109 million people face another day of poor air quality as smoke from blazes in Ontario drifts over the US
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Tens of millions of Americans are enduring another day of smoky skies, irritated eyes and bad air quality, as Canadian wildfire smoke spread again over huge swathes of the US, affecting about 109 million people across the midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east.
The pungent wildfire blanketed cities such as Chicago and Detroit, where residents on Friday were warned to stay indoors and reduce activity levels after the air quality index reached a “hazardous” 361, according to the government website AirNow.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
07/17/2026 - 15:31
07/17/2026 - 09:56
Firm pleaded guilty to 13 offences over discharges at Margate and Broadstairs wastewater pumping stations
Southern Water has been fined more than £7m after illegally dumping sewage off the Kent coast between 2019 and 2021.
The company, described by the judge as having a “record of criminality” that was “an exceptionally serious aggravating factor”, pleaded guilty to 13 offences at Medway magistrates court last April over sewage discharges at Margate and Broadstairs wastewater pumping stations between 2019 and 2021.
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07/17/2026 - 09:00
Escaped flowerhorn cichlids are causing concern for native species and about parasites capable of infecting humans
Escaped ornamental aquarium fish have integrated into a local ecosystem in the Philippines, but scientists say they may be threatening the native biodiversity of the lake.
Flowerhorn cichlids – human-bred hybrid fish prized for their bright-gold colour and prominent head humps – are believed to have escaped from breeding facilities into Lake Sampaloc, which sits in a volcanic crater, during a typhoon.
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07/17/2026 - 07:30
Campaigners say field will bring minimal benefit for UK economy, as industry lobbies Burnham for go-ahead
More people can fit on to the top deck of a standard London bus than will be directly employed on the new Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea, industry documents show.
Only 27 direct full-time jobs would be created by Jackdaw, one of the biggest gasfields remaining in the North Sea, according to an environmental impact assessment filed publicly by its owner, Adura, a joint venture between Shell and Norway’s Equinor.
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07/17/2026 - 05:00
Young great white sharks are returning in large numbers, but researchers say humans are not on the menu
Surfers, swimmers and fishermen across California will be sharing the waves with an influx of visitors this summer: young great white sharks.
Juvenile white sharks are already appearing along the coastline, fleeing warmer than usual waters in Mexico during what’s expected to be an incredibly strong El Niño.
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07/17/2026 - 05:00
Over the last month, states across the country have experienced record rainfall and flash flooding
Climate change is driving increasingly common bouts of heavy rain in the US that cause deadly and damaging flash floods that will only become more frequent and intense as the crisis worsens, experts say.
A year after deadly flooding in central Texas that swept through a children’s summer camp, the state and other parts of the United States are again experiencing unusually heavy rain. Over the last month, states like Alaska, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania have all experienced record rainfall, causing flash flooding across the country.
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07/17/2026 - 02:00
This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world
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07/16/2026 - 23:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s44183-026-00230-0
Shifting baselines and maritime jurisdiction in the Pacific
07/16/2026 - 10:00
Most Australian capital cities have at least 80% chance of unusually warm and dry spring as climatologists watch developing system with increasing alarm
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The El Niño climate phenomenon linked to record global temperatures and now locked in place in the Pacific Ocean could develop into the strongest on record, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.
Climatologists are watching the strengthening El Niño with increasing alarm, saying the forecasts from climate models in the coming months are “mind blowing” and “astounding”.
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07/16/2026 - 09:37
Analysis reveals stark socioeconomic divide, with schools with highest free school meal eligibility having fewer trees
Private school grounds in England offer 41% more tree cover than at state schools for cooling and shade in extreme temperatures, research has found.
As teachers and students prepare to take their summer holidays after weeks of high temperatures where some classrooms reached highs of 40C, an analysis of tree cover in schools in England reveals a stark socioeconomic divide.
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