The amount of land burned by wildfires across Europe has increased by 57 per cent in four years, according to new data from the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe. Wildfires destroyed 2.2 million hectares of land in the WHO’s European Region in 2025 – up from 1.4 million hectares in 2022. In Spain and Portugal alone, the…
In this week’s newsletter: the European pollen season is now up to two weeks longer than it was in the 90s – just one more way global heating is causing millions to suffer Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Ajit Niranjan Here’s a confession that may alarm faithful readers…
Government announces tougher measures to tackle unlicensed sites as ‘prolific waste criminal’ is ordered to pay £1.4m Sandra Laville A new 33-strong drone unit is being deployed to investigate the scourge of illegal waste dumping across England, the government has announced. The improvements to the investigation of illegal waste dumping – which costs the UK economy…
Wildfires that left 23 people dead were made about three times more likely by global heating, researchers say Damian Carrington Environment editor The climate crisis inflamed deadly wildfires that left 23 people dead in Chile and devastated forests in Argentina that host some of the world’s oldest trees, scientists have found. The hot, dry and windy conditions that…
Damian Carrington Environment editor Bruce Friedrich argues the only way to tackle the world’s insatiable but damaging craving for meat is like-for-like replacements like cultivated and plant-based meat For someone aiming to end the global livestock industry, Bruce Friedrich begins his new book – called Meat – in disarming fashion: “I’m not here to tell anyone…
Experts say climate crisis, corruption and lack or misuse of infrastructure among factors driving water conflicts Rachel Salvidge Water-related violence has almost doubled since 2022 and little is being done to understand and address the trend and prevent new and escalating risks, experts have said. There were 419 incidents of water-related violence recorded in 2024,…
Milder weather led to a bloom in the invertebrates in south Cornwall and Devon, wildlife charity says Lisa Bachelor Record numbers of sightings of one of the world’s most intelligent invertebrates over the summer have led the Wildlife Trusts to declare 2025 “the year of the octopus” in its annual review of Britain’s seas. A mild winter…