Predicted hot and dry weather in growing areas in eastern Australia identified as ‘one of the key issues’ that will affect food prices over next 12 months
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The most severe El Niño weather event on record threatens to push food prices higher this year, experts say, piling pressure on households already struggling with the post-pandemic spike in grocery bills and complicating the Reserve Bank’s efforts to bring inflation back under control.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast El Niño will peak in late spring or summer and “reach levels above the warmest observed since reliable records began in 1950”.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
09/07/2026 - 10:00
09/07/2026 - 06:35
WMO report details extreme weather events causing climatic feedback loop with serious health consequences
Big increases in wildfires and heatwaves supercharged by the climate crisis are hindering improvements to air quality around the world, UN experts have said.
Regions that had recorded a fall in pollution emitted by cars and industrial sites are facing new threats to air quality because of exposure to smoke from wildfires, according to a new report, while rising temperatures caused by intense heatwaves are causing a surge in ground-level ozone.
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09/07/2026 - 03:00
Our three cities are learning from each other about how to protect residents. These climate policies are also public health measures
This summer, mayors met in London during the heatwave that ironically threatened to derail London Climate Action Week.
As temperatures broke records across the UK and Europe, leading some climate talks to be suspended or cancelled, we found ourselves seeking shelter and comparing how our cities prepare for extreme heat: how we protect vulnerable residents, communicate risk, and redesign neighbourhoods for hotter summers.
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09/06/2026 - 14:00
The casket, grown from mycelium and hemp fibres, takes just 45 days to break down, enriching the soil in the process
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A woman has been buried in a coffin made from mushrooms in New South Wales in an eco-friendly first for Australia.
Carolyn, whose surname was withheld for privacy reasons, was laid to rest on Friday by friends and family at Springwood Cemetery in the Blue Mountains. She was aged in her 70s.
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09/06/2026 - 09:51
Ash cloud from Anak Krakatau affects hundreds of flights and some school and fishing activities
Indonesia halted operations at eight airports on Sunday, including from its main international hub, affecting hundreds of flights as a result of an ash cloud from the Anak Krakatau volcano.
Saturday’s eruption, which produced lava and booming sounds that were heard up to 435 miles (700km) away, according to Indonesia’s geology agency, also interrupted some school activities and fishing. Two more eruptions were recorded on Sunday.
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09/06/2026 - 06:00
Global AC demand will inevitably accelerate as the world continues to warm amid the climate crisis
The greenest campaigners against climate change have long suffered from a crippling shortcoming: they too often frame the challenge as a problem of excess consumption. This motivates calls to “degrow” the economy and to curb the population. The claim is that humans consume too many resources, which in the context of climate change means too much energy.
Nowhere has the tension between this proposition and reality become more palpable during this sweltering summer than in the conversation over air conditioning.
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09/06/2026 - 02:57
Indonesia’s dangerous peat fires are surging early in the 2026 fire season as a strengthening El Niño and severe drought dry out wetlands that can burn underground for months. These slow smoldering fires are especially destructive because they release far more fine particles and several pollutants than typical tropical forest fires, while thick smoke can make them difficult for satellites to detect.
09/05/2026 - 22:34
Indonesian authorities intensify operations as fires continue to burn across Sumatra and Kalimantan, with haze spreading to Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines
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09/05/2026 - 15:00
Microbats and wombats among the most common species found in buildings, with some discovered in letter boxes or air conditioning systems
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Possums in the roof, bats in the curtains and ducks on the balcony: new research has revealed how native animals are making themselves at home in our houses.
Researchers have analysed a decade of wildlife rescue reports and found brushtail and ringtail possums make up half of all cases of animals in buildings, followed by microbats and bare-nosed wombats.
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09/05/2026 - 07:00
After bringing injured queen Phoebee home in July, Gilly McArthur expected her soon to die, but she’s bumbling on
Fifty-two days ago, Phoebee was lying by the side of a road in the blistering sun with a broken wing. Today, she’s clambering up the arm of Gilly McArthur, around the nape of her neck and disappearing into her hair.
“I couldn’t leave her by the roadside,” McArthur says. “So I bought her home and made her a bed of flowers. I thought she’d be dead in a day or so.”
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