Hurricane Isaias hits Florida's Gulf coast after growing from Category 1 to Category 3 in one night, and more than 726,000 homes and businesses lose power

The rest of the day

45 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   Hurricane Simon nears Mexico at Category 4

   Hurricane Simon grew to Category 4 early on Saturday, with winds of 140 mph, as it neared Mexico's Pacific coast. [13] On Friday morning it had been a Category 1 storm with winds of 75 mph. [15] Forecasters expect it to come ashore on Sunday between Manzanillo, Mexico's biggest port, and Puerto Vallarta, a beach city of nearly 300,000 people. [14] Up to 30 inches of rain could fall in places, bringing floods and mudslides. [13] Jalisco state closed schools in 22 coastal towns, and Mexico's navy closed ports to small boats. [13][14]

   Friday morning75 mph

   Saturday morning140 mph

   Why it matters — Simon is the Pacific half of the same weekend as Isaias: warm water in the eastern Pacific has fed three Category 5 storms there this season. [8] Families on the Jalisco and Colima coast face the wind and the rain on Sunday. [14]

2. 03

   El Nino heads for a record peak

   The World Meteorological Organization, the UN's weather agency, said on Thursday that this year's El Nino should peak in December. [16] It could be among the strongest since at least 1950. [16] El Nino is a natural warming of the tropical Pacific that moves rain and storms around the world. [16] The middle of the Pacific was 2.5C warmer than normal in August, and forecasts point to about 3.7C from October to December. [17] The highest reading before this was 2.6C, in the winter of 2015-16. [17]

   Old record, 2015-162.6 C

   August 20262.5 C

   Forecast, Oct-Dec 20263.7 C

   Why it matters — Chile's floods come as El Nino gains strength, and the warm, calm eastern Pacific it helped set up has fed storms like Simon. [16][8] After an El Nino fades, the Atlantic often has a busier hurricane year. [8]

3. 04

   Santiago floods with nine times October's rain

   Mudslides swept cars through the streets of eastern Santiago, Chile's capital, on Thursday and flooded homes and hospitals. [16] Las Condes, a district east of the city, had 14.4 cm of rain in a few days, about nine times its usual October total. [16] President Jose Antonio Kast declared a state of emergency there. [16] Firefighters rescued or moved more than 1,000 people, and at least six were hurt. [16] The disaster agency closed schools on Friday and put 10 more districts on alert for landslides. [16]

   Why it matters — El Nino often brings wetter springs to Chile and the rest of the southern half of the world. [16] Storms earlier in the week had already left nearly 12,000 homes in Santiago without power. [16]

4. 05

   COP31 host hedges on fossil fuels

   Murat Kurum, Turkey's climate minister, will lead COP31, the UN climate summit in Antalya in November. [18] He told the Guardian that rich countries should spend far more on climate than the 5% of their economies that Nato members promised for defence. [18] But he would not say whether the summit should repeat its 2023 call to move away from fossil fuels. [18] He said the world was already moving. [18] Only 13 national leaders joined Australia's prime minister at the meeting in Fiji that prepared for it. [18]

   Why it matters — Small island states such as Tuvalu, mostly about 2 metres above the sea, want that fossil-fuel promise kept. [18] Australia's climate minister, Chris Bowen, said such islands get 0.2% of world climate money for coping with the changes. [18]

5. 06

   Tories doubled the cost of net zero

   The UK Conservative party's new policy booklet says the UK government's climate advisers put the cost of net zero at GBP957bn. [19] Carbon Brief, a climate news site, found the advisers' 2020 figure was GBP478bn, exactly half. [20] Someone appears to have added a spreadsheet's total row to the rows it totals, counting everything twice. [19][20] The advisers, the Climate Change Committee, now put the cost at about GBP108bn, mostly because electric cars got cheaper. [20] The party uses the figure to back dropping its 2050 net zero target. [19]

   In the Tory booklet957 GBP bn

   Advisers' real 2020 figure478 GBP bn

   Advisers' newest figure108 GBP bn

   Why it matters — The booklet was written for the party's conference under its leader, Kemi Badenoch. [19] The same doubled number had appeared before in a report by the Institute of Economic Affairs, a think tank, and in the Spectator magazine. [19]

6. 07

   France and Germany back weaker car rules

   France and Germany have agreed to back a weaker EU rule on car pollution, Electrek reported, citing Clean Energy Wire, a German news service. [21] New cars would have to cut carbon by 80% by 2035, instead of the 90% now set. [21] The steps on the way there would be eased too. [21] The two countries plan to present the idea on 15 October, and six other EU countries oppose weakening the rules. [21] It would be the third loosening in two years. [21]

   Why it matters — A weaker target lets European carmakers keep selling more petrol cars for longer. [21] It comes as Chinese electric cars win a growing share of European sales. [21]

7. 08

   China agrees to halve hybrid exports to the EU

   China has agreed to halve its exports of hybrid cars to the European Union, the EU's trade chief, Maros Sefcovic, said on Friday. [22] Hybrids run on both petrol and electricity, and the EU had asked China to send fewer of them. [22] The deal came after two days of talks in Beijing with China's commerce minister, Wang Wentao. [22] The EU still has to approve it. [22] China also promised export licences for rare earths and magnets. [22]

   Why it matters — The EU's widening trade gap with China has been a point of fighting, and Germany and France had pushed for tougher trade tools. [22] The two sides meet again in March. [22]

8. 09

   US utilities ask for record bill rises

   US power and gas companies owned by investors asked regulators for a record $4.5bn in price rises in July to September, more than double a year earlier. [23] That takes this year's requests to $23.1bn, according to PowerLines, a group that campaigns on bills. [23] Home electricity prices rose about 7.3% in the year to April. [23] Households heating with oil face bills 31.3% higher this winter, and gas users 5.8% higher. [23]

   Why it matters — The money pays for new plants and wires as demand grows, including from data centres. [23] Energy bills have become a big issue before next month's US elections. [23]

9. 10

   Karachi warned of power cuts at night

   K-Electric, which supplies power to Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city, said on Friday it may cut power at night. [24] Gas shipped by sea as liquid, called LNG, is arriving late, and power plants across Pakistan run on it. [24] The company called the cuts an extreme, last-resort step. [24] Pakistan has been short of fuel since fighting disrupted the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. [24] Its government has not yet settled how much gas to import for December to February. [24]

   Why it matters — Evening and night are the busiest hours for power, so cuts would fall on families after dark. [24] Pakistan's government already apologised in August for cuts caused by late gas cargoes. [24]

10. 11

    EU buys a record amount of Russian Arctic gas

    European countries paid about EUR7.88bn for liquid gas from Russia's Yamal project in the Arctic from January to September, the campaign group Urgewald found. [25] A record 12.18 million tonnes reached European ports, 9.5% more than a year earlier. [25] France took nearly three-quarters of September's deliveries, through Dunkirk and Montoir. [25] The EU banned new Russian gas contracts this year and bans all Russian LNG from 1 January 2027. [25]

    Why it matters — Europe's gas stores are at a record low, and the trade shows how hard the promised phase-out is to carry through. [25] Urgewald built its count from ship-tracking data by Kpler, a market data firm. [25]

11. 12

    Brazil cuts fuel taxes before its runoff

    Brazil's government on Friday removed federal taxes on petrol for 30 days, the same day older cuts ran out. [26] It added a subsidy of 1.40 reais (about $0.28) a litre for diesel importers, on top of 2.12 reais already paid. [26] The runoff vote between President Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the former president, is on 25 October. [26] Brazil's government says money from its oil assets will pay for the tax cuts. [26]

    Why it matters — Fuel prices are a sensitive issue for Brazilian voters, and Bolsonaro won about 2 million more votes than Lula in the first round. [26] Drivers pay less this month, and Brazil's public purse pays for the cut out of oil income. [26]

12. 13

    Nigeria sells petrol at cost at state pumps

    Nigeria's finance minister, Taiwo Oyedele, announced a 30-day discount on petrol at pumps run by NNPC, the state oil company. [27][28] Bus and taxi operators come first. [27] Petrol costs about 1,400 naira a litre, up from 830 before the Iran war. [27] Oyedele said it is not a subsidy, only petrol sold at cost, but did not say how much a litre now costs. [27] President Bola Tinubu ended a costly fuel subsidy in 2023 and faces an election in January. [27][28]

    Why it matters — The old subsidy cost $10bn in 2022, more than Nigeria spent on health and education together. [28] Analysts widely rejected the claim that the discount is not a subsidy. [28]

13. 14

    China lets fuel exports restart

    China has approved about 3.7 million tonnes of diesel, petrol and jet fuel exports for October, traders told Reuters. [29] Exports had stopped briefly during the Golden Week holiday. [29] China first curbed fuel exports in March to keep enough at home after the Iran war cut crude supplies. [29] It eased the curbs from July to September, and now checks shipments month by month. [29]

    Why it matters — Extra Chinese diesel and jet fuel helps a world market that is short of both. [29] Month-by-month checks mean buyers cannot count on it beyond October. [29]

14. 15

    Hiring a big oil tanker costs a record

    Hiring a large tanker to carry crude from the US to Asia now costs up to $77m, against under $10m last year, Semafor reported. [30] About 10 million barrels a day still leave the Strait of Hormuz despite attacks on ships. [30] But the biggest tankers wait outside the strait while smaller ships bring the oil out to them. [30] All that waiting ties up ships and has created a shortage of tankers. [30]

    under $10mUS to Asia, last year

    vsvs

    up to $77mUS to Asia, now

    Why it matters — It widens the gap between the oil price on traders' screens and what a refiner pays to get real barrels delivered. [30] Vitol, a big oil trader, warned of $200 a barrel if Gulf exports fall again. [30]

15. 16

    Iraq to send crude by lorry to Syria

    Iraq expects to start moving crude oil by lorry to Syria's Mediterranean coast from mid-October, the head of Syria's state oil company said. [31] Iraq's usual route, by tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, has been disrupted since the Iran war began in February. [31] Since April, at least 2.1 million tonnes of Iraqi fuel oil have gone by lorry to Syria's port of Baniyas. [31] Oil pays for at least 90% of the Iraqi government's income. [31]

    Why it matters — Iraq exported about 3.3 million barrels a day before the war. [31] Syria has become its main back-up export route since April. [31]

16. 17

    US states split on cheap red diesel

    Missouri's governor, Mike Kehoe, on Friday let every driver use dyed red diesel on the state's roads. [33] Red diesel is the same fuel as road diesel, but untaxed, because it is meant for tractors. [32] President Trump told the US tax agency on Monday to stop fining people who use it on roads. [32] California's governor, Gavin Newsom, refused to follow, though diesel there costs $8.36 a gallon on average. [32] California's farm lobby says the change, with a state tax cut, would save farmers about 73 cents a gallon. [32]

    Why it matters — Newsom's office said the order adds no diesel and only puts off a tax bill that may come due later. [32] So the same truck's fuel bill now depends on which state it fills up in. [32][33]

17. 18

    A tipped fuel bundle stalls a reactor restart

    Holtec International has asked the US nuclear regulator, the NRC, to approve a plan to lift out a fuel bundle that tipped over inside its Palisades reactor in Michigan. [34] It tipped while fuel was being loaded on 30 August, and the restart has been on hold since. [34] No radiation escaped. [34] The NRC says the bundle is badly bent, and Holtec says it should straighten inside a protective canister. [34] Palisades closed in 2022, and Holtec bought it to restart it. [34]

    Why it matters — A campaign group, Don't Waste Michigan, says the fuel could be out of water for up to 133 hours during the lift. [34] The NRC has not said whether it will approve the plan. [34]

18. 19

    Biggest US grid fast-tracks batteries and gas

    PJM, which runs the power grid across much of the eastern US, approved the first three projects on its new fast track on Thursday. [35] Engie, a French energy company, will build two big batteries in Pennsylvania and Ohio, together nearly 1.7 gigawatts. [35] LS Power will add 455 megawatts to its Hunterstown gas plant in Pennsylvania. [35] All three should run by mid-2029. [35] The fast track takes up to 10 large projects a year that can start within three years. [35]

    Why it matters — PJM has had little new power coming online while data centres push demand up, and that has raised bills in parts of its region. [35]

19. 20

    Australia backs a world rooftop solar goal

    Australia became the first country to sign the Global Rooftop Solar Declaration, at the meeting in Fiji ahead of COP31. [36] The declaration aims to double the number of homes with rooftop solar by 2030, about 150 million new systems. [36] It asks governments to cut red tape, offer cheap loans, upgrade grids and train installers. [36] About 35% of Australian houses already have rooftop solar, said Chris Bowen, its climate minister. [36]

    Why it matters — Solar groups now want other countries to sign before COP31 in November. [36] They say home solar shields households from swings in fuel prices. [36]

20. 21

    Austrians rush for solar grants

    Austria opened its last solar and battery grant round of the year on Thursday afternoon. [37] About 43,300 applications came in within 10 minutes, against 24,900 in the summer round. [37] Grants go first come, first served, in three windows a year. [37] Austria's government now plans to take applications all year from 2027, after the panels are fitted, with a bonus for adding a battery. [37]

    Summer round24,900 applications

    October round43,300 applications

    Why it matters — Elisabeth Zehetner, the energy state secretary, said people need to plan rather than race against the clock. [37] The battery bonus favours homes that add a battery to their solar panels. [37]

21. 22

    Heat pumps keep selling without a tax credit

    US heat pump shipments stayed strong in the first half of 2026 and are on track to match or beat their best year, the Building Decarbonization Coalition reported. [38] A heat pump heats and cools a home with electricity and can replace a gas furnace. [38] The federal tax credit, worth up to $2,000, ended at the end of 2025, seven years early. [38] Lucas Davis, a Berkeley economist, suspects most buyers never knew about it. [38]

    Why it matters — Earlier research found heat pump buying is driven by climate, place and electricity prices. [38] Rooftop solar and electric cars have struggled more since their own credits ended. [38]

22. 23

    Most US solar factory plans lack money

    More than 70% of US solar factory plans that need spending in 2027 have no money behind them or have stalled, a PV Magazine analysis finds. [39] Spending on US solar factories peaked at almost $4bn in 2024 and is heading for about $3bn this year. [39] Separately, a rise in the US minimum price for imported polysilicon, the raw material for panels, may slip into early 2027. [40]

    Why it matters — That minimum price was meant to protect US factories, so a delay leaves them facing cheaper imports for longer. [40] Tesla's plans to make its own panels on a huge scale could change the picture. [39]

23. 24

    Tesla buys power from a desert solar farm

    ContourGlobal started building Project Sterling, a 450-megawatt solar farm with batteries in Mohave County, Arizona, on 6 October. [41] Tesla has agreed to buy about 90% of its power, roughly 1 terawatt-hour a year. [41] The batteries store about 1.4 gigawatt-hours, enough to run at full power for four hours. [41] With them, the plant can supply power for up to 16 hours a day from 2028. [41]

    Why it matters — It will be ContourGlobal's biggest renewable plant anywhere. [41] Its power can also reach California through the western grid. [41]

24. 25

    Louisiana's wind firms wait out Trump

    Offshore wind firms in Louisiana are trying to keep their workers and suppliers until January 2029, when President Trump leaves office, a forum at Tulane University heard. [42] The Trump administration has paid developers about $4bn to walk away from projects. [42] Developers have given up 12 offshore wind leases, including a planned 2-gigawatt farm in the Gulf of Mexico. [42] Joe Orgeron, a Republican state lawmaker who worked in the industry, said the plan is to wait for the clock to run out. [42]

    Why it matters — Madelyn Smith of the Southeastern Wind Coalition said there is no real path to progress for two or three years. [42] Trump's policies have brought US offshore wind building close to a standstill. [42]

25. 26

    Clean-power money targets US lawmakers

    Invest in Tomorrow, a political group that backs clean energy, says it will spend $15m to defeat Republicans in seven US House races. [43] The three sitting members it targets, including Lauren Boebert and Victoria Spartz, all voted last year to end clean energy tax credits. [43] It has started a $2m advert campaign against Spartz. [43] The adverts attack her record on health care, not on energy. [43]

    Why it matters — The US midterm elections are less than a month away. [43] The group's chair, Tom Matzzie, said attacking American energy now has a real political cost for lawmakers. [43]

26. 27

    Chinese brands crowd the Paris Motor Show

    About 20 Chinese car brands will be at the Paris Motor Show, which opens on Monday with around 100 new models. [44] Fully electric cars were 21.7% of new cars registered in the EU in the first eight months of 2026, up from 15.8% a year earlier. [44] In France, electric car registrations rose 74.2%. [44] Petrol and diesel cars together fell to 29% of sales, from 37.5%. [44]

    Jan-Aug 202515.8%

    Jan-Aug 202621.7%

    Why it matters — Tim Urquhart, an analyst at Mobility Global, called the outlook for traditional European carmakers extremely worrying. [44] It comes as France and Germany push to soften the EU's car rules. [21]

27. 28

    Volkswagen's best-seller goes electric

    Volkswagen unveiled the ID. Tiguan, an electric version of the Tiguan, its best-selling car. [45] It goes on sale in early 2027 with up to 372 miles of range. [45] It replaces the ID.4 and ID.5, which have sold more than 950,000 since 2021. [45] The new car looks more like the petrol Tiguan, with a boxy shape and ordinary door handles. [45]

    Why it matters — Volkswagen says the new look makes it seem like a premium car. [45] It will compete with Chinese brands now pushing into Europe. [44]

28. 29

    BYD makes its $10,000 car bigger

    BYD, a Chinese carmaker, opened orders for a larger new version of its Seagull. [46] The Seagull starts at about $10,000 in China and sells in Europe as the Dolphin Surf from EUR22,900. [46] It was the world's sixth best-selling electric car through August, with more than 212,000 sold. [46] The cheapest new car in the US costs just over $20,000. [46]

    Why it matters — BYD is upgrading the Seagull to compete with a coming wave of cheap, entry-level electric cars. [46]

29. 30

    Geely plans to sell cars in Canada

    Geely, a Chinese carmaker that also owns Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, will start selling cars under its own name in Canada in 2027. [47] It has not said which models, prices or dealers. [47] Geely sold more than 3 million cars in 2025, nearly 1.69 million of them electric or plug-in hybrids. [47] Its lineup is led by the EX5, an electric SUV. [47]

    Why it matters — Geely says it is building a network of local dealer partners. [47] Bryan Wu, who runs Geely Auto Canada, called it a long-term commitment. [47]

30. 31

    Tesla opens a truck charging route

    Tesla opened two charging stations for its electric Semi lorry between Atlanta and Savannah, in the US state of Georgia. [48] There are 8 chargers near Atlanta and 6 at a Pilot truck stop near Savannah, each up to 1.2 megawatts. [48] The two sites are about 220 miles apart. [48] It is the Semi's first public charging route outside California. [48]

    Why it matters — A Semi can now leave the Savannah port area, drive to Atlanta, charge and drive back. [48] Tesla says more sites in the south-east are coming. [48]

31. 32

    Helsinki votes to ban fossil fuel adverts

    Helsinki's city council voted in favour of banning adverts for fossil fuels and other high-carbon products. [49] The idea came from councillor Isaac Jyvasjarvi and 27 other councillors. [49] Existing advertising contracts run until 2035, so the ban may take almost ten years to start. [49] Helsinki is the second Nordic capital to move towards such a ban, after Stockholm. [49]

    Why it matters — The ban could one day cover adverts for flights, shipping and tourism as well as fuel. [49] The city will first study what is legal and what it would cost its budget. [49]

32. 33

    Pakistan sets a fee to use its grid

    Pakistan's power regulator, Nepra, set fees of 6.23 to 19.62 rupees a unit for big users that buy electricity from private suppliers. [50] The fee pays for carrying their power over the national grid. [50] It clears the way for a 400-megawatt auction, where these users can buy from private suppliers. [50] Big users that stay out of the auction will pay 19.17 to 32.56 rupees. [50]

    Why it matters — A little over 3,000 big power users across Pakistan could take part. [50] The fee includes a cross-subsidy, a charge that helps keep other customers' bills down. [50]

33. 34

    Brazil's power market opening carries a risk

    Brazil plans to let businesses choose their electricity supplier from November 2027, and homes from November 2028. [51] A study of 88,000 customers of shared solar farms found that 17% paid late each month. [51] About 4% left each month, more than 40% of customers in a year. [51] The authors, Guilherme Susteras and Alexandre Bueno, say regulators must watch suppliers' cash, not only the grid. [51]

    Why it matters — If many customers pay late, small suppliers can run short of cash. [51] The researchers drew on data from 1,400 shared solar plants. [51]

34. 35

    Aditya Birla refinances a Shell solar buy

    Aditya Birla Renewables, part of India's Aditya Birla group, is seeking $1.5bn in rupee loans to pay for Shell's Indian clean power business, bankers told Reuters. [52] It agreed in July to buy the unit, Solenergi Power, for $1.8bn. [52] It already had a $1.6bn short-term loan from MUFG Bank, which costs more. [52] The new loans would be spread across 17 to 20 separate project companies. [52]

    Why it matters — Loans backed by the power projects themselves cost less than a short-term bridge loan. [52] The loans would run for about 80% of each project's life. [52]

35. 36

    American frackers bring first Beetaloo gas

    The first gas was sold from the Beetaloo Basin, in Australia's Northern Territory, in September, Fortune reports. [53] Tamboran Resources and Daly Waters Energy produced it with American fracking firms and American money. [53] Fracking breaks up rock deep underground to free the gas inside it. [53] The territory banned fracking from 2016 to 2018, and earlier wells did not flow well. [53] Liberty Energy, co-founded by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, owns a stake in Tamboran. [53]

    Why it matters — Australia's offshore gas fields are running down, and the country could face gas shortfalls. [53] The basin still has to prove it can pay over the long term. [53]

36. 37

    Power firms sell ways to stretch the grid

    Octopus Energy US wants to buy more software start-ups that help power companies cope with data centres, its chief executive Nick Chaset told Semafor. [54] In March it bought Uplight, whose software trims customers' power use at busy moments. [54] ABB and Schneider Electric, two big makers of power equipment, are selling products to get more out of grids that already exist. [55] Schneider bought a US industrial software firm for $22.6bn. [55]

    Why it matters — Using existing wires and plants harder is quicker than building new ones while demand climbs. [55] Chaset said data centres have no money reason to cut their own use. [54]

37. 38

    A blast at a Greek refinery hurts two

    An explosion at Motor Oil's refinery in Agioi Theodoroi, about 60 km west of Athens, seriously injured two workers on Friday. [56] The company said they were hurt during major maintenance work. [56] They were taken to hospital in Corinth. [56] The cause and the damage were not yet clear. [56]

    Why it matters — AP describes it as a major refinery. [56] European diesel prices jumped 8% this week, after the IEA said a promised release held no new barrels. [30]

38. 39

    Drones hunt fires still burning underground

    Three months after a wildfire burned about 3,300 hectares of Scotland's Cairngorms National Park, drone pilots still fly over it at dawn. [57] Their heat cameras find places where the ground is still burning beneath the surface. [57] On one recent flight they found eight. [57] Crews then dig up each spot and soak it with water. [57]

    Why it matters — A fire that looks out from above can keep burning below it for months. [57] Without the heat cameras, the pilot said, they would be blind to it. [57]

39. 40

    Interpol arrests 233 for forest crime

    A two-month Interpol operation across nine Latin American and Caribbean countries led to 233 arrests for illegal logging, gold mining and wildlife trafficking. [58] It found about 60,000 hectares of illegally cleared forest. [58] In one Colombian case, investigators linked the clearing of 52,000 hectares of protected Amazon to 11 foreign companies. [58] New evidence tied that network to 161 more companies and 65 people. [58]

    Why it matters — Investigators are now following the money to the companies and buyers that profit, not only the people who cut the trees. [58]

40. 41

    UK water firms earn from factory waste

    UK water companies earned more than GBP340m last year by taking factory wastewater into sewage works, an investigation by the Guardian and two partners found. [59] Up to 608bn litres a year comes from sites such as power stations, drug factories and abattoirs. [59] Most sewage works clean waste only with bacteria and cannot remove most chemicals. [59] The water firms issue and police the permits themselves, with no regulator involved. [59]

    Why it matters — Chemicals that get through end up in rivers and seas, or on farmland in sewage sludge spread as fertiliser. [59]

41. 42

    Kent's illegal waste dump is cleared

    The clean-up of an illegal waste dump in Hoads Wood, an ancient woodland near Ashford in Kent, finished on Friday after 15 months. [60] It cost taxpayers GBP15m. [60] Criminals dumped nearly 40,000 tonnes of waste there over six months in 2023, piled up to 15 feet high. [60] Contractors took away 2,500 lorry loads. [60]

    Why it matters — Campaigners fear gangs will dump waste there again now the site is clear. [60] Clean-ups at two other such sites bring the bill to GBP26m. [60]

42. 43

    Norfolk data centre plan raises noise fears

    A planned 150-megawatt data centre at Keswick, on the edge of Norwich, could make very high noise without strong measures, an assessment in its plans says. [61] Most of the noise would come from 72 cooling units on the roof. [61] Thousands of people have signed a petition against it, fearing harm to nature sites such as Marston Marshes. [61] Norwich Apex Data Centre says it will use air cooling and need no river water. [61]

    Why it matters — The firm says the centre could create up to 150 permanent jobs. [61] The developer says noise at nearby homes will match the existing background level. [61]

43. 44

    Rising seas threaten famous surf waves

    More than three-quarters of 57 famous surf breaks in protected surfing reserves are at high risk, a study in the journal Climatic Change found. [62] Rising seas, sea walls and shifting sand can wreck the exact sea-floor shape that makes a wave. [62] The breaks most at risk include Croyde in Devon, Noosa in Australia and reefs near Santa Cruz in California. [62] Almost 200 local surfers and experts did the assessment. [62]

    Why it matters — Towns near famous waves often depend on surfing visitors and have little else. [62] Some places, such as Australia's Gold Coast, now protect surf breaks in planning law. [62]

44. 45

    A new giant waterlily, found on Instagram

    Scientists have named a new species of giant waterlily, Victoria colombiana, after first spotting it in an Instagram photo from eastern Colombia. [63] Carlos Magdalena of Kew Gardens in London saw that the plant could not be the species named in the post. [63] He found it on satellite images, and an Indigenous boatman led his team to one in flower. [63] Fewer than 50 are known in the wild. [63]

    Why it matters — With so few plants left, the species is at risk of dying out. [63]

45. 46

    UN team checks Pakistan's nuclear security

    A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear body, finished its first review of how Pakistan protects its nuclear material. [64] The 12-day review found a strong system that was properly applied at the site it visited. [64] It made recommendations to improve it further. [64] The team of seven included experts from China, Romania, Russia and Slovakia. [64]

    Why it matters — The review covered both Pakistan's laws and one working nuclear site. [64]