Environment

• Thursday, December 3rd 2020 - 09:47 UTC

  2020 on course to be one of the three warmest years ever recorded

  

  This year is on course to be one of the three warmest ever recorded and could even top the record set in 2016, the United Nations said on Wednesday. The past six years, 2015 to 2020, are therefore set to make up all six of the hottest years since modern records began in 1850, the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its provisional 2020 State of the Global Climate report.

• Thursday, December 3rd 2020 - 09:39 UTC

  RRS Sir David Attenborough delivered, BAS readies for intensive training and Arctic ice trials next year

  

  Britain’s new polar ship, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, has been handed over from Cammell Laird shipyard to the Natural Environment Research Council, NERC. Operated by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the new polar ship will transform UK research in the polar regions. Its missions will be critical for understanding and making sense of our changing climate.

• Thursday, December 3rd 2020 - 09:00 UTC

  RRS James Clark Ross in South Georgia after seven weeks sailing

  

  The RRS James Clark Ross has arrived at King Edward Point, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, after seven weeks sailing south from the UK. For the staff disembarking at King Edward Point, this represents the culmination of a journey that started in quarantine in the UK in October to enable safe travel.

• Tuesday, December 1st 2020 - 09:55 UTC

  Climate change will increase the burden of Brazil's armed forces and endanger energy and water security

  

  Climate change will increase the burdens on Brazil’s armed forces and endanger the country’s energy and water security, military experts predicted on Monday. A group of senior military leaders said deforestation in the Amazon region could alter rainfall patterns in Brazil, hitting hydropower plants - the country’s major source of energy - and water supplies for major urban centers.

• Saturday, November 28th 2020 - 09:04 UTC

  British Overseas Territories and the Joint Ministerial Council

  

  This week Penguin News gave up its editorial space to allow for the publication of a last-minute Op-ed from Wendy Morton MP, Minister responsible for the Falkland Islands in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, on the Joint Ministerial Council 2020

• Saturday, November 28th 2020 - 08:58 UTC

  Australia's extreme heat wave with 40c temperatures announced for this weekend

  

  Australia’s extreme weekend heatwave has begun, with temperatures set to soar to 40 centigrade and increase the risk of bushfires in some states. The Bureau of Meteorology has dubbed it “the most significant heat wave of the season yet” and said it will impact millions of Aussies.

• Friday, November 27th 2020 - 09:32 UTC

  Killer whales seem to have scared away great white sharks from Cape Town waters

  

  Killer whales are likely responsible for the disappearance of great white sharks from the waters of Cape Town, South Africa — a popular destination to go cage diving, according to a new South African government report.

• Thursday, November 26th 2020 - 08:42 UTC

  Almost 100 pilot whales died in a mass stranding on New Zealand's remote islands

  

  Almost 100 pilot whales have died in a mass stranding on New Zealand's remote Chatham Islands. Conservation officers said they were notified about the incident on Sunday but by the time they reached the location, Waitangi West Beach, few of the animals were still alive. In total, 97 whales and three dolphins have died.

• Wednesday, November 25th 2020 - 08:55 UTC

  Royal Navy in relief support operations for hurricane devastated Honduras

  

  Royal Navy helicopters have flown vital reconnaissance missions over devastated Honduras as relief operations continue in the wake of Hurricane Eta and Iota. Severe flooding and landslides following the two catastrophic storms have left millions of Hondurans displaced and isolated without food and clean water.

• Tuesday, November 24th 2020 - 08:08 UTC

  Finnish M/S Viking Grace rescued from the Aland islands shores returns to port

  

  A passenger ferry that ran aground in heavy winds in a Baltic Sea archipelago between Finland and Sweden was dragged off the shore and towed early Sunday to a port, where some of its over 300 passengers disembarked.