Why on Earth is the planet’s day getting shorter?
Earth will complete a rotation 1.33 milliseconds earlier than usual on Tuesday, August 5. That makes it one of the shortest days of 2025 at 86,399.99867 seconds long. How that...Read More >
Environment
Three types of drought – and why there’s no such thing as a global water crisis
Lithium ponds in the Atacama Desert, Chile | NASA Earth Observatory, 2018 Hosepipe bans have been announced in parts of England this summer. Following the driest spring in over a...Read More >
Hosepipe ban survival guide: which garden plants to save and which to sacrifice
Photo by David Ballew on Unsplash With hosepipe bans in force across several English regions and more restrictions likely to follow, gardeners face some tough choices. When every drop counts, which plants...Read More >
UK air quality is improving but pollution targets are still being breached – new study
An estimated 4.2 million deaths can be attributed to poor air quality each year. Poor air quality is the largest fixable environmental public health risk in the world. Our new...Read More >
Cleaner air in east Asia has driven recent acceleration in global warming – new study
Listen to Laura Wilcox discuss the topic on The Conversation Weekly Podcast with host, Gemma Ware. (20 Nov 2025) Global warming has picked up pace since around 2010, leading to...Read More >
England’s water crisis needs more than just new reservoirs – here’s what will help
The UK government wants to build more reservoirs like this one (Derwent reservoir) in the Peak District England is facing a water crisis. The UK government has just announced plans to fast-track...Read More >
Solar power in Zambia: ‘If it works for my neighbour, I’ll try it too’
Researcher Hillary Chanda discusses solar power with residents of Chongwe district, rural Zambia. Courtesy Edwin Kasanda In sunny Zambia, fewer than 6% of rural people have access to electricity, leaving...Read More >
How we revealed the life story of PG Tips chimp – written in her bones
A chimpanzee similar to Choppers, who died at Twycross Zoo in 2016. Chimpanzees helped to make PG Tips tea famous with their iconic TV ads in the 1970s. But what...Read More >
Fossil face discovery highlights challenges faced by Europe’s earliest settlers
Piecing together the story of Europe’s earliest settlers is a challenge, largely because relevant human fossils are scarce. On March 12, researchers announced the discovery of a new fossil from...Read More >
What deer poo can tell us about the future of Britain’s woodlands
Brambles are considered a nuisance by many woodland managers. But we’ve discovered that fallow deer have a surprising taste for it. In our recent research, we found this unexpected preference...Read More >
