Environment

• Tuesday, May 26th 2026 - 08:14 UTC

  United Kingdom records hottest May since 1922 with overnight temperature record

  

  The United Kingdom registered on Tuesday its warmest dawn ever recorded for a May month, with a minimum temperature of 21.3 degrees Celsius in south London, according to the British Meteorological Office, known as the Met. The reading constitutes what meteorologists call a “tropical night,” a category reserved for periods in which the overnight temperature does not fall below 20 degrees, an unusual phenomenon for this time of year in the British Isles.

• Friday, May 22nd 2026 - 23:12 UTC

  Humpback whales observation show they moved between Australia and Brazil, the longest travel distance ever

  

  Two humpback whales have been sighted in separate breeding grounds off Australia and Brazil, the first time scientists have seen the species travel such vast distances across the Southern Ocean during their lifetimes.

• Thursday, May 21st 2026 - 18:41 UTC

  Gentoo Penguins Are Actually Four Different Species, Latest Scientists Research, Smithsonian Magazine

  

  A new study indicates that the adaptable marine birds evolved into distinct lineages as isolated populations shifted to match their environmental conditions over time. The work has implications for how conservationists assess threats to Gentoos. (Piece by Carlyn Kranking, Associate Web Editor, Science, Communications Biology)

• Wednesday, May 20th 2026 - 23:49 UTC

  Brazilian Public Prosecutor's Office asks not to renew license of country's sole uranium mine

  

  Brazil's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday recommended that the Brazilian Institute of Environment (Ibama) not renew the environmental license of the country's only uranium mine, in operation since 1999, until the responsible company duly consults the quilombola communities potentially affected by the activity. The recommendation does not amount to a definitive closure of operations, but it does entail a suspension conditional on compliance with the requirement of prior consultation of the populations affected by the project, in line with the national and international norms in force.

• Thursday, May 14th 2026 - 16:52 UTC

  UK ‘Zero Net’ Miliband’s policy questioned as a threat to British security, ‘China dominates all the green technology’

  

  The UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband has been accused of handing Beijing a “kill switch” over the British economy, after claiming that green energy will end the UK's reliance on Vladimir Putin’s Russia for its fuel needs.

• Tuesday, May 12th 2026 - 14:14 UTC

  Strait of Hormuz closure, FAO warns of fertilizer scarcity and calendar for new planting season

  

  The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, warned that the global fertilizer scarcity caused by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz will lead to lower yields and tightening food supplies in the latter half of 2026 and into 2027.

• Monday, May 11th 2026 - 07:00 UTC

  New Darwin Plus Funding Round, 2026, for South Georgia

  

  The Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) is therefore delighted to announce a new round of Darwin Plus funding following the recent pause in the program, and welcome applications that will contribute to the broader aims of the Government.

• Thursday, May 7th 2026 - 23:08 UTC

  Falklands students send special message to Sir David Attenborough on his 100th birthday

  

  Students from the Falkland Islands' schools have prepared a video message for Sir David Attenborough to mark the broadcaster and naturalist's 100th birthday, which he will celebrate on Friday, May 8. The initiative, announced by the Falkland Islands Government's London Office, seeks to recognise the influence Sir David's documentary series have had on the archipelago's younger generations and his career-long role in showcasing the islands' natural heritage internationally.

• Sunday, May 3rd 2026 - 09:54 UTC

  Another Antarctica season of over 100.000 visitors, according to IAATO

  

  The latest official report from IAATO, (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators), put total 2024-25 visitation at 118,491, after 122,072 in 2023-24, meaning traffic remains well above the 100,000 mark even after a modest pullback.

• Sunday, May 3rd 2026 - 09:15 UTC

  Falklands, public consultation on Nature Reserves closes 5 May

  

  The Falkland Islands Environment Department would like to remind members of the public that the consultation on its proposal to designate and expand National Nature Reserves will close on Tuesday 5 May 2026.