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Ben Rich and Mark Poynting, BBC News
The El Niño climate phenomenon that is developing over the Pacific Ocean is “likely to be the strongest in living memory”, according to a UK Met Office announcement covered by BBC News. El Niño temporarily pushes up global temperatures and, when added to the effects of human-induced climate change, it is "very likely" to result in 2027 being the hottest year on record, according to the news outlet. The Press Association reports the phenomenon is forecast to raise sea temperatures by more than 3C in an “unprecedented event” over the coming months – and that this would make it “the largest since the 19th century”. The newswire says the Met Office adds that the UK is “also forecast to experience more storms and rain over the coming autumn and winter” due to El Niño. [For more on this topic, see Carbon Brief’s new explainer on the so-called “super El Niño” and how it will reshape the world’s weather.]
MORE ON EXTREME WEATHER
The Panama canal is set to limit the number of daily ship transits from September due to a “lack of rainfall amid an intensifying El Niño weather pattern”, according to the Financial Times. Amid “record-breaking ocean temperatures”, Climate Home News reports that a group of countries is pushing for the COP31 climate summit to “deliver meaningful commitments to protect marine ecosystems”. Protesters in Tunisia have gathered in the capital following extreme heat that “has left many Tunisians short of water and electricity”, according to the Associated Press. Agence France-Presse reports that shipping companies are “scrambling to limit damage” after “exceptionally low river levels in Europe” has thrown their transport networks into “turmoil”. The UK’s “worsening” drought means that a Thames Water hosepipe ban could last until the end of the year, reports the Times. BBC News reports that the latest figures show the recent heatwave has driven “record-breaking demand” on the NHS services in Wales.
Magdalena Kensy, Euractiv
The four largest EU countries have recorded more than 25,000 likely heat-related deaths in 2026 so far, according to the latest national data, reported by Euractiv. It adds that Germany has been “hit hardest”, with around 14,000 people dying from extreme heat. There have been 4,500 heat-related deaths in Spain and – as reported earlier in the week – more than 7,300 in France, according to the news outlet. It adds that Italian totals are not finalised, but an expert consulted by Euractiv estimates the death toll will reach between 5,000 and 8,000 this summer. Euronews notes that centre-left German politicians have been pushing to enshrine climate adaptation in the country’s constitution this week, with one former health minister noting that the heat-death figures are “likely being underestimated”. Agence France-Presse stresses that all the estimates of heat-related deaths “are not definitive and could yet rise”. Analysis by the news outlet finds that 80 million people in Europe have faced temperatures above 40C this summer.
MORE ON EUROPE
Bloomberg reports that Bulgaria is planning its “first-ever” reduction of output at its nuclear plant as a result of severe weather, with the Danube river – which is relied on for cooling – reaching record lows. Denmark has introduced an “emergency law to overhaul access to its power grid, including by making most data centres the lowest priority”, amid government concern that the current system risks derailing the low-carbon transition, reports Bloomberg. Le Monde reports that the far-right National Rally party in France is “struggling to develop a credible discourse on adapting to the crisis”, following a summer of heatwaves and fires. German authorities have concluded dozens of carbon-offsetting projects are “suspicious”, including one funded by the oil company ExxonMobil, according to Bloomberg. A Daily Telegraph article, trailed on the frontpage, warns that river cruises on the Danube and the Rhine are “under threat after European heatwave”. In the UK, the Daily Telegraph has a story about housing secretary Angela Rayner taking a “£20,000 donation from an oil advisory group”. It includes comments from “opponents” accusing her of “hypocrisy” due to her support for net-zero policies.
Ajit Niranjan, The Guardian
New research suggests that wildfires could burn 39% more of Europe by the end of the century even in a “best-case scenario” of holding global warming to 1.8C, reports the Guardian. Improvements in fire management could moderate this increase, the study finds, but not eradicate them entirely, the newspaper notes. Europe has faced weeks of fires driven by “dry conditions and a historically hot summer”, says Agence France-Presse. Under a high-emissions scenario – with 3.6C of warming by 2100 – climate change could “nearly triple” the land area affected by wildfires every year, it notes. Inside Climate News explains that, with more global warming, wildfires are set to become more prevalent around the Mediterranean and across much of western and central Europe.
Meanwhile, Euractiv reports that the Belgian government is presenting a new “national resilience plan” to better cope with fires and other climate-related crises, after its largest forest fire in more than a century.
Emma Farge, Reuters
Countries have restored an area “roughly twice the size of France” under “UN-backed efforts” to reverse land degradation, an effort that falls “far short” of their own restoration targets, according to Reuters. The newswire explains that this data comes from a new report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, released to coincide with a meeting of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It adds that land is degraded by events such as wildfires and drought, which “scientists say human-induced climate change has made more likely”. Carbon Pulse notes that, while more than 124m hectares of land have been “reported as linked to restoration”, this represents just 10.4% of nations’ collective national pledges.
Ideacarbon
Huang Runqiu, head of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), has said that by developing a “green economy”, China has created a successful model for effectively protecting the environment while pursuing rapid economic and social development, according to the carbon-focused news outlet Ideacarbon. His comments were made in a video speech at the 12th BRICS environment ministers’ meeting, the outlet says. China and Ecuador have agreed to deepen cooperation in “green industry development”, including energy conservation and carbon reduction industries as well as resource recycling, says Ideacarbon. Rizwan Basir, with the Climate Resourcing Coordination Centre, writes in state-run newspaper China Daily that climate adaptation technologies, including early warning technologies, remain “expensive at scale and largely out of reach for developing countries with the greatest exposure to extreme weather events”. Climate Home News publishes an article discussing Indonesia’s “heavy dependence” on China for “capital, technology and materials in battery manufacturing”.
MORE ON CHINA
China has issued updated guidelines for its carbon emissions measurement technical system to support the low-carbon transition across industries, according to BJX News. China’s commerce ministry calls for stronger support for NEVs and “green building materials” in rural areas, and expanding coverage of rural charging infrastructure, says BJX News. Global sales of electric trucks and buses nearly doubled in 2025 as China “drove most of the growth”, reports Reuters. China has “consistently opposed” the EU’s “abuse of unilateral tools such as the Foreign Subsidies Regulation”, says the commerce ministry, according to Xinhua. Dialogue Earth: “China must now focus on consuming, not just generating, green power.” A Global Times editorial says that China’s “new energy products are accelerating the global green transition while reducing its costs”.
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