The Guardian

A luxury cruise has been hailed as the start of a new age of Indian tourism. But conservationists fear the impact of increased river traffic and pollution

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has officially launched the “world’s longest river cruise” from the city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The luxury voyage will last 51 days, travelling 3,200km via Dhaka in Bangladesh to Dibrugarh in Assam, crossing 27 river systems.

The three-deck MV Ganga Vilas, with 18 suites, is the latest venture in a trend for cruise tourism in India being promoted by the government. Modi hailed the cruise industry on the Ganges as a “landmark moment”, which will herald a new age of tourism in India.

Wealthy landowner Alexander Darwall wins case against national park after arguing right to pitch tent on moors did not exist

The right to wild camp on Dartmoor has been overturned after a court case brought to the high court by a wealthy landowner.

Dartmoor was the only place in England and Wales where there was a right to camp under the stars without seeking permission from the landowner.

It’s been very wet in San Francisco and parts of New Zealand, while extreme cold has swept across Russia

Over the past couple of weeks, California has seen the effects of a persistent atmospheric river bringing in constant spells of rain from the Pacific across the state. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Weather Service (NWS) have released rainfall totals for some areas of California over the course of 16 days from 26 December 2022 through to 11 January 2023. Over the 16-day period downtown San Francisco received 345mm and in nearby Oakland totals reached 327.7mm, breaking their 16-day rainfall record. The significance of the flooding is only increased by having had extremely dry soils through the summer and autumn with severe droughts, therefore preventing soils from easily soaking up the intense rainfall that has occurred over recent weeks.

Tropical Cyclone Hale affected the North Island of New Zealand on 9-12 January. Severe thunderstorms brought 156.5mm to Hikuwai in Gisborne in the space of 12 hours, and more than 100mm to other places around Gisborne in the same period. Over the course of 18 hours, 219mm was recorded at Pinnacles in the Coromandel ranges and in Whitianga aerodrome on 10 January, making it the fifth wettest January day on record.

Lobbying industry flexed muscle to ensure bills that aimed to set stricter standards on PFAS compounds went nowhere

All legislation aimed at regulating toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” died in the Democratic-controlled US Congress last session as companies flexed their lobbying muscle and bills did not gain enough Republican support to overcome a Senate filibuster.

The failure comes after public health advocates and Democratic lawmakers expressed optimism at the legislative session’s outset that bills that would protect the public from dangerous exposure to the chemicals could gain sufficient bipartisan support.

Campaigners warn ‘breathtaking conflict of interest’ could jeopardise climate negotiating process

Sultan Al Jaber, the government minister for United Arab Emirates who will preside over this year’s crucial UN climate talks, will retain his roles as head of the country’s oil company and sustainable energy businesses, UAE has confirmed.

Campaigners have been angered by the decision, revealed by the Guardian on Wednesday and confirmed on Thursday by the UAE government, which they see as a clear conflict of interest, with some likening it to putting a tobacco company head in charge of an anti-smoking treaty, and warning it could jeopardise the negotiating process and hasten climate breakdown.

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including grazing goats, a recovering griffon and relaxing monkeys

Climate campaigners accuse leaders of hypocrisy as flights emit as much CO2 in a week as 350,000 cars

Private jet emissions quadrupled as 1,040 planes flew in and out of airports serving Davos during the 2022 World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting.

Climate campaigners accused the rich and powerful of hypocrisy in flying in on private jets to a conference discussing climate breakdown.

Rising numbers of people are taking air pollution measurements to push authorities to take action

More and more people are making their own air pollution measurements and using these to press for action from national and local governments.

Last year Mark Tebbutt installed Chorley’s seventh air pollution monitor. Since 2013 Tebbutt, his family and friends have been buying and operating their own air pollution instruments. These are mounted on garden fences and on the sides of houses across the Lancashire town. You can find their data online alongside those from more than 30,000 citizen scientists around the world.

Tens of thousands of ships from every era lie undisturbed at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Some of the world’s most advanced underwater photography now reveals how miraculously the cold, brackish water has preserved them

• Extracted from the book Ghost Ships of the Baltic Sea by Jonas Dahm and Carl Douglas, published by Max Ström

Authorities to begin release of a million tonnes of water from stricken nuclear plant after treatment to remove most radioactive material

The controversial release of more than a million tonnes of water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant will begin in the northern spring or summer, Japan’s government has said – a move that has sparked anger among local fishing communities and countries in the region.

The decision comes more than two years after the government approved the release of the water, which will be treated to remove most radioactive materials but will still contain tritium, a naturally occurring radioactive form of hydrogen that is technically difficult to separate from water.

Research adds to concerns about the impact of human noise pollution on marine life

We have all experienced the frustration of trying to hold a conversation in a loud pub or restaurant. Now researchers have shown that dolphins may face a similar scenario, showing that they “shout” to each other when faced with background noise.

The findings revealed that a noisy environment makes it harder for dolphins to communicate and cooperate on tasks, adding to concern about the impact of human noise pollution on marine life.

The Wildlife Conservation Society has released footage of the hatching of hundreds of thousands of giant South American river turtles. It is the largest single gathering of turtles in the world and happens annually along the Guaporé/Iténez River on the border between Brazil and Bolivia. An estimated 80,000 adult females lay their eggs in sand along the beaches in September and they hatch between December and January. Once the turtles emerge, they crawl to the river and disperse

World Meteorological Organization data shows last year’s average temperature was 1.15C more than pre-industrial levels

The relentless challenge of global heating has again been underscored by the tally of a passing year, with 2022 ranking as one of the warmest years ever recorded and the past eight years now collectively the hottest documented by modern science.

Last year’s average temperature was about 1.15C warmer globally than levels seen in the pre-industrial era, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with searing, record heat enveloping much of Europe and Asia, which both experienced their second hottest years on record. Europe had its warmest ever summer.

Female killer whale died after grounding itself north of Daytona Beach in first recorded instance in south-eastern US

Wildlife officials in Florida will conduct a necropsy to determine the cause of death of a 21ft (6.4-metre) orca, the first recorded instance of a killer whale beaching itself in the south-eastern US.

The female orca was still alive when it came ashore in Flagler county, about 30 miles north of Daytona Beach, early on Wednesday, but died before rescuers arrived.

The row between Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest over Sun Cable reveals the technical, economic and even geopolitical hurdles to completion

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Behind the “billionaire biffo” between Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest over the future of Sun Cable is a project that has analysts dubbing “visionary” but also “extremely ambitious”.

In Australia’s first big business story of the year, Sun Cable was placed into voluntary administration on Wednesday. That signalled the company won’t be able to meet debt payments without another injection of funds said to be $60m, with Forrest the one not “aligned” with other investors in a willingness to dig deep again.

Baby to be named after a rock or pop star as primatologists say only about 18,000 left across Africa

Conservationists are celebrating the birth of the “world’s rarest chimpanzee” at a UK zoo.

Chester zoo has welcomed the arrival of the male critically endangered western or west African chimpanzee, which was delivered after an eight-month pregnancy.

A man has directed traffic on a busy Queensland road to provide a path for the furry marsupial to cross into the safety of the forest on the other side. Will Thornton was having a coffee on his balcony at his Burleigh Heads home when he spotted the koala 'determined to cross the highway'

• Rare snowy owl’s ‘thrilling’ migration enchants California suburb

Local government survey shows 26 council sites already spilling waste on to cliffs and into sea

Hundreds of ageing landfill dumps on the coast of England containing plastics, chemicals and other waste are a ticking timebomb threatening to leach pollution on to beaches and into the sea, new research shows.

The waste sites date back 100 years in some cases, and little is known about what has been dumped in them. Climate breakdown with associated rising sea levels and flooding are increasing the risk of a cocktail of pollutants entering the sea.

Group says forcing polluters to store carbon dioxide underground is needed to help world reach net zero

Fossil fuel companies should be forced to “take back” the carbon dioxide emitted from their products, handing them direct responsibility for cleaning up the climate, a group of scientists has argued.

The principle that the producer of pollution should pay for its clean-up is established around the world, but has never been applied to the climate crisis.

Ratcliffe-on-Soar to be kept viable until late 2024 after ministers make request prompted by energy crisis

A Nottinghamshire coal-burning power plant will stay open for two years beyond its planned closure date after a call from ministers prompted by the UK’s energy crisis.

Ratcliffe-on-Soar had initially been pencilled in to shut in 2022, but last year said it would have an initial extension until 31 March 2023.