Government hopes for 30% of city’s fleet to be electric by 2030, in move hailed as ‘gamechanger’ on air pollution
The unruly chaos of Delhi’s roads would be unrecognisable without the rickshaws and scooters that zip through India’s capital in their millions, emitting toxic fumes in their wake. But now, ambitious policies aim to give the city’s most recognisable vehicles an environmental makeover.
On Monday, Delhi’s government announced plans to eventually ban petrol scooters, motorbikes and autorickshaws in favour of those running on electricity, in an attempt to bring down dangerously high pollution levels in the city by the end of the decade.
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06/30/2026 - 03:39
06/30/2026 - 03:18
Governments have not committed to measures modelled in the report on Lismore’s 2022 floods, which led to the deaths of 13 people
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Building 10 new dams in New South Wales’s northern rivers could have reduced flood levels by up to two metres during devastating floods in 2022, but not enough to prevent a key levee overspilling, a report has found.
The CSIRO report was released on Tuesday, four years after it was commissioned by the Morrison government following NSW’s one-in-100-years floods.
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06/30/2026 - 03:00
Our European environment correspondent has been reporting on the shocking heatwave that continues to scorch its way across Europe, covering everything from the lack of preparation to ways to deal with the heatPost your questions now – Ajit will be here at 1pm BST (2pm CEST) to answer them
Many European countries, including Germany, France, Czechia, Poland and Hungary have experienced their hottest days ever. The UK and others have suffered their hottest ever day in June.
Over the past week Ajit, alongside the rest of our environment team and network of reporters, has been following this extreme heat wave as it headed east across the continent. Today, Budapest is expected to hit 40C and other parts of eastern Europe have issued red warnings for extreme heat.
We have looked at how the heatwave has been used as a political football; the best ways to stay safe in the heat and how these kind of temperatures disproportionately impact women and low-income families.
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06/30/2026 - 01:00
Energy system operator says sum needed to deliver clean power targets while meeting rising demand is up by 50%
The cost of rewiring Great Britain’s electricity networks through the 2030s is now 50% higher than before the Labour government came to power, and could reach almost £90bn in the next decade, according to the energy system operator.
Building new high-voltage transmission lines and infrastructure to connect low-carbon energy to the grid in the 2030s was initially forecast by the energy system operator to cost £58bn.
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06/29/2026 - 21:14
A warm start to winter is part of a global trend of extreme and unseasonable temperatures caused by global heating
Many parts of Australia have already broken early winter maximum and minimum temperature records.
In southern Australia, Sydney and Melbourne had their warmest-ever starts to winter. Daily observations show both cities experienced above-average June temperatures almost every day of the month.
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06/29/2026 - 10:49
Red warnings issued in Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Balkans, with authorities urging people to stay indoors
Parts of central, eastern and southern Europe sweltered on Monday as the “heat dome” behind last week’s record-breaking temperatures shifted east, bringing dangerous conditions to a new swathe of the continent.
Budapest is forecast to exceed 40C on Tuesday, according to models from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
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06/29/2026 - 07:21
Teams painstakingly combed endangered Atlantic habitat over several years, helping to grow 8m native trees
A small band of volunteers has helped to grow nearly 8m native trees in Scotland, crucial to efforts to restore lost parts of the Atlantic rainforest, after collecting 11m seeds by hand.
About 100 volunteers, including retired teachers and doctors, office workers and young families, have spent tens of thousands of hours venturing into often remote woods in the western Highlands and islands to search out seed-bearing trees.
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06/29/2026 - 07:00
US commerce department accuses state of ‘environmental terrorism’ and plans to evaluate its coastal agency
The Trump administration plans to evaluate the performance of the California Coastal Commission, in the latest escalation of a dispute between the state’s Democratic leaders and the federal government over energy production.
Per federal law, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) is required to conduct reviews of federally approved coastal management programs, which take into consideration “the extent to which the State of California has implemented and enforced the program approved by the [commerce] Secretary”.
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06/29/2026 - 05:00
Research suggests 41,800 premature US deaths in 2024 were attributable to road pollution
Roughly five Americans die every hour due to exposure to toxic road vehicle pollution, a new study has found.
It’s the latest warning showing fossil-fueled transit is a major driver of mortality.
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06/29/2026 - 00:45
In today’s newsletter: Last week’s extreme weather should galvanise the political response to global heating. But the sad paradox is that it could bolster support for climate-sceptical parties
Good morning. You could be forgiven for thinking that last week’s heatwave in Europe would be a galvanising moment for action on the climate crisis. At one point, more than 150 million Europeans sweltered in temperatures above 35C (95F) – with several parts of the continent soaring past 40C. A heatwave of this magnitude has never been recorded this early in the year.
When scientists finish their calculations, the death toll will probably number in the thousands. Spain, one of the few countries that produces real-time statistics on excess deaths linked to heat, has recorded more than 100 per day since Wednesday. French authorities said that at least 1,000 additional deaths had been recorded between 24 and 27 June, a figure that is likely to rise. They include four toddlers who died in incidents linked to the heat. A three-year-old boy in a Paris suburb was found dead last week after climbing into a car and becoming trapped.
Iran | The sudden eruption of fresh hostilities in the Gulf – just 10 days after Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict – threatens to put the two countries back on the path to war.
Europe heatwave | Germany, Czechia, Poland and Hungary reached record temperatures of more than 40C on Sunday as a heatwave linked to hundreds of deaths in western Europe spread east.
UK politics | Andy Burnham is the most popular man at Westminster right now, and Labour MPs, the unions, Whitehall civil servants, political advisers and thinktanks are all battling for the ear of the next prime minister.
UK news | One pound in every £11 of UK government spending on contractors went to private equity-controlled companies last year, research shows, including key services such as transport, waste management and healthcare.
Royal family | The Duke of Sussex fears his children will not meet King Charles in the coming days after their UK visit was “pulled out from under their feet at the 11th hour”.
Today | Andy Burnham will give his first major speech since winning the Makerfield byelection and becoming Labour leader in waiting, setting out his economic vision and plans for radical devolution.
Tomorrow | The Amos review into NHS maternity services will be published.
Wednesday | The review into the sentences in the Fordingbridge rape case, which shocked the country and prompted a debate about leniency towards young offenders, will be heard in the court of appeal.
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