The Guardian

Widespread wildfires have taken lives and destroyed habitats as well as causing air pollution

Wildfires are spanning the northern hemisphere. Local impacts have been severe; notably the loss of habitat and life, including the tragic deaths in Greece. Smoke has caused air pollution problems in nearby cities, exposing millions of people. Moorland fires affected air pollution in Manchester. Cities on the west coast of the US and Canada, including Seattle and Vancouver, issued pollution alerts as forest fire smoke turned day into night. During a national league soccer game in Oregon players had breaks every 15 minutes and oxygen was provided for them. But the smoke spreads further. Smoke from Siberian forest fires crossed the Arctic to reach North America in July . Weather models and satellite pictures showed that smoke from North American forest fires crossed the Atlantic in the high atmosphere and reached Europe in mid-August, causing purple skies in southern Ireland.

A study in 2011 estimated that between 260,000 and 600,000 early deaths were attributable to air pollution from landscape fires each year. The annual toll normally varies with the La Niña/El Niño cycle that causes yearly variations in global weather. The effects of this year’s fires have yet to be estimated.

Rising temperatures make insects eat and breed more, leading to food losses growing world population cannot afford, say scientists

Rising global temperatures mean pests will devour far more of the world’s crops, according to the first global analysis of the subject, even if climate change is restricted to the international target of 2C.

Increasing heat boosts both the number and appetite of insects, and researchers project they will destroy almost 50% more wheat than they do today with a 2C rise, and 30% more maize. Rice, the third key staple, is less affected as it is grown in the tropics, which are already near the optimal temperature for insects – although bugs will still eat 20% more.

Award-winning geographer Dr James Cheshire and designer Oliver Uberti take us to the forefront of the animal tracking revolution, mapping the movements of animals on land, sky and sea – from Peru’s elusive jaguars to ant activity in a colony

The elephants who crossed the railroad

Japanese government expected to propose reforms to the International Whaling Commission allowing them to circumvent the current ban

Attempts by Japan to resume commercial whaling are likely to raise controversy at the International Whaling Commission meeting, as opponents decry the country’s suggested reforms as a covert way to revive the banned practice.

The Japanese government is tabling proposals that would allow members of the IWC to circumvent some of its key decisions, such as ending the killing of whales for consumption of their meat.

The onus still falls on national governments to cut emissions to stave off the worst impacts of climate change, Yale researchers say

Individual cities, regions and businesses across the globe are banding together determinedly to confront climate change - but their emissions reductions are relatively small and don’t fully compensate for a recalcitrant US under the Trump administration, a new study has found.

A cavalcade of city mayors, regional government representatives and business executives from around the world will convene in San Francisco next month for a major summit touting the role of action beyond national governments to stave off the worst impacts of climate change.

With better management of fishing, global catches could increase even if temperatures rise by as much as 4C, say scientists

Better management of fishing rights around the world would increase catches even if climate change takes hold, new research has found, ahead of key negotiations on fishing at the UN next week.

Even if temperatures rise by as much as 4C above pre-industrial levels – in the upper range of current forecasts – the damaging effects on fishing can be contained through improving how stocks are fished and managed. The finding is crucial because more than 1 billion people globally rely on fish, particularly key species such as tuna and mackerel, as their main source of protein.

National Trust trial of 13th century method used until 1940s transforms stretch of Gower peninsula coast

A pioneering farming project using field management techniques dating back to the 13th century has transformed a stretch of coast into a haven for endangered animals, birds, insects and wildflowers.

The experimental return to “strip-field farming” close to the spectacular Rhossili Bay on the Gower peninsula in south Wales is being credited with a threefold increase in the number of species of wildflowers and the appearance of rare birds such as the hen harrier and grasshopper warbler.

My mother, Rosemary Titterington, who has died aged 87, was a pioneer in the herb industry. Starting out in business from her kitchen table, she established the award-winning gardens at Iden Croft Herbs in Staplehurst, Kent.

At Iden Croft, she held the national collections of mentha (mint) and origanum (marjoram), and large collections of salvia and thyme. She was the author of books including Growing Herbs (1987) and served as chair of the standards committee of the British Herb Trade Association.

A new study finds that weather associated with El Niño events is becoming more severe

As humans put more and more heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, the Earth warms. And the warming is causing changes that might surprise us. Not only is the warming causing long-term trends in heat, sea level rise, ice loss, etc.; it’s also making our weather more variable. It’s making otherwise natural cycles of weather more powerful.

Perhaps the most important natural fluctuation in the Earth’s climate is the El Niño process. El Niño refers to a short-term period of warm ocean surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific, basically stretching from South America towards Australia. When an El Niño happens, that region is warmer than usual. If the counterpart La Niña occurs, the region is colder than usual. Often times, neither an El Niño or La Niña is present and the waters are a normal temperature. This would be called a “neutral” state.

The new award celebrates wildlife photo stories and their role in raising awareness about and protecting the natural world. The winners will be announced at Bristol’s Wildscreen Festival and showcased in a free exhibition from 12 Oct to 8 Nov

Fiona Simson says people have been tiptoeing around the subject for too long and it is time for a national strategy

The president of the National Farmers Federation, Fiona Simson, has declared that climate change is making drought worse in Australia and says tiptoeing around the subject does not do regional communities any good.

“It is the effect of climate change we need to be aware of that makes the impacts of a drought even worse,” she told the National Press Club.

Exclusive: On-the-road fuel efficiency is far lower than in lab tests, pushing up costs and CO2 emissions, research shows

Drivers in Europe have paid €150bn more on fuel than they would have if their vehicles had performed as well on-the-road as in official laboratory-based tests, according to a new report.

Car companies have legally gamed official tests of fuel economy for many years by, for example, using very hard tyres during tests or taking out equipment to make cars lighter. The gap between test and actual performance has soared from 9% in 2000 to 42% today.

Report blames climate change on cosmic ray fluctuations and sunspot activity, drawing derision from climate scientists

A European parliament report that blames climate change on cosmic ray fluctuations, sunspots and planetary gravitational pulls, is so hackneyed and ill-informed it would “make the dinosaurs blush,” climate scientists say.

The non-binding opinion written by Ukip MEP, John Stuart Agnew, has shocked EU lawmakers for its dismissal of climate science – and the support he received to write it from mainstream rightwing and liberal political blocs.

Labor and Greens say former PM could ‘put to bed’ why government money was given to private charity

Malcolm Turnbull could be compelled to appear at a Senate inquiry examining the government’s $443.8m grant to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation under a Labor and Greens push.

Although MPs cannot be compelled to answer questions in Senate committees, Turnbull’s decision to resign as member for Wentworth on Friday means he could be forced to front the inquiry examining the grant.

Insects’ acquired taste for pesticide-laced food is similar to nicotine addiction in smokers, say scientists

Bumblebees acquire a taste for pesticide-laced food that can be compared to nicotine addiction in smokers, say scientists.

The more of the nicotine-like chemicals they consume, the more they appear to want, a study has shown.

An excellent summer for moths so far may also yet bring us the Camberwell beauty from Finland and Scandinavia

A year of extremes has triggered some unexpected variations in butterfly behaviour, distribution and population. But before we look back, I’m still looking forward with hope.

The similarly hot summer of 1976 produced the last vintage season for our most exciting migratory butterfly: the Camberwell beauty. This big, powerful and completely gorgeous insect with wings the colour of crushed plums bordered with blue studs and primrose yellow will be blown in from Finland and Scandinavia if we are blessed with easterly winds in the next few weeks.

All but the cleanest vehicles to be banned from nine streets in Islington and Hackney

Two London councils are to ban all but the cleanest vehicles from some areas at peak times to help tackle the city’s air pollution crisis.

In the UK’s first scheme of its kind, only ultra-low emission vehicles such as electric cars, e-bikes, and the newest hybrids and hydrogen vehicles will be allowed on nine streets in Hackney and Islington from 7am-10am and 4pm-7pm on weekdays.

Almost £9m to be spent to protect wet and temperate forests from invasive species

A project to restore an endangered section of the British countryside – the Celtic rainforest in rural Wales – has been launched with funding from the Welsh government and the EU.

Almost £9m is to be spent trying to protect and improve the wet and temperate forests typically dominated by sessile oak, downy birch, ash and hazel, in an areacriss-crossed by tumbling streams and waterfalls.

Air pollution leaves many Londoners like Catherine Bazell housebound, and as the severe impacts on health become clearer the call for greater action is rising

Catherine Bazell looks out from her first floor flat towards the familiar landmarks of central London as a steady stream of cars and vans trundle by on the road below.

“Me and my mum and dad used to love taking bus trips for the day when I was a girl,” says the 73-year-old. “We would get a bus and just go off exploring different bits of the city.”

Statewide assessment, which comes amid summer of extreme wildfires, warns of deadly cost if climate change is not stopped

California’s summer of deadly wildfires and dangerous heatwaves will soon be the new normal if nothing is done to stop climate change, a report released on Monday warns.

City heatwaves could lead to two to three times as many deaths by 2050, the report says. By 2100, without a reduction in emissions, the state could see a 77% increase in the average area burned by wildfires. The report also warns of erosion of up to 67% of its famous coastline, up to an 8.8F rise in average maximum temperatures, and billions of dollars in damages.