Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Region known as ‘world’s refrigerator’ is heating up as much as four times as quickly as global average, Noaa experts say The Arctic endured a year of record heat and shrunken sea ice as the world’s northern latitudes continue a rapid shift to becoming rainier and less ice-bound due to the climate crisis, scientists have reported. From October 2024 to September 2025, temperatures across the entire Arctic region were the hottest in 125 years of modern record keeping, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said, with the last 10 years being the 10 warmest on record in the Arctic. Continue reading...

Police in city of Pacific told residents to evacuate just hours after evacuation order had been lifted in nearby suburbs Residents near a breached levee in Washington state were told to evacuate early Tuesday, just hours after an evacuation alert was lifted for residents near another broken levee in the same county. Police in the city of Pacific, about 20 miles (32km) south of Seattle, urged people in the evacuation area near the White River to “Go Now!” Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: As species across the world struggle to keep pace with global warming, ​how ​do we report the rare glimmers of hope without downplaying the accelerating ecological ​crisis? Good morning. Amid the constant drumbeat of bleak news about the planet’s environment and the accelerating climate emergency, the occasional bright spot still emerges. One example came last week, when researchers published the first statistical evidence that polar bears are changing their DNA in response to a warming Arctic. But is it really good news that human activity – the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of habitats – is forcing animals to alter their genetic makeup? The picture, as ever, is complicated. Donald Trump | Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the BBC over its editing of a speech he made to supporters in Washington before they stormed the US Capitol in 2021, requesting at least $5bn in damages. Australia | Australia’s national security agency Asio investigated one of the alleged Bondi shooters in 2019 over potential extremist links but decided he was not “a person of interest”, prime minister Anthony Albanese has revealed, despite two of the man’s associates being jailed. International trade | The US has paused its promised multi-billion-pound investment into British tech over trade disagreements, marking a serious setback in US-UK relations. Health | Resident doctors in England will go on strike as planned this Wednesday for five days, after they voted to reject the government’s latest offer to end the long running pay and jobs dispute. Ukraine | Europe is ready to lead a “multinational force” in Ukraine as part of a US proposal for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, European leaders have said. Continue reading...

Britain’s fifth-biggest grocer postpones goal by 15 years to 2050, saying revised plan will now cover entire supply chain Morrisons has become the first UK supermarket chain to postpone its net zero carbon emission targets, delaying them by 15 years to 2050. Britain’s fifth-biggest grocer said its new targets would cover the entire supply chain, as well as Morrisons stores, including emissions from agriculture and land-use sources. Continue reading...