Breaking Waves: Ocean News

UK MPs push for extra aid and visas as Jamaica reels from Hurricane Melissa

admin — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 07:00:31 +0000

Dawn Butler leads calls for humanitarian visas and fee waivers for vulnerable relatives of UK nationals affected by storm

British MPs have joined campaigners calling for more aid and humanitarian visas for Jamaicans to enter the UK after Hurricane Melissa demolished parts of the country, plunging hundreds of thousands of people into a humanitarian crisis.

The UK has pledged £7.5m emergency funds to Jamaica and other islands affected by the hurricane, but many argue that the country has a moral obligation to do more for former Caribbean colonies.

Revealed: Europe’s water reserves drying up due to climate breakdown

admin — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 06:00:32 +0000

Exclusive: UCL scientists find large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with ‘far-reaching’ implications

Vast swathes of Europe’s water reserves are drying up, a new analysis using two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the UK.

Scientists at University College London (UCL), working with Watershed Investigations and the Guardian, analysed 2002–24 data from satellites, which track changes in Earth’s gravitational field.

At least 8,000 illegal waste sites in UK, research suggests

admin — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 06:00:31 +0000

Exclusive: Concerns over impact on health and environment, as well as £1.63bn in avoided landfill tax

The UK is estimated to have at least 8,000 illegal waste sites, containing approximately 13m tonnes of rubbish, research has revealed.

The scale of the criminal dumping means at least £1.63bn of landfill taxes have been avoided, according to an analysis of data from the satellite company Air & Space Evidence, shared with the Guardian and Watershed Investigations.

Sri Lanka death toll from floods and landslides reaches 123

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 17:20:06 +0000

Another 130 missing after heavy rains from Cyclone Ditwah while almost 44,000 evacuated to temporary shelters amid rescue operations

Torrential rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah have killed 123 people across Sri Lanka so far, with another 130 still missing, the Disaster Management Centre (DCM) said on Saturday.

Director general Sampath Kotuwegoda said relief operations were underway with 43,995 people moved to state-run welfare centres after their homes were destroyed in the week-long heavy rains.

Trump order to keep Michigan power plant open costs taxpayers $113m

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 13:00:08 +0000

Critics say JH Campbell coal-fired plant in western Michigan is expensive and emits high levels of toxic pollution

Trump administration orders to keep an ageing, unneeded Michigan coal-fired power plant online has cost ratepayers from across the US midwest about $113m so far, according to estimates from the plant’s operator and regulators.

Still, the US energy department last week ordered the plant to remain open for another 90 days.

UK energy bill payers will hand £2bn a year to EDF for new power stations

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 11:30:20 +0000

French government-owned company to receive funding for Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C

Business live – latest updates

UK energy bill payers will hand over £2bn a year in subsidies to EDF, the French company building two nuclear power stations, according to government figures.

Weather tracker: Snowfall cuts power in Poland and flooding devastates Sri Lanka

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 10:37:59 +0000

Temperatures dip to -8.5C in Poland and 250mm of rain falls in 24-hour period across Sri Lanka

Temperatures plummeted this week across the eastern half of Europe, with the Alps dipping as low as -20C and to -8.5°C in the Polish town of Zakopane in the Tatras Mountains.

Heavy snow also affected other parts of Poland with 15-20cm (about 6-8in) of snow falling in much of the central swathe of the country and more than 40cm in the south towards the mountains.

Africa’s forests transformed from carbon sink to carbon source, study finds

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 10:00:03 +0000

Alarming shift since 2010 means planet’s three main rainforest regions now contribute to climate breakdown

Africa’s forests have turned from a carbon sink into a carbon source, according to research that underscores the need for urgent action to save the world’s great natural climate stabilisers.

Many ships found breaching pollution limits despite tighter controls

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 06:00:58 +0000

Researchers using aircraft to sample exhaust plumes say infringements persist – even in stricter zones

A new study has found that a significant proportion of ships are breaching air pollution limits.

Although the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set regulations for shipping pollution since 2005, it is hard to know what happens once ships are at sea.

Quality of marine protected areas is critical to achieving global biodiversity targets

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 05:00:00 +0000

npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 28 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s44183-025-00169-8