Long Island receives 8.5in of snow, while a tornado tears down Christmas decorations near Málaga
Heavy snow fell in parts of New England this week. Central Park, New York, received a few inches of snow, while 8.5in were dumped in parts of Long Island. This is the earliest New York has experienced snowfall since 2018.
New York narrowly missed out on widespread snowfall just a few weeks ago. The low-pressure system tracked ever so slightly to the north of New York, enabling the warmer air to edge in. Meanwhile, upstate New York and other parts of New England were on the colder side of the system and received significant snow accumulations.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
12/19/2025 - 04:24
12/19/2025 - 04:00
Exclusive: Ancient forests and turquoise rivers of the Cochamó Valley protected from logging, damming and development
A wild valley in Chilean Patagonia has been preserved for future generations and protected from logging, damming and unbridled development after a remarkable fundraising effort by local groups, the Guardian can reveal.
The 133,000 hectares (328,000 acres) of pristine wilderness in the Cochamó Valley was bought for $78m (£58m) after a grassroots campaign led by the NGO Puelo Patagonia, and the title to the wildlands was officially handed over to the Chilean nonprofit Fundación Conserva Puchegüín on 9 December.
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12/19/2025 - 03:00
This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world
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12/19/2025 - 01:00
Analysis suggests consumption at Northumberland site could be 50 times higher than US operator QTS estimates
The UK’s largest proposed datacentre is understating the scale of its planned water use, according to an analysis.
The first phase of construction for the hyperscale campus in Cambois in Northumberland has been given the go-ahead by the local council. The US operator QTS, which is developing the site, has promoted its “water-free” cooling system as proof of its sustainability.
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12/19/2025 - 00:00
In the Peloponnese mountains, the usually hardy trees are turning brown even where fires haven’t reached. Experts are raising the alarm on a complex crisis
In the southern Peloponnese, the Greek fir is a towering presence. The deep green, slow-growing conifers have long defined the region’s high-altitude forests, thriving in the mountains and rocky soils. For generations they have been one of the country’s hardier species, unusually capable of withstanding drought, insects and the wildfires that periodically sweep through Mediterranean ecosystems. These Greek forests have lived with fire for as long as anyone can remember.
So when Dimitrios Avtzis, a senior researcher at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) of Elgo-Dimitra, was dispatched to document the aftermath of a spring blaze in the region, nothing about the assignment seemed exceptional. He had walked into countless burnt landscapes, tracking the expected pockets of mortality, as well as the trees that survived their scorching.
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12/18/2025 - 09:29
Digital facilities that track wastage down to the gram have brought about behavioural change among users
Min Geum-nan walks towards a metal bin beneath her apartment block in Gangdong district, eastern Seoul carrying a small bag of vegetable peelings. She taps her resident card on the reader, the lid swings open, she empties the contents and scans again and a digital screen flashes: 0.5kg.
“You have no choice but to pay attention because you can see exactly what you’re wasting,” says Min, who has lived in the complex for 15 years and watched the system arrive in 2020.
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12/18/2025 - 09:00
Scientists say government must prepare for unlikely but ‘plausible’ 4C rise in temperature and a 2-metre rise in sea levels
The worst-case impacts of the climate crisis for the UK have been laid bare by scientists, ranging from a scorching 4C rise in temperatures to a 2-metre rise in sea level. Another scenario sees a plunge of 6C in temperature after the collapse of key Atlantic Ocean currents, massively disrupting farming and energy needs.
The impacts, some of which are linked to climate tipping points, are seen as low probability but plausible. The researchers said the scenarios filled a gap in forecasting that had left the UK unprepared for extreme outcomes.
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12/18/2025 - 07:56
Streams of soil turn sand and surrounding water red, creating sharp contrast with blue waters of Persian Gulf
Rainfall on Iran’s Hormuz Island briefly transformed the coastline of its Red Beach into a striking natural scene this week, as red soil flowed into the sea and turned the water shades of deep red.
The beach is known for its vivid red sand and cliffs, created by high concentrations of iron oxide.
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12/18/2025 - 07:44
Rainfall on Hormuz Island briefly transformed the coastline of its famed Red Beach into a striking natural scene this week, as soil flowed into the sea and turned the water shades of deep red. The beach is known for its vivid red sand and cliffs, created by high concentrations of iron oxide
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12/18/2025 - 06:57
Campaigners celebrate defeat of proposal to extend Bilbao institution into areas including nature reserve
Environmental groups and local campaigners in the Basque Country have welcomed the scrapping of a project to build an outpost of Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum on a Unesco biosphere reserve that is a vital habitat for local wildlife and migrating birds.
The scheme’s backers, which include the Guggenheim Foundation, the Basque government and local and regional authorities, had claimed the museum’s twin sites – one in the Basque town of Guernica and one in the nearby Urdaibai reserve – would help revitalise the area, attract investment and create jobs.
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