climatic conditions that is fuelling vast wildfires.
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08/12/2025 - 04:06
Sources say delayed risk assessment includes modelling of effects of climate crisis in ways that have been little discussed in political debate so far
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An unreleased Australian government report on the economic and environmental risks posed by the climate crisis is “intense and scary”, and confronting even for those who work in the area, according to people familiar with the assessment.
The delayed report – the national climate risk assessment – includes modelling of future climate damage, estimates of the number of people who could be killed by worsening heatwaves and a mapping tool that forecasts flooding risk in suburbs across the continent.
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Buoyant, the size of a lentil and almost impossible to recover: how nurdles are polluting the oceans
08/12/2025 - 02:00
Millions of the tiny plastic pellets are being washed up on the coast of Kerala in India in the latest in a series of global spills, as plastic treaty talks continue in Geneva
When a Liberian-flagged container ship, the MSC Elsa 3, capsized and sank 13 miles off the coast of Kerala, in India, on 25 May, a state-wide disaster was quickly declared. A long oil slick from the 184-metre vessel, which was carrying hazardous cargo, was partially tackled by aircraft-borne dispersants, while a salvage operation sealed tanks to prevent leaks.
But almost three months later, a more insidious and persistent environmental catastrophe is continuing along the ecologically fragile coast of the Arabian Sea. Among the 643 containers onboard were 71,500 sacks of tiny plastic pellets known as nurdles. By July, only 7,920 were reportedly recovered.
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08/12/2025 - 00:42
In today’s newsletter: Hotter houses are likely to become the norm, with the dangerous health impacts facing society’s most vulnerable
Good morning. With temperatures soaring across Europe, fears of drought and people trying to steer clear of the most severe heat, there’s one place millions of us will still not be comfortable: home.
The Guardian’s Hot Property series shows how the poorest and most vulnerable are trapped inside dangerously hot homes. Even for today’s temperatures much housing is inadequate, let alone the even more extreme heat predicted for the coming years, the reporting shows.
Israel-Gaza war | Hundreds of mourners carried the body of the prominent Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif through the streets of Gaza City on Monday, a day after he and four colleagues were killed in an Israeli airstrike, prompting condemnation from across the world.
NHS | Attacks on A&E nurses have almost doubled over the last six years, with incidents often involving patients frustrated at waiting so long for care.
US news | Donald Trump has ordered the national guard to Washington DC and seized control of the city’s police force, describing a “lawless” city in ways that are sharply at odds with official crime statistics.
UK news | David Lammy is facing possible legal action over a plan to invite staff from the oil firm Shell and the defence firm BAE Systems to work inside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Agriculture | A study has found that Biochar, a charcoal made from human waste, could help solve fertiliser shortages as well as reduce pollution and energy use.
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08/12/2025 - 00:26
Kirsten Mae Fearn was repeatedly warned about the behaviour but she continued to import plants which she intended to sell online
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A Queensland woman caught importing illegal cacti and other plants in packages purporting to contain lingerie and shoes has been sentenced to six months in prison.
Kirsten Mae Fearn pleaded guilty to 14 biosecurity charges at Brisbane magistrates court in July after she repeatedly imported illegal plants to sell online.
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08/12/2025 - 00:00
National Drought Group meets and water companies prepare to take drastic action as supplies dwindle
A nationally significant water shortfall is gripping England, the government has warned, as experts say the conditions could last until mid-autumn.
The National Drought Group met to discuss actions to save water across the country, and Steve Reed, the environment secretary, briefed the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, about the risks posed by the dry weather.
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08/11/2025 - 14:00
Excrement contains nutrients needed for crop growth and a new source of them could cut farming’s huge CO2 output
Charcoal made from human waste could help solve fertiliser shortages as well as reduce pollution and energy use, a study has found.
Biochar is a form of charcoal made from organic matter treated at high heat, which is often used on farming soil as a fertiliser. The process also removes carbon from the atmosphere, making it a useful carbon sink.
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08/11/2025 - 12:00
Fish once as large as grizzly bears have become far smaller in recent years due to overfishing, dams and climate crisis
The size of megafish in the Mekong River has shrunk alarmingly in recent years owing to overfishing, a study has found. The length of the largest and most endangered freshwater giants, some as big as grizzly bears, decreased by 40% in seven years.
Some fish, like the Mekong giant catfish, have been studied for over a longer period and show a decline in weight of 55% in the past 25 years, dropping from an average of 180kg (397lb) to 80kg.
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