Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves/index.php en ‘Like a sauna’: London tube travellers swelter in temperatures higher than legal limit for cattle https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/sauna-london-tube-travellers-swelter-temperatures-higher-legal-limit-cattle <p>The tube cannot easily be adapted to cope with heatwaves, making conditions almost unbearable</p> <p>As the escalator descends below ground at King’s Cross St Pancras station in London, the shift from what was already a hot station entrance to the furnace-like subterranean depths is perceptible.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/sauna-london-tube-travellers-swelter-temperatures-higher-legal-limit-cattle" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sat, 11 Jul 2026 08:45:06 +0000 admin 103865 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org A swarm of stink bugs and a river of rats: why India’s flowering bamboo causes a crisis for humans https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/swarm-stink-bugs-and-river-rats-why-india-s-flowering-bamboo-causes-crisis-humans <p>Every few decades mass blooming in Mizoram’s forests causes a rodent boom – and devastation to crops. The cycle is well-known, so why aren’t farmers and authorities better prepared?</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/swarm-stink-bugs-and-river-rats-why-india-s-flowering-bamboo-causes-crisis-humans" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sat, 11 Jul 2026 08:00:44 +0000 admin 103864 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘Children were calling for their mummies’: UK pupils struggle in 40C-plus classrooms https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/children-were-calling-their-mummies-uk-pupils-struggle-40c-plus-classrooms <p>Teachers call for schools to be urgently adapted for hot weather amid reports of nausea, fainting and heatstroke</p> <p>The extreme heat that has hit the UK twice in the past few weeks has left teachers struggling to cope as temperatures in some classrooms climb above 40C, with pupils and staff suffering from heatstroke, nausea and headaches.</p> <p>Teachers say they have been desperately trying to keep children safe, with some covering younger pupils in wet paper towels as they lie on the floor, while older students have been given trays of water under their desks to put their feet in.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/children-were-calling-their-mummies-uk-pupils-struggle-40c-plus-classrooms" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sat, 11 Jul 2026 06:00:41 +0000 admin 103863 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Trump taps climate skeptic to run US government’s flagship climate report https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/trump-taps-climate-skeptic-run-us-government-s-flagship-climate-report <p>Matthew Wielicki frequently criticizes established climate science online, including in videos from rightwing PragerU</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/trump-administration">Trump administration</a> has tapped a former geochemist who has railed against “climate alarmism” and calls himself an “Earth science professor-in-exile” to oversee the federal government’s flagship report about climate impacts on the US.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/trump-taps-climate-skeptic-run-us-government-s-flagship-climate-report" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 10 Jul 2026 21:01:00 +0000 admin 103861 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘Death sentence’: Trump’s EPA to open habitats of endangered species to logging and mining https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/death-sentence-trump-s-epa-open-habitats-endangered-species-logging-and-mining <p>Habitat destruction strongest driver of species loss, with legislation keeping 99% of listed species from going extinct</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/trump-administration">Trump administration</a> repealed a crucial part of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Friday, finalizing a new rule that will open habitats of imperiled wildlife to development, logging, mining and other uses.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/death-sentence-trump-s-epa-open-habitats-endangered-species-logging-and-mining" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:37:45 +0000 admin 103862 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org High court rejects most of ‘dieselgate’ claims brought by 1.6m UK car owners https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/high-court-rejects-most-dieselgate-claims-brought-16m-uk-car-owners <p>Carmakers welcome ruling against suit claiming manufacturers including Nissan, Ford and Peugeot fitted devices to defeat emission tests</p> <p>Car manufacturers have welcomed a high court verdict that rejected most of the allegations in a “dieselgate” claim brought on behalf of 1.6 million UK owners of polluting cars.</p> <p>In her judgment, Lady Justice Cockerill said that “in the majority of instances, the court found that the relevant strategy did not constitute a prohibited defeat device” – software that enables the engine to behave differently in tests.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/high-court-rejects-most-dieselgate-claims-brought-16m-uk-car-owners" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 10 Jul 2026 16:54:57 +0000 admin 103860 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Fast-spreading wildfire kills at least 12 in southern Spain https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/fast-spreading-wildfire-kills-least-12-southern-spain <p>Twenty-three people missing and four Britons thought to be among those who died trying to flee Almería blaze</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/10/i-had-an-incredible-escape-british-woman-tells-of-close-encounter-with-spanish-wildfire">‘I had an incredible escape’: British woman tells of close encounter with wildfire</a></p> </li> </ul> <p>At least 12 people have been killed and 23 are unaccounted for after one of Spain’s deadliest wildfires broke out in the south-eastern province of Almería as the country endures its second heatwave of the summer.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/fast-spreading-wildfire-kills-least-12-southern-spain" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:06:30 +0000 admin 103858 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Pacific gray whales facing ‘catastrophic’ die-off as climate crisis hits food supply https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/pacific-gray-whales-facing-catastrophic-die-climate-crisis-hits-food-supply <p>Trump administration urged to relist a species in ‘very, very serious trouble’ under Endangered Species Act</p> <p>Climate change is <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/eastern-north-pacific-gray-whales-continue-decline-after-downturn-during-unusual">driving</a> a gray whale “catastrophic mortality event” in the Pacific Ocean as melting sea ice depletes food sources and the animals starve, <a href="https://peer.org/gray-whales-suffering-catastrophic-mortality-event/">environmental groups warn</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/pacific-gray-whales-facing-catastrophic-die-climate-crisis-hits-food-supply" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:00:20 +0000 admin 103857 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org MPs call on UK government to host televised emergency briefing on climate crisis https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/mps-call-uk-government-host-televised-emergency-briefing-climate-crisis <p>As UK swelters in another heatwave, 50-minute Chris Packham film outlines threats to security, economy and health</p> <p>MPs are calling on the UK government to host a televised national climate emergency briefing in response to what has been described as the most “insidious threat to our society”.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/mps-call-uk-government-host-televised-emergency-briefing-climate-crisis" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:00:20 +0000 admin 103859 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘He’s forcing higher bills’: Trump spends billions to kill clean energy and keep coal alive https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/he-s-forcing-higher-bills-trump-spends-billions-kill-clean-energy-and-keep-coal-alive <p>Critics accuse president of ‘fattening the wallets of his cronies’ as working Americans face higher energy rates</p> <p>The Trump administration has directly spent $2.7bn of taxpayer money on its crusade against wind power while pouring $1.125bn into boosting coal, which critics say is pushing up Americans’ bills.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/he-s-forcing-higher-bills-trump-spends-billions-kill-clean-energy-and-keep-coal-alive" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:30:19 +0000 admin 103856 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org