Birds have been in the park since the Russian ambassador gave King Charles II two in 1664 – but none ever bred there
They arrived in the royal park shortly before the Great Fire of London, when the Russian ambassador presented a pair to King Charles II as a gift.
But although pelicans have been living in St James’s Park since 1664, none ever learned the art of courtship – until now, when for the first time in more than 360 years, chicks have been born.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
06/19/2026 - 10:26
Department for Transport analysis suggests tiny economic boost would be outweighed by up to £62.5bn in trade-offs
The economic boost from a Heathrow third runway could be a tiny fraction of previous estimates, government analysis shows, while the overall trade-off from the bigger airport could set the UK back by as much as £62.5bn.
As ministers promised to speed up expansion of the London airport in the name of economic growth, documents prepared by the Department for Transport said the runway was expected to boost GDP by only up to 0.05% – 90% less than the 0.5% previously stated.
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06/19/2026 - 08:42
Experts cast doubt on conclusion of government-funded study of factory emitting forever chemicals near Blackpool
Questions have been raised about the conclusions drawn by a government-funded study into kidney cancer rates near a factory linked to forever chemicals near Blackpool.
Pfoa, a known carcinogenic forever chemical that was banned globally in 2020, was emitted from the AGC Chemicals Europe plant in Thornton-Cleveleys, near Blackpool, between the 1950s and 2012. An estimated 49 tonnes of Pfoa were emitted during that period. The factory, which AGC Chemicals Europe bought in 1999, stopped using Pfoa in 2012.
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06/19/2026 - 07:30
Games in Miami and Monterrey were at heat level a players’ union had warned in the past should trigger delays
Two of the first round of matches at the World Cup were played at a level of severe heat that a football players’ union has previously said should trigger the delay or postponement of games, a Guardian analysis has found.
A further four games were played in cities with temperatures also beyond that level of heat, though conditions inside the stadiums were mitigated by air conditioning.
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06/19/2026 - 06:39
More than half of France’s population under severe weather warning with temperatures expected to exceed 40C
More than half of France’s population is under a severe weather warning as large swathes of western Europe endure the second extreme heat event of the year, with temperatures expected to exceed 40C (104F).
The French president called for “extreme vigilance”, urging people to “take care of our oldest and most vulnerable people” and follow government advice. “We are going through difficult days,” Emmanuel Macron said.
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06/19/2026 - 06:00
As datacenters’ connections to electric grids are held up, big tech is forced to throw money at producing its own power
Datacenters are driving unprecedented growth in the US clean energy industry, paradoxically boosting a sector that was sputtering before the artificial intelligence boom even as AI’s rollout creates immense environmental challenges.
However, observers caution that while the centers are propelling wind, solar, and other clean energy companies, datacenters remain a climate nightmare.
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06/19/2026 - 05:00
Do we really want to play dice with our planet?
A series in the Guardian recently declared “it’s time to talk about geoengineering.” So let’s talk about it. And let us start with some simple truths about this cluster of techno-optimistic “quick fixes” which purport to somehow offset our slow progress towards zeroing out planet-warming carbon emissions.
Solar geoengineering proposals – reducing sunlight – have received the most attention, but a host of desperate schemes have been proposed in an effort to “fix” the disruption of climate caused by the growing burden of carbon dioxide human activities add to the atmosphere.
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06/19/2026 - 02:00
This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world
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06/19/2026 - 01:00
Veteran campaigner Robin Hanbury-Tenison is raising money for a research station near his home in Cornwall
Pedalling on water for more than a hundred miles in a heatwave, pushed back by east winds and having to navigate 31 locks would be a challenge for anybody. But when that body is 90 years old, with a bad knee, failing balance and malfunctioning arms and shoulders, it’s a herculean feat.
Rainforest campaigner Robin Hanbury-Tenison, 90, is pedalling 104 miles down the River Thames from Oxford to Richmond on a water-bike to raise money for a unique research station which is being built to study Britain’s temperate rainforest.
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06/18/2026 - 23:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 19 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s44183-026-00216-y
Projecting biodiversity change to support climate-smart ocean planning in Portugal
