Month: September 2025

Company launches eco-bricks that ‘absorb carbon

A start-up company in Sheffield has launched environmentally-friendly bricks which absorb and permanently store greenhouse gases.

Materials developer earth4Earth, based at Sheffield Technology Parks, said the bricks capture carbon dioxide from the air around them but are also manufactured using methods which do not produce it.

The first batch is now being used in pilot projects across Sheffield.

Find out more here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8739gvn7gzo

Unique 1.5m year-old ice to be melted to unlock mystery

An ice core that has been estimated to be over 1.5 million years old could hold vital information about the Earth’s climate.

Scientists in the UK have received this ice block and intend to melt it to unlock this information. The glassy cylinder originates from deep inside the Antarctic ice sheet. Frozen inside is thousands of years of new information that scientists say could “revolutionise” what we know about climate change.

Over a period of seven weeks, the ice block will be melted slowly, releasing ancient dust, volcanic ash, and even tiny marine algae called diatoms that were locked inside when the water they were in turned to ice. These materials can tell scientists about wind patterns, temperature, and sea levels from over a million years ago.

The ice block could also contain evidence of a period of time more than 800,000 years ago when carbon dioxide concentrations may have been naturally as high or even higher than they are now, according to Dr Liz Thomas.

This could help us understand what will happen in our future as our planet responds to warming gases trapped in our atmosphere.

“Our climate system has been through so many different changes that we really need to be able to go back in time to understand these different processes and different tipping points,” she says.

The difference between today and previous eras with high greenhouse gases is that the current trend of high greenhouses has been man made and has occurred rapidly in the last 150 years. That is taking us into unchartered territory, but the scientists hope that the record of our planet’s environmental history locked in the ice could give us some guidance.

July 2025 was third hottest July on record

July 2025 was the third-hottest July on record,  with climate experts warning of the stark dangers of increasingly warmer summer heatwaves across the globe.

Temperatures reached 1.25°C above pre-industrial levels, lower only than the last two years which have been reported as the two hottest July’s in recorded history.

Copernicus (the from EU’s climate watchdog) has published a new report that stated that the planet’s surface temperature for July stood at 16.68°C, 0.45°C above the 1991-2020 average for July.

While this is a slight decrease in an otherwise continuous upwards trend, scientists have been quick to caution that a “pause” in record-breaking heat does not indicate the end of climate change.

Three years left to limit warming to 1.5C, leading scientists warn.

The Earth could tip over the 1.5C warming limit within the next 3 years if current carbon dioxide emissions do not decrease. This is the warning  coming from more than 60 of the world’s leading climate scientists in the most recent global warming update.

Nearly 200 countries agreed to try to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C above levels of the late 1800s in the historic Paris agreement in 2015, with the aim of avoiding some of the worst impacts of climate change.

But countries have continued to burn coal, oil and gas at record levels and chop down carbon-rich forests – putting the goal in jeopardy.

Climate change has already worsened many weather extremes – such as the UK’s 40C heat in July 2022 – and has rapidly raised global sea levels, threatening coastal communities.

“Things are all moving in the wrong direction,” said Prof Piers Forster

“We’re seeing some unprecedented changes and we’re also seeing the heating of the Earth and sea-level rise accelerating as well.”

These changes “have been predicted for some time and we can directly place them back to the very high level of emissions”, he added.

At the beginning of 2020, scientists estimated only 500 billion more tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) could be emitted, to have even a 50% chance of keeping warming to 1.5C. However, by the start of this year the “carbon budget” had shrunk to 130 billion tonnes.

The reduced “budget” is mainly due to continuous emissions of CO2, which has hit a record high, and other greenhouse gases like methane, although estimates are also now more accurate after improvements.

130 billion tonnes gives the world roughly three years until that carbon budget is exhausted.

This would see the world breaching the target set by the Paris agreement, though the planet would probably not pass 1.5C of human-caused warming until a few years later.

Find out more here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4l927dj5zo

England has a bright idea: solar on every new home

Starting in 2027, nearly every new home built in England will have to include solar panels. The mandate, which U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer says will be published in the coming months, is projected to save homeowners more than £1,000 a year on energy while reducing planet-warming pollution.

Government leaders have promised that 1.5 million new homes will be constructed to address the nation’s housing crisis before the end of the next parliament, which would be in 2029 at the latest, although elections could be called sooner. Adding rooftop solar to these homes will help the U.K. reach its goal of 95% clean electricity by 2030.

New satellite offers a fresh look at forests

The European Space Agency recently launched a satellite that will scan 1.5 trillion trees the same way a CT scanner offers a look inside the human body. 

The first-of-its-kind satellite will allow scientists to accurately measure how much carbon is being stored in rainforests for the first time, providing a better way to gauge the impact of deforestation on the climate. 

Global river map created to improve flood modelling:

A team of researchers, led by Oxford University, have created the most detailed map of the world’s rivers ever, which could transform how we prepare for and respond to flooding.

As rainfall becomes more erratic as a result of climate change, floods are expected to become more frequent and severe in many parts of the world. Until now, river maps have often overlooked more complex features, such as when a single river channel splits into multiple channels. Yet these branching river systems are important because they are often found in densely populated, flood‐prone regions, and provide critical insights into water movement across the Earth’s surface.

Known as GRIT (Global River Topology), the new global river map shows not just where rivers flow, but how they split, branch, and interact with the surrounding landscape. Built using high-resolution satellite images and advanced elevation data it maps over 12 million miles of rivers, providing a far more complete view of water movement. Scientists and Governments can use GRIT to understand where water is likely to go at large scales, helping to improve flood models, water management systems and disaster planning.

‘We needed a global map that reflects the way rivers actually behave,’ said Dr Michel Wortmann, who developed GRIT at Oxford as a Research Associate on the EvoFLOOD project. ‘It’s not enough to assume rivers just go downhill in a straight line—especially not when we’re trying to predict floods, understand ecosystems, or plan for climate impacts. This map shows the world’s rivers in their full complexity.’

Read more about GRIT here: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-05-16-researchers-remap-worlds-rivers-improve-flood-modelling

New electric car battery plant to be built in the North East of England:

AESC have secured £1 billion in funding for a new electric car battery plant in Sunderland.  

The new gigafactory being built at the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) in Washington will support 1,000 jobs and power 100,000 electric vehicles annually.

Plans for the plant were approved in 2024 and it will be the second in Sunderland for AESC UK, which is Nissan’s battery partner.

The gigafactory will make the UK more globally competitive in the EV field and help it achieve its net zero target.

The Chancellor added: “This investment in Sunderland will not only further innovation and accelerate our move to more sustainable transport, but it will also deliver much-needed high quality, well-paid jobs to the North East, putting more money in people’s pockets.”

Sunniest Spring on record for Wales

Wales has had its sunniest spring on record according to data from the Met Office.

From 1 March to 28 May, Wales basked in 648 hours of sunshine – higher than the UK average.

Kathryn Chalk, a Met Office meteorologist, said this provisional figure beat the previous peak of 647 hours in 2020.

Overall, the UK has clocked 636.8 hours of sunshine in spring this year, beating the previously set record of 626 hours set in 2020. Wales, Scotland and Ireland have all set new peaks this year but England has not surpassed it’s peak at this point in time.

Met Office sunshine data goes back to 1910, and its figures for rainfall are also due to be published later this week. They are likely to show the UK has experienced one of its driest springs, despite heavy downpours in some areas in recent days.