Luke Denne

Climate change is driving unprecedented European ocean temperatures, with severe impacts for marine life

The waters surrounding Europe are heating faster than the climate as a whole with implications for nature, food systems and coastal communities.

July 2026 has been the month with the world’s seas hitting their hottest surface temperature on record (The Guardian, 2026). Record high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were measured in the Atlantic along the European coast and in the Western Mediterranean (Copernicus, 2026), and SSTs were as much as 6°C hotter than normal in the Mediterranean … Continue reading “Climate change is driving unprecedented European ocean temperatures, with severe impacts for marine life”

Flood impacts in Assam driven by high exposure and structural vulnerability, amid uncertain rainfall trends

Flooding in Assam State in August 2026. Photo: Facebook/CMO Assam

Between late June and early August 2026, the region of Upper Assam (specifically the primary districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo, and Jorhat) and the surrounding hill catchments of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India witnessed multiple spells of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall that triggered repeated waves of flash flooding and widespread inundation across the … Continue reading “Flood impacts in Assam driven by high exposure and structural vulnerability, amid uncertain rainfall trends”

Climate change means extreme fire seasons in Canada are here to stay

More than 3 million hectares have burned to date  (Natural Resources Canada, 2026), prompting a Level 4 National Preparedness response (GoC, 2026, ciffc). Although the season began with below-average wildfire activity, prolonged hot, dry weather through July has driven a rapid escalation in fire activity across the country  (CBC, 2026). At the time of writing, … Continue reading “Climate change means extreme fire seasons in Canada are here to stay”

Climate change increases likelihood of compounding drivers of severe wildfire conditions in France and Spain

After months of drought (WWA, 2026a) and periods of extreme heat (WWA, 2026b), Western Europe is battling widespread and intense wildfires. At the time of writing (July 30th 2026) the most severe fires are affecting southwestern France and central and eastern Spain. Firefighters in both countries have been supported by aircraft and emergency personnel deployed … Continue reading “Climate change increases likelihood of compounding drivers of severe wildfire conditions in France and Spain”

Increasingly hot Europe faces more severe droughts and growing challenges for water and land management

The European summer of 2026 has so far been characterised by exceptional heat and widespread dryness (Copernicus, 2026). Between April and June, large parts of the continent, from Portugal in the southwest to southern Finland in the northeast, received below-average rainfall. Combined with successive heatwaves, these conditions have intensified drought across Europe, contributing to widespread … Continue reading “Increasingly hot Europe faces more severe droughts and growing challenges for water and land management”