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More than 400,000 people evacuated, hundreds of flights cancelled and many roads shut due to flooding and windsTyphoon Bebinca struck the east coast of China this week, making landfall near Shanghai, a city of almost 30 million people, on Monday. Bebinca developed into a typhoon to the east of the southern Japan islands late last week, before traveling westwards through the East China Sea...

Experts unsurprised at intensity of extreme weather but say damage wreaked shows how unprepared world isEurope floods – latest updatesPicturesque towns across central Europe are inundated by dirty flood water after heavy weekend rains turned tranquil streams into raging rivers that wreaked havoc on infrastructure.The floods have killed at least 15 people and destroyed buildings from Austria to Romania. The destruction comes after devastating...

Tumultuous campaign threatens to undo climate policies and Indigenous rights when voters go to polls in OctoberCanada’s westernmost province has been gripped by a chaotic provincial election campaign, rife with political backstabbing, abrupt resignations and unexpected allegiances.And as an unpopular premier squares off against a climate crisis skeptic, the October vote could have profound consequences for British Columbia, a province seen as the vanguard...

Ekkapol Chantawong, who spent nearly three weeks underground in 2018, forced to spend night on roof of homeThe coach of the young Thai footballers who captured the world’s attention when they spent nearly three weeks trapped in a cave has found himself in another watery predicament – stuck on his roof by flash floods.Ekkapol Chantawong said he was drawing on his 2018 experience with...

Pen-chan defies expectations to be reunited with keeper safe and sound after swimming 30 miles in open seaA fugitive penguin in Japan has been found safe and sound two weeks after escaping into the sea and paddling for miles in what her keeper called a miracle.Pen-chan, a female Cape penguin born and raised in captivity, who had never swum in the open sea before...

Cooler temperatures expected to replace record highs in Estonia, while China braces for Super Typhoon YagiSince the start of September, swaths of central and eastern Europe have experienced temperatures well above average, with some places up to 10C (50F) above the seasonal norm.A date temperature record was set in Estonia on Wednesday, where it hit 29.8C in Haapsalu. The September peak in the country...

Climate activist one of six detained by police after students block university building in Danish capitalIsrael and Hamas at war – live updatesDanish police have arrested the environmental activist Greta Thunberg at a protest in Copenhagen against the war in Gaza, a spokesperson for the student group organising the demonstration said.Six people had been detained on Wednesday at the University of Copenhagen after 20...

State-owned company halts initiative after warnings over opening up ‘right to roam’ laws to large numbers of visitorsA Norwegian tourism campaign aimed at promoting the country as a destination for outdoor activities has been suspended after warnings that opening up the country’s “right to roam” laws to mass tourism could lead to environmental destruction.Allemannsretten – which gives Norwegians the legal right to camp, swim,...

Severe gusts and heavy rain leave dozens injured and more than 250,000 homes without powerTyphoon Shanshan has killed at least three people and injured about 40 as it barrels through Japan, with more than 250,000 homes left without power.At the time of writing, 24-hour rainfall totals have reached 300-400mm across swaths of Miyazaki, in the Kyushu region. Up to 630mm of rain has been...

Madrid study finds people from below-average income groups more likely to die in heatwavesScorching temperatures across Europe have killed tens of thousands of people in recent years. But as fatalities rise, researchers are finding that one group is disproportionately bearing the brunt of extreme heat: those living in poverty.“It’s common sense,” said Julio Díaz Jiménez, an investigative professor at Madrid’s Carlos III health institute....

One report says 150-200 people missing after heavy rain led to Arbaat dam giving way in area already hit by civil warSurging waters have burst through a dam in eastern Sudan, wiping out at least 20 villages and leaving at least 30 people dead but probably many more, the UN has said, devastating a region already reeling from months of civil war.Torrential rains caused...

Search for more survivors of cave collapse that killed one called off as records show 23 not 25 people were on tourAfter a 17-hour, 200-person rescue operation in which first responders used chainsaws and ice picks to cut through a collapsed ice cave to track down two missing tourists, police in Iceland have called off the search and said they now believe that no...

Incident happened as tour group of 25 was visiting Breiðamerkurjökull glacier in south-east of countryAt least one person has died and two others are missing after an ice cave partially collapsed as a group of tourists was visiting a glacier in southern Iceland. In a statement posted on social media, local police said first responders received a call shortly before 3pm on Sunday. They...

Nearly 300,000 people forced to flee after monsoon rains, which have killed 42 people in India and BangladeshNearly 300,000 Bangladeshis are taking refuge in emergency shelters from floods that inundated vast areas of the country, disaster officials said.The floods were triggered by heavy monsoon rains and have killed at least 42 people in Bangladesh and India since the start of the week, many in...

Type of microplastics used in skin exfoliators and banned in UK and US found in 45% of Indian products studiedIndia should consider a ban on microbeads in personal care products, in line with many other countries in the world, say researchers.Microbeads are a type of microplastic used in cosmetic products to exfoliate the skin. After a public uproar when the plastics were highlighted in...

Schools and university shut down in Tripura state after persistent heavy rain, and situation expected to worsen Incessant rain across Tripura, a state in north-east India, has created what has been described as the state’s worst flood situation in the last three decades. Persistent heavy rain from Monday to Wednesday resulted in several rivers exceeding danger and extreme danger marks, leading to widespread flooding...

Data shows continued surge in wind and solar power amid hopes Chinese greenhouse gas emissions may have peakedChina produced as much clean electricity in the first half of this year as the UK generated from all sources in the same period last year, data shows, as wind and solar power generation continued to surge in the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.Electricity generation from...

Unicef analysis also finds children in eight countries spend more than half the year in temperatures above 35CAlmost half a billion children are growing up in parts of the world where there are at least twice the number of extremely hot days every year compared with six decades ago, analysis by Unicef has found.The analysis by the UN’s children’s agency examined for the first...

In today’s newsletter: As visitors overwhelm Venice, Barcelona and other famous cities, a model rewarding travellers for being more responsible could inspire other municipalities• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Today we’re taking a little trip to Copenhagen to explore a new pilot initiative designed to reward tourists for “climate-friendly actions”. The CopenPay scheme has been designed to encourage visitors...

Married couple from Bristol attract awe and abuse on X with photos that show ‘staggering’ changes in the AlpsA tourist has posted “staggering” photos of himself and his wife at the same spot in the Swiss Alps almost exactly 15 years apart, in a pair of photos that highlight the speed with which global heating is melting glaciers.Duncan Porter, a software developer from Bristol,...

Almost 200 killed as deluge sweeps northern India, while rain gives way to high humidity at Paris OlympicsBetween Wednesday and Thursday morning, 147mm of rain was recorded in eastern parts of Delhi by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), breaking a 14-year record for the highest single day total in July.Delhi received more than half its monthly rainfall on Wednesday. This torrential rain damaged infrastructure...

So far this year officials warnings have been issued for 25 floods, and China is only halfway through its peak flood seasonHalfway through the peak flood season, China has already experienced the highest number of significant floods since record keeping began in 1998, and the hottest July since 1961, authorities said on Friday.This year so far it has recorded 25 “numbered” events, which the...

Dozens treated in hospital for injuries as difficult terrain and collapsed bridge hamper rescue efforts in Wayanad districtAt least 44 people have died and dozens more are missing after heavy rains led to a series of landslides in the Indian state of Kerala, with rescue operations hampered by the collapse of a main bridge.Government ministers confirmed the bodies of 44 people had been uncovered...

Report finds 13 member states generated more energy from wind and solar power than coal and gas for first time in 2024Wind turbines and solar panels have overtaken fossil fuels to generate 30% of the European Union’s electricity in the first half of the year, a report has found.Power generation from burning coal, oil and gas fell 17% in the first six months of...