» ‘It makes water wetter’: How Wimbledon keeps grass green in soaring temperatures
02/07/25 14:12 from Water | The Guardian
Special soil spray is used to increase amount of water grass can absorb to prevent courts from drying out A special chemical is being used at Wimbledon to make “water wetter” to try to reduce water bills and tackle rising temperatures. A...

» Droughts worldwide pushing tens of millions towards starvation, says report
02/07/25 12:30 from Water | The Guardian
Water shortages hitting crops, energy and health as crisis gathers pace amid climate breakdown Drought is pushing tens of millions of people to the edge of starvation around the world, in a foretaste of a global crisis that is rapidly de...

» More than 80% of UK farmers worried about climate crisis harming livelihood, study finds
02/07/25 04:01 from Water | The Guardian
Farmers warn of risk to Britain’s food supply as more than three-quarters take hit to income from extreme weather More than 80% of UK farmers are worried that the “devastating” effect of the climate crisis could damage their ability to m...

» ‘Even if we stop drinking we will be exposed’: Parts of France have banned tap water. Is it a warning for the rest of Europe?
01/07/25 04:00 from Water | The Guardian
Forever chemicals have polluted the water supply of 60,000 people, threatening human health, wildlife and the wider ecosystem. But activists say this is just the tip of the Pfas iceberg One quiet Saturday night, Sandra Wiedemann was curl...

» The French town that banned its tap water and the chemicals that could be in yours - podcast
01/07/25 02:00 from Water | The Guardian
Phoebe Weston heads to Alsace, eastern France, to hear about a ban on drinking water caused by dangerously high levels of ‘forever chemicals’ Sandra Wiedemann was watching TV on a Saturday night when she first saw the news that the water...

» Thames Water court case shows there are alternatives to massive infrastructure
28/06/25 16:00 from Water | The Guardian
It is what we might call the HS2 fallacy: new reservoirs as tall as high-rise buildings that boost water companies’ assets Britain is running out of water, we are told. Soon there will be curfews, banning people from turning on their tap...

» Country diary: The hard, heavy work of harvesting seaweed | Kirsteen Bell
27/06/25 04:30 from Water | The Guardian
Loch Euport, North Uist: Crofters have harvested the slippery stuff here for centuries, now part of a sustainable system. But it’s still back-breaking work Great olive-brown fankles of knotted wrack ( Ascophyllum nodosum ) swell up from ...

» The green drought: June rainfall has come too late to offer relief to farmers in southern Australia
27/06/25 03:30 from Water | The Guardian
The winter crop growing season requires three days of steady rain – but many inland parts of southern Australia did not receive an autumn break this year How often do you mow your lawn in winter? It may seem like an odd way to start a co...

» The UK is getting drier. Could reusing greywater help?
23/06/25 12:00 from Water | The Guardian
Experts say the average Briton uses too much water per day and societal change needs to start today to tackle looming water crisis Water shortages are no longer a distant threat. By 2055, in England alone, the public will face a shortfal...

» ‘A timebomb’: could a French mine full of waste poison the drinking water of millions?
23/06/25 04:00 from Water | The Guardian
Scientists fear thousands of tonnes of chemicals dumped in mining tunnels in Alsace may seep into an aquifer, with devastating consequences for people and wildlife Eight police officers linger with their backs to the two-hectare (five-ac...

» How England’s outdated water tracking system leaves regulators in the dark
22/06/25 06:00 from Water | The Guardian
Experts warn accurately monitoring consumption by bulk users such as farmers, datacentres and businesses can be all but impossible Demand for water is rising fast but England’s system for tracking water use is outdated, patchy and opaque...

» England’s rivers ‘under threat’ as water extraction surges to record levels
20/06/25 12:00 from Water | The Guardian
Exclusive: Investigation finds 76% rise in water taken from rivers and lakes for industrial or public consumption in two decades The amount of water being sucked from England’s rivers has surged to record levels, with potentially disastr...

» Poison in the water: the town with the world’s worst case of forever chemicals contamination
19/06/25 04:00 from Water | The Guardian
When a small Swedish town discovered their drinking water contained extremely high levels of Pfas, they had no idea what it would mean for their health and their children’s future If Agneta Bruno closes her eyes, the soapy smell takes he...

» AI boom means regulator cannot predict future water shortages in England
17/06/25 06:00 from Water | The Guardian
Datacentres, which do not have to report amount of water used to cool servers, leave Environment Agency with no idea of shortfalls The artificial intelligence boom means the Environment Agency has no idea how much water England will be s...

» Ofwat should have to approve water firms’ bonuses and dividends, say MPs
15/06/25 23:01 from Water | The Guardian
Report says billpayer funds are being used irresponsibly, after news that Thames Water paid bonuses from £3bn loan Bonuses and dividends for water company bosses and shareholders should be approved by the regulator before they are paid, ...

» Thames Water must be held to account | Letters
15/06/25 17:18 from Water | The Guardian
The assets of those who accrue wealth through the degradation of the natural environment should be confiscated, writes David Humphreys So creditors wishing to take over Thames Water want the company and its senior management to be grante...

» Deadly algal bloom in South Australia’s Coorong an environmental ‘eye opener’, ecologist says
14/06/25 20:00 from Water | The Guardian
Among the dead in the internationally significant wetland are estuarine snails, shore crabs, baby flounder and ‘a thick stew of polychaete worms’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast When South Australia’s algal b...

» A map, a myth and a pre-Incan lagoon: the man who brought water back to a drought-ridden town
13/06/25 11:02 from Water | The Guardian
When historian Galo Ramón uncovered a long-forgotten pre-Incan water system in Ecuador, he set about restoring it, and helped transform the landscape and livelihoods One day in 1983, while studying a hand-drawn map from 1792 of his home ...

» Bloomin’ Algae app users can help public and pets enjoy the natural environment safely this summer
10/06/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Professor Laurence Carvalho of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), who specialises in the study of algal blooms and water quality, says people can provide early warnings of blue-green...

» Climate change is causing declines in seabirds’ breeding success
28/05/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
The first global analysis of seabird breeding success in relation to climate has found many species are struggling to produce offspring as ocean temperatures rise.The study, published in the journal...

» Climate change makes West Nile virus outbreaks 'plausible' in UK
27/05/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Climate change will make outbreaks of West Nile virus more likely in the UK within the next 20-30 years, scientists say.West Nile virus is spread by mosquitoes and has no vaccine. Most people have no...

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25/05/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
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» Trials investigate large-scale removal of greenhouse gases
24/05/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Research teams will investigate innovative methods of large-scale removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere to support the UK’s net zero emissions target.Scientists from institutes across the...

» UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme launches website and app on World Bee Day
20/05/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
A landmark citizen science scheme that monitors how populations of pollinators are changing across the country is making it easier for the public to take part in its surveys.The UK Pollinator...

» Widespread Chernobyl wildfires posed low radiation health risks
18/05/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Extensive wildfires in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone resulted in little additional radiation risk for firefighters and the wider public, a new study led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (...

» Nature-based solutions are key to tackling climate change and biodiversity loss
12/05/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
A new report by UK scientists says nature can make a valuable contribution to tackling climate change and biodiversity loss in the UK.The first complete assessment of its kind for the UK aims to...

» Software / Models
11/05/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

» Try nature-based citizen science to support your wellbeing
11/05/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Dr Michael Pocock writes about research exploring people's connection to nature and how it might relate to wellbeing...This week (10-16 May 2021) is Mental Health Awareness Week, and the theme for...

» Impacts of landfill chemical waste on UK seabirds investigated
10/05/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
A £2.3million study is investigating the effects that chemical pollutants from coastal landfill waste may be having on UK seabirds’ health, reproduction and survival.While the varied negative impacts...

» Download Water Sector brochure
07/05/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

» Nitrogen pollution is no laughing matter
27/04/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Nitrous oxide (N2O) - commonly known as laughing gas - has 300 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide (CO2) and is responsible for seven per cent of harmful greenhouse gas emissions...

» Climate 'tipping points' need not be irreversible, say scientists
22/04/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
The disastrous consequences of climate ‘tipping points’ could be averted if global warming is reversed quickly enough, new research suggests.Tipping points are the thresholds at which rising...

» Improved management of farmed peatlands could cut 500 million tonnes of CO2
20/04/21 00:00 from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Substantial cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions could be achieved by raising water levels in agricultural peatlands, according to a new study in the journal Nature.Peatlands occupy just three per...