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UK 'hotter than Africa' as mercury hits 28C

Fri, 25 May 2012 16:38:38 GMT

The unseasonably fine weather sent temperatures soaring again today, making the UK hotter than parts of Europe and Africa.

Feeding a hungry world – or meddling with laws of nature?

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Three senior scientists made impassioned appeals yesterday to anti-GM campaigners not to destroy a field trial of GM wheat which is the culmination of several years' work.

RSPB voices shock at buzzard plans

Thu, 24 May 2012 07:27:28 GMT

Conservationists have condemned plans that would allow buzzard nests to be destroyed and the birds of prey taken into captivity to protect pheasant shoots.

How festival land turned green

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

“We could have saved the Earth but we were too damned cheap,” wrote author Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse-Five.

Snake bite warning issued to walkers

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Walkers have been warned to leave snakes in the countryside alone after dozens of incidents of bites caused by people picking up venomous adders. People sought advice over adder bites 196 times between 2009 and 2011, figures from the Health Protection Agency's National Poisons Information Service showed.

Summertime, and the living is easy... at least until next week

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

After being spoilt by the Indian summer of last October, and the brief arrival of unseasonal sunshine in February, it had begun to seem as if the real thing would never arrive this year following the wettest April in years. But now those comparisons of Britain to stereotypically hot places around the world where temperatures are, for once, marginally cooler than here – the Bahamas! Hawaii! Ibiza! – can finally be brought out in force.

Forest guards told to shoot poachers on sight after rash of tiger killings

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Authorities in India have told forest guards to shoot tiger poachers "on sight" in the latest effort to save the country's most famous animal.

Nature Studies by Michael McCarthy: The love that dare not speak its name – butterflies

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Butterflies are back. For me the greatest blessing of the return of the warm weather this week, after that sodden April and that glacial most-of-May, has been that butterflies are once more on the wing and visible. I walked out of the house on Tuesday morning and bumped into a holly blue almost immediately. What a boost to the spirits that was.

Street lighting is changing insect ecosystems, study claims

Wed, 23 May 2012 07:32:14 GMT

Street lighting is changing insect ecosystems in towns and cities, a study has found.

Intruder damages GM research site

Mon, 21 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

A 50-year-old man has been charged with criminal damage after an incident at a research centre testing genetically modified wheat.

Animals left for dead in Indonesian zoos

Mon, 21 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

In a remote corner of Jakarta's Ragunan Zoo, a Malayan sun bear is pacing back and forth, shaking its head in an agitated manner. There is no shade or shelter in the tiny, dilapidated enclosure – just a stagnant pond full of rubbish. The bear, which is riddled with mange, rears up against a concrete wall and howls.

European egrets move to Somerset – for the weather

Mon, 21 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

One of the world's loveliest herons, the great white egret, has nested in Britain for the first time, as new bird species continue to move here from the south, perhaps because of the warming climate.

Is this a drought? No, it's ESRD

Mon, 21 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

When is a drought not a drought? When it's an area of environmental stress due to rainfall deficit, of course. The less-than-catchy term to describe Britain's current state was suggested yesterday by the Environment Agency as it struggles with public perceptions over what "drought" really means.

Trending: There's an Ape for that

Sun, 20 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Humans are not the only primates going ape over iPads, so are, um, apes. Several zoos in the US have started to introduce their orang-utans to computers as part of their mental stimulus programmes, and it turns out the animals are big fans of the hi-tech tablet. Staff at Miami's Jungle Island turned to the iPad on the suggestion of dolphin researcher Jack Kassewitz. The main app used is Tap To Talk, which displays pictures of various objects such as a mango or a bucket, one of which the trainer then names, and the orang-utan then presses the corresponding button.

Antelope first seen 20 years ago is on brink of extinction

Sun, 20 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Vietnam's rare mammals may be sliding towards extinction, but Britain's rarest butterfly is going from strength to strength, a series of contrasting announcements makes clear today.

Government backtracks on fracking

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

The Government has rejected shale gas technology as a solution to Britain's energy crisis, conceding it will do little to cut bills or keep the lights on.

Cameron to view revived Severn barrage plan

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

The Prime Minister is to be briefed on plans for a £30bn, 10-mile tidal barrage from Somerset to South Wales which could provide 5 per cent of Britain's total electricity. David Cameron signalled his backing, telling MPs: "A huge amount of renewable energy could be delivered through a barrage of this kind."

Green motoring finds a new fan

Thu, 17 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

In Edward Glaeser's totemic 2011 book, The Triumph of the City, he points out that if China were to suburbanise and become as car-dependent as America, the effect on the environment of China's 1.3 billion people driving would be fatal to the environment.

The capital for rats and cockroaches

Thu, 17 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

The most infested place in the UK is London, new research shows.

Solar panel subsidy cuts halted by ministers

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:14:46 GMT

Moves to cut subsidies for fitting solar panels on homes were halted by ministers today following warnings that the planned reductions threatened Britain’s hopes of hitting targets for renewable energy production.

Rare Javan langur monkey born at Howletts Wild Animal Park

Thu, 17 May 2012 17:00:28 GMT

A vulnerable species of monkey has added a new member to its brood at a zoo.

Romney Marsh set to become nuclear dump

Wed, 16 May 2012 23:00:57 GMT

Romney Marsh in Kent, one of England’s most peaceful areas and most wildlife-rich wetlands, has been suggested as a site for Britain’s future nuclear waste dump.

Romney Marsh suggested as site for Britain’s future nuclear waste dump

Wed, 16 May 2012 23:00:57 GMT

Romney Marsh in Kent, one of England’s most peaceful areas and most wildlife-rich wetlands, has been suggested as a site for Britain’s future nuclear waste dump.

Animal welfare: The project saving the planet one tattoo at a time

Wed, 16 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

When US-based conservationist Molly Tsongas decided to raise awareness of endangered animals, she knew a great medium: tattoos. "Maybe I should tattoo my whole body with endangered species and become a media sensation to get the word out," is what she says she thought.

Nature Studies by Michael McCarthy: If the blackthorn is sugar, then the hawthorn is cream

Wed, 16 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Here's a minor but welcome piece of news from the natural world: in the past week, in southern England anyway, the hawthorn has come into flower. The alternative name for its blooms, of course, is the May blossom – the Mayflower, the ship that took the pilgrim fathers to the New World in 1620, was named after it.