Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves en South African police arrest two Thai men for allegedly smuggling parrot eggs https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/south-african-police-arrest-two-thai-men-allegedly-smuggling-parrot-eggs <p>Bird eggs intercepted in homemade incubators at Johannesburg airport as officials try to halt wildlife trafficking</p> <p>South African police have arrested two Thai nationals in separate incidents for allegedly attempting to smuggle endangered parrot eggs out of the country as authorities try to stem the tide of wildlife trafficking.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/south-african-police-arrest-two-thai-men-allegedly-smuggling-parrot-eggs" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 26 Aug 2026 15:09:58 +0000 admin 104380 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ​W​hy are European leaders staying silent after our summer of climate shock? https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/w-hy-are-european-leaders-staying-silent-after-our-summer-climate-shock <p>Lethal temperatures ​and wildfires have exposed a widening gulf between voters demanding ​action and politicians unwilling to confront the long-term choices global heating requires</p> <p><strong>•</strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/22/this-is-europe-sign-up-guardian-email-updates"><strong> Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up here</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/w-hy-are-european-leaders-staying-silent-after-our-summer-climate-shock" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 26 Aug 2026 14:40:15 +0000 admin 104379 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org 1.3m plastic bottles collected in a day in global volunteer ocean cleanup https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/13m-plastic-bottles-collected-day-global-volunteer-ocean-cleanup <p>Ocean Conservancy says last year’s cleanup collected 13.9m pieces of rubbish from beaches and rivers worldwide</p> <p>More than 1.3m plastic bottles were collected from beaches, rivers and waterways last year during the world’s largest single-day volunteer ocean cleanup.</p> <p>About 630,000 people took part in the International Coastal Cleanup in 2025, removing almost 13.9m pieces of rubbish from more than 15,000 miles of coastline and waterways.</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/26/plastic-bottles-coastal-cleanup-ocean-conservancy">Continue reading...</a></p> Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:00:13 +0000 admin 104378 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘You can taste the ash’: surviving in America’s wildfire smoke capital https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/you-can-taste-ash-surviving-america-s-wildfire-smoke-capital <p>A magical corner of Oregon has the highest US rate of wildfire smoke deaths. How do residents live with the haze – and grief?</p> <p>Driving into the county, you can’t miss the sign.</p> <p>“IT’S THE CLIMATE”.</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/aug/26/oregon-wildfire-smoke-deaths">Continue reading...</a></p> Wed, 26 Aug 2026 12:00:11 +0000 admin 104377 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Groups sue Trump’s EPA over fast-track approval of toxic datacenter chemicals https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/groups-sue-trump-s-epa-over-fast-track-approval-toxic-datacenter-chemicals <p>Exposure to two compounds approved can result in ‘sudden death’ and range of other serious health risks, lawsuit warns</p> <p>The Trump administration has approved two new datacenter chemicals to which exposure can result in “sudden death” and a range of other serious health risks, like cancer, eye corrosion, neurological damage and reproductive harm, a new lawsuit warns.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/groups-sue-trump-s-epa-over-fast-track-approval-toxic-datacenter-chemicals" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 26 Aug 2026 11:00:12 +0000 admin 104375 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Flash floods on Nepal-Tibet border leave scores dead and hundreds missing https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/flash-floods-nepal-tibet-border-leave-scores-dead-and-hundreds-missing <p>More than 380 tourists among those unaccounted for after homes, roads, bridges and power plants swept away</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/aug/26/nepal-tibet-himalayas-flash-floods-missing-foreign-tourists-latest-news-updates">Nepal-Tibet floods – latest updates</a></p> </li> </ul> <p>At least 95 people have died and hundreds are missing after flash floods ⁠hit the Himalayan border areas of ⁠Nepal and Tibet in China, with officials saying areas of India were also at risk.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/flash-floods-nepal-tibet-border-leave-scores-dead-and-hundreds-missing" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 26 Aug 2026 10:45:44 +0000 admin 104376 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘132F’: meet the man calling out NYC’s infernally hot subway stations https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/132f-meet-man-calling-out-nyc-s-infernally-hot-subway-stations <p>Jack Klein takes heat readings, gives fans to overheated passengers and lugs big jugs of water into the stations</p> <p>On a recent August day in the subterranean furnace of New York City’s subway, one bearded, curly haired man was studying his phone for different reasons than the other wilting passengers – to track the soaring temperatures and ponder how underground train stations can cool down in an era of climate crisis.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/132f-meet-man-calling-out-nyc-s-infernally-hot-subway-stations" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 26 Aug 2026 10:00:41 +0000 admin 104374 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘National scandal’: extreme heat linked to 40,000 deaths in England between 1988 and 2025 https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/national-scandal-extreme-heat-linked-40000-deaths-england-between-1988-and-2025 <p>ONS data shows rising toll of climate crisis, with officials warning this summer on track to set further records</p> <p>More than 40,000 extra people died on the hottest days in England between 1988 and 2025 than would be expected in normal temperatures, according to <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/climaterelatedmortalityenglandandwales1988to2025">data</a> published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/national-scandal-extreme-heat-linked-40000-deaths-england-between-1988-and-2025" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 26 Aug 2026 09:47:00 +0000 admin 104373 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Heatwaves show UK must do more to promote cycling and walking, campaigners say https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/heatwaves-show-uk-must-do-more-promote-cycling-and-walking-campaigners-say <p>Civil society groups argue climate crisis means transport sector needs to urgently reduce its carbon emissions</p> <p>Dozens of civil society groups have demanded the UK government do more to promote cycling and walking, after this summer’s extreme heat exposed the desperate need to decarbonise transport.</p> <p>This summer’s heatwaves and wildfires were “immediate, real-world manifestations of the climate emergency”, the groups said, making reform of transport – responsible for more carbon emissions than any other sector in the UK – an urgent priority.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/heatwaves-show-uk-must-do-more-promote-cycling-and-walking-campaigners-say" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 26 Aug 2026 07:00:37 +0000 admin 104372 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Call to ban marmot hunting in France as campaigners say they are ‘killed for fun’ https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/call-ban-marmot-hunting-france-campaigners-say-they-are-killed-fun <p>Protests and petitions planned amid growing concerns over impact of climate crisis on numbers of Alpine rodent</p> <p>Animal rights campaigners are gearing up for protests and petitions aimed at persuading the French government to ban the hunting of Alpine marmots.</p> <p>Open season on the rodents, members of the squirrel and groundhog family, begins in September, a few weeks before they go into a long winter hibernation.</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/26/call-ban-marmot-hunting-france-climate-crisis">Continue reading...</a></p> Wed, 26 Aug 2026 04:00:35 +0000 admin 104370 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org