Critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan population falls after heavy rain and landslides, fuelled by climate crisis, in North Sumatra
Extreme rainfall and landslides fuelled by the climate crisis killed 7% of the remaining population of the world’s rarest great ape, a study has found, prompting fears for the species’ survival.
The research suggests 58 out of the remaining 800 critically endangered Tapanuli orangutans (Pongo tapanuliensis) were killed after more than 1,000mm (39in) of rain fell over four days in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province in November 2025. This equates to 11% of the local population and 7% of the entire species.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
06/10/2026 - 11:18
06/10/2026 - 10:30
Enfield council in north London took legal action against restaurant chain after outrage over damage to tree
The UK restaurant chain Toby Carvery has settled a legal dispute over taking a chainsaw to an ancient oak tree without permission, by agreeing to pay to restore a lost orchard.
The unauthorised partial felling of the 500-year-old oak next to a Toby Carvery car park in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, north London, in April last year, prompted widespread public outrage and questions in parliament.
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06/10/2026 - 10:00
Some remains found in Diamantina fracture zone date back more than 5m years and reveal species and ecosystems unknown to science
The oldest, deepest and most extensive whale graveyard yet discovered has been found in the south-eastern Indian Ocean, with fossils dating back more than 5m years.
Whale falls – the term for dead whales that sink to the ocean floor – are not uncommon, but most have been found at depths of less than 4km (2.5 miles). By contrast, the newly discovered necropolis reaches depths of more than 7km, and extends hundreds of miles across the sea floor.
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06/10/2026 - 08:02
Incredulous Italians ask if they should bring grandparents to beach to stay safe, after unpopular move in Villasimìus
Umbrellas have been banned on a beach in Sardinia for anyone between the ages of 10 and 65 in the latest flashpoint in Italy’s long-running beach disputes.
The measure was among several imposed by local authorities at Punta Molentis beach in Villasimìus, on Sardinia’s south-east coast, as part of an initiative to protect its pristine environment.
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06/10/2026 - 08:00
As the US shuts its doors to most refugees, there’s little hope of a new system to help those forced from home by climate impacts
Trump targets migrants from countries hit most by climate shocks
Millions of people around the world are having their lives upended by floods, storms and heatwaves worsened by the climate crisis. Those forced to flee their home countries, however, are finding that the door to the US is more firmly shut than ever.
Neither US nor international law recognizes environmental hazards, such as climate-related displacement, as a valid cause to claim asylum or gain entry through other migration pathways, despite the mounting toll of disasters caused by an overheating planet.
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06/10/2026 - 08:00
A Guardian analysis reveals how most of 39 countries facing US entry restrictions are most vulnerable environmentally
‘Every day it’s more barriers’: how the US is shutting out climate refugees
Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is largely targeting people from the countries most vulnerable to displacement from climate-driven disasters, a Guardian analysis shows.
As the Trump administration pushes policies to boost planet-heating fossil fuels, millions of people are being forced to flee their homelands due to storms, floods and droughts worsened by the climate crisis.
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06/10/2026 - 07:00
US energy secretary Chris Wright featured in seminars to judges when he was a fracking executive
As cities and states sue big oil for billions in damages over allegations that it covered up the dangers of its products, rightwing organizations are attempting to discredit the wave of litigation. They claim the lawyers behind it are teaming up with an environmentally focused legal education non-profit to bias federal judges against oil companies.
But it is actually fossil fuel-backed organizations that are attempting to sway the judiciary in their favor, one of those law firms is countering. Evidence of this includes judicial seminars hosted by one such group featuring pro-industry speakers such as the current energy secretary, Chris Wright, in his former occupation as a fracking executive.
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06/10/2026 - 05:00
We’re thinking about the crisis facing pollinators all wrong. And we’ve come to a crucial moment
Last winter, commercial beekeepers lost more than 60% of their colonies – their worst losses on record. We tend to blame bee losses on separate, singular threats: pests, pesticides, habitat loss or extreme weather. But we’ve been thinking about bee losses wrong.
The real culprit is our industrial food system.
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06/10/2026 - 03:00
Crops and flowers rely on them for survival, but wild bees are declining – and crucial nutrients will go missing from our diets as a result
There are few ways in and out of Nepal’s Jumla district. The Karnali highway, considered one of the world’s most dangerous roads, provides the only land link, splicing through the Himalayas to connect Jumla’s terraced valleys to the rest of the country. As such, the 120,000 people that live there are almost entirely self-sufficient, with most of them eating and selling what they grow.
It’s a tenuous existence, plagued by food insecurity and malnutrition. In recent years, local beekeepers have bemoaned languishing hives and dwindling honey production, observing that roughly half of their bees seem to have vanished over the past decade. These concerns, however, ignore an even more insidious impact.
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06/10/2026 - 02:00
The net zero economy is booming, so claims that prosperity depends on oil and gas are bunkum – unless you’re a Reform backer with fossil fuel interests, of course
Really? You want to destroy a million jobs? Vote Reform UK for mass unemployment: is that your pitch? Hammer these questions home whenever you meet a supporter of the party. Or, for that matter, a Conservative, as their party now takes an almost identical line.
The figures are stark. They were compiled not by Just Stop Oil or the Green party, but by that bastion of conservatism, the Confederation of British Industry. They show that the net zero economy now directly employs more than 300,000 full-time workers, while supporting the jobs of 1.1 million. The net zero sector is worth £100bn to the UK already, and is likely to grow by hundreds of billions more. The rest of the green economy directly employs a further 600,000.
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