Science & Environment

Soutik BiswasIndia correspondent Hindustan Times via Getty Images India faces a severe air pollution crisis, ranking among the world’s top 10 most polluted countries India is losing sunlight. A new study by six Indian scientists finds that over the past three decades, sunshine hours – the time direct sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface – have steadily declined across most of …

Kevin KeaneEnvironment, energy and rural affairs correspondent, BBC Scotland Pathe News The twin Flettner rotor ship Buckau made its maiden voyage into Grangemouth in 1925 It must have been a bizarre sight when a freight ship, equipped with two large rotating towers, made its way under the Forth Bridge a century ago. The experimental sail technology, on the rotor ship …

Floods caused by torrential rain have left a number of people trapped in vehicles in Spain’s north-eastern Catalonia region, officials say. Videos on social media have emerged showing torrents of muddy water sweeping through the towns of La Ràpita and Santa Bàrbara in the Tarragona province, and moving everything in their path. The highest red alert has been declared in …

Helen BriggsBBC environment correspondent Getty Green turtles are large sea turtles found in tropical and subtropical oceans, known for their plant-based diet and reliance on beaches for nesting The green turtle has been rescued from the brink of extinction in what scientists are calling a major conservation victory. Once hunted extensively for turtle soup, its eggs as a delicacy and …

Malcolm Prior and Jenny KumahBBC News rural affairs team Andy Alcroft/BBC Emily Hough is now using her experiences to help shape nature prescribing schemes For Emily Hough, nature was too often simply something “out there”, a world apart from her, a view from a hospital window. Years spent in and out of specialist mental health units in Birmingham and London, …

Jonah FisherEnvironment correspondent Dean Lomax Ichthyosaur experts Dr Dean Lomax and Professor Judy Massare with the 185m year old skeleton A near-complete skeleton found on Dorset’s Jurassic coast has been identified as a new species of ichthyosaur, a type of prehistoric marine reptile that once ruled the oceans. The dolphin-sized ichthyosaur has been named Xiphodracon goldencapensis, or the “sword dragon …

Victoria GillScience correspondent, BBC News Washington Post via Getty Images Naked mole rats live for up to 40 years, compared to about three years for a mouse They are weird, bald, subterranean rodents that look like sausages with teeth, and they have just revealed a genetic secret to long life. A new study of the bizarre naked mole rat shows …

Available for over a year This week, renewables overtake coal as the world’s biggest source of electricity. China is leading the renewable charge despite its global reputation as a coal burning polluter. Zulfiqar Khan, Visiting Professor at Bournemouth University and Tsinghua University in Beijing and Furong Li, Professor in the department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Bath explain …

Sean CoughlanRoyal correspondent Millie Pilkington/ King’s Foundation King Charles held a “harmony summit” at Highgrove in the summer, where this photograph was taken King Charles says he wants to inspire a “sense of determination” to protect the environment, as details are announced of a TV documentary in which he will explain his philosophy of “harmony” and the need “to work …

Georgina RannardScience reporter Getty Images The Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M Yaghi for their work on metal-organic frameworks. The three scientists’ work could be used to tackle some of the biggest problems on our planet, including capturing carbon dioxide that could help tackle climate change or reducing plastic pollution using …