‘Supersizing before our eyes’: UN warns of record El Niño approaching

Event is likely to be largest in at least 1,000 years and will pile extra heat into a world already in a climate crisis…

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/03/el-nino-supersizing-before-our-eyes-united-nations

 

Los Angeles fire survivors face record wait for federal disaster aid under Trump

Along with withholding funds, the president has also imposed “unlawful” conditions on states requesting federal grants for disaster response and preparedness, according to attorneys general from 25 Democratic-led states that sued the administration in July. 

The group, which was led by California’s Rob Bonta, claimed the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) have used a “campaign of coercion”, leveraging the needed disaster support in an attempt to force states to implement voting and immigration policies pushed by the president...

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/28/los-angeles-wildfire-survivors-federal-aid

 

Firefighters sound alarm as US faces critical staffing shortage: ‘We don’t have enough people’

Firefighters describe being pushed to limit by a brutal wildfire season, with key leadership roles going unfilled…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/19/us-firefighters-staffing-shortage

Israel deliberately starting wildfires in southern Lebanon, firefighters say

First responders, residents and environmental groups say military dropping flares to destroy forests and crops…

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/12/israel-deliberately-starting-wildfires-in-southern-lebanon-firefighters-say

 

‘Unprecedented, dangerous territory’: US north-west reckons with a summer of historic wildfires

Extreme conditions in Washington and Oregon have fueled fast-moving fires, leaving the region draped in toxic plumes – and the danger isn’t over…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/us-wildfires-pacific-north-west

 

Human-driven climate crisis fuels Canada’s deadly wildfires, study finds

Current blazes roaring across country more than twice as likely to occur because of fossil fuel-driven global heating…

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/06/canada-wildfires-climate-crisis

 

Climate crisis poses growing threat to ‘core financial stability’, official at EU's bank warns

Ecosystem services are defined as any benefit that can be drawn from a natural structure or process – for example, water can be used as a raw material, an energy source through hydropower, or for transportation. It is also a habitat for marine life critical for food production, and a basis for recreational services. 

“Nature-related risks can pose material economic and financial risks, including through their impacts on credit risk, growth, inflation and – over the long-term – potential financial instability,” Elderson said...

 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/01/ecb-climate-wildfires-global-economy-stability

 

‘It’s too fast, too big’: speed of climate crisis is devastating crops, say farmers

Drought and extreme heat are killing plants, driving up prices while also making some farms economically unviable…

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/31/speed-of-climate-crisis-devastating-crops-say-farmers

 

More than 900 wildfires rage across Canada

Fires remain out of control in Northwest Territories and Ontario, while Argentina endures record night-time heat…

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/24/weather-tracker-wildfires-canada-argentina-heat

 

Air pollution may cause childhood obesity by disrupting impulse control, study finds

Babies exposed to higher levels of neurotoxin more likely to have difficulty controlling impulses later, research shows…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/06/air-pollution-childhood-obesity-study

 

Taxpayers might pay millions more to fight wildfires as jet fuel skyrockets

Last year, those planes burned through about $50 million worth of jet fuel. Every fire season is different, but if this year is the same as last season, that fuel bill would almost double to nearly $100 million. That's because the price of jet fuel has skyrocketed since the war in Iran began in late February. Ultimately, taxpayers will be the ones to shell out tens of millions of dollars more to fight summer wildfires this year...

 https://www.npr.org/2026/04/30/nx-s1-5775794/fuel-costs-iran-war-wildfires

Nearly half of US children are breathing dangerous levels of air pollution, report warns

American Lung Association report comes amid Trump EPA’s expansive rollback of environmental protections…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/22/air-pollution-report-dangerous-levels-children

 

FEMA is behind on billions in disaster payments to states : NPR

In all, FEMA owes communities almost $10 billion, according to internal agency documents obtained by NPR. Much of that funding would reimburse local governments for what they've already spent repairing infrastructure after major disasters...

 https://www.npr.org/2026/04/10/nx-s1-5770433/delay-funding-fema-hurricanes-disasters-wildfires-floods

Study finds private forests more prone to wildfires

Forests managed by timber companies, the authors observed, were more likely to exhibit ideal ignition conditions for megafires: dense communities of uniformly spaced trees, with continuous vegetation that connects the understory to the canopy...

https://thehill.com/homenews/5462169-forest-management-fire-severity-study/ 

 

Democrats demand answers on cuts to firefighters during critical fire season

"The Forest Service's firefighting capacity has been dangerously hampered by Department of Government Efficiency and Trump Administration layoffs, deferred resignations, and other early retirements and resignations just as climate change is extending the fire season," Garcia wrote in the letter, requesting specifics that would show "the extent to which the Trump Administration's policies have affected the ability of firefighters to protect the American public"...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/14/firefighter-cuts-trump-administration

 

US faces alarming firefighter shortage during peak wildfire season, data reveals

"The agency saying it is 'fully staffed' is dangerous," a squad leader familiar with the data said. "Maxing out 19-year-olds with no qualifications isn't the best strategy."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/22/us-firefighter-shortage-wildfires

 

There are many ways Trump could trigger a global collapse. Here’s how to survive if that happens | George Monbiot | The Guardian

If (or when) another pandemic strikes, which could involve a pathogen more transmissible and even more deadly than Covid-19 (which has so far killed 1.2 million people in the US), it will hit a nation whose defences have been stood down. Basic public health measures, such as vaccination and quarantine, might be inaccessible to most. A pandemic in these circumstances could end millions of lives and cause spontaneous economic shutdown...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/18/donald-trump-global-collapse-wildfires-pandemic-financial-crisis

Wildfire smoke is back – fires burning across Canada are already triggering US air quality alerts in the Midwest and Plains

The pressing question on many people's minds: "Is this the new normal?" From our perspective as air quality scientists, we think the answer is likely "yes."…

https://theconversation.com/wildfire-smoke-is-back-fires-burning-across-canada-are-already-triggering-us-air-quality-alerts-in-the-midwest-and-plains-229992

Texas is battling over 170 wildfires - BBC News

Over the past week, wildfires have burned over 100,000 acres in the US state.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-60829623