China’s temperatures averaged 23.21C in July, “the highest monthly average” since record began in 1961, Reuters reports, citing state broadcaster CCTV. The newswire adds that the record heat “mirrors record hot weather seen around the world” but this year’s phenomenon is “unusual” because “temperatures have not abated” with the end of the “El Niño climate pattern”, adds the newswire. State broadcaster CCTV cites the China Meteorological Administration saying that in July alone, the country experienced two typhoons and recorded a “13.3% higher than average” rainfall. The Ministry of Finance says it has allocated 378m yuan ($53m) to flood relief, state news agency Xinhua reports. An editorial on Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post says with “global temperatures creeping up and extreme weather becoming the norm”, China has to “improve prevention measures as the top leadership has requested”.

Meanwhile, China has added 54% more stations to meet “the charging needs” of 24m electric vehicles (EV), according to Xinhua. An analysis by financial news outlet Caixin sheds light on China’s growing demand for electric heavy trucks, which increased by 13% in sales within the country last year, driven by “China’s determination to decarbonise its heavy industries”. Another Caixin report says that China’s lithium output – a key component of EV batteries – is expected to “expand by 41% this year”, but its prices “could drop to their lowest point of the year”. Economic news outlet Jiemian reports China’s export of lithium fell nearly 15% year-on-year in the first half of 2024. State supporting newspaper Global Times says Chinese scientists have made a “breakthrough” in developing materials that would create “solid-state lithium batteries with high energy density and long cycle life”.

Elsewhere, US senators have introduced a legislation that would prohibit “companies with ties to China”, including Chinese solar firms and EV battery makers from “getting a tax credit meant to bolster domestic energy manufacturing”, Bloomberg reports. The Financial Times Energy Source newsletter publishes a feature under the title: “Can the US outpace China on solar technology?”

In other China news, China’s “new-type energy storage capacity”, as at the end of June, has expanded 40% compared with the end of 2023, reaching 44 gigawatts, Xinhua reports. Another Xinhua article says the country has issued “the first batch of carbon emission certification labels for locally grown durians in Sanya, Hainan”. Finally, an opinion piece published by the China Power Enterprise Management magazine says that China’s carbon market should exclude indirect CO2 emissions from its scope of coverage to “avoid clashing with the ‘green electricity certificates’ (GECs)”. 

A “near-record heatwave” has hit Antarctica, with ground temperatures across swathes of its ice sheets increasing an average of 10C above normal over the past month, the Guardian reports. Temperatures have reached 28C above expectations on some days, it adds. The story, which appears on the frontpage of the Guardian, notes that the heatwave is the second to hit the region over the past two years, with the last, in March 2022, “leading to a spike of 39C and causing a portion of the ice sheet the size of Rome to collapse”. It explains that while last month was the first in 14 months that temperature records were not broken, “that followed an exceptionally warm July 2023, and it remained 0.3C above any July before that”. The Washington Post describes the conditions as “an ominous example of the major temperature spikes this polar climate could experience more frequently in a warming world”. The newspaper says that while temperatures on the continent remain below freezing, the current Antarctic temperature anomaly is the largest on the planet, according to weather models. It adds that it is “too early to determine all of its causes”, but scientists say the heat is at least partially linked to a “sudden stratospheric warming” event 30km above the surface.

Meanwhile, another Washington Post article reports that “the hottest place on Earth just observed its hottest month”. It says that Death Valley, California, recorded an average July temperature of 108.5F (42.5C) – the “highest monthly value ever recorded”, according to Brian Brettschneider, a climatologist based in Alaska. The Los Angeles Times says Needles, a town near the California border, has surpassed the previous city record for highest average temperature in July, with a new high of 103.2F (39.5C). Previously, the record was held by Phoenix, Arizona, after it reached 102.7F (39.3C) last July.

In the Brazilian Amazon, government data shows that the number of fires has surged to the highest level for the month of July in almost two decades, Reuters reports. This comes “amid a drought in the region fanned by climate change”.

In other news, New Scientist reports on a new study that concludes mountain glaciers in the Andes are the smallest they have been for at least 130,000 years, The news outlet explains that nearly all of the world’s tropical glaciers are found in the Andes, adding that it has been “clear for decades” that they are retreating due to climate change. Nevertheless, according to Reuters the discovery “shocked” the team of scientists, who had initially set out to measure how the glaciers had varied throughout human civilisation. The newswire quotes the lead study author, who said: “We thought this result was decades away.”

The European Commission has told Hungary and Slovakia to stop using Russian oil and seek alternative sources after they complained that Ukraine was blocking supplies from Russia, the Financial Times reports. The governments of the two countries – which are both EU member states – had asked the commission to intervene in a dispute after Ukraine placed sanctions on Russian energy company Lukoil, the newspaper explains. Both nations rely on Russian oil flowing via the Druzhba pipeline through Ukraine, which is also used by Lukoil, they said the move threatened fuel shortages, the article continues. It quotes a letter to Hungary and Slovakia from EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, stating: “Diversification away from Russian fossil fuels should be actively pursued.” According to EurActiv, the letter adds that “there is no current indication of an immediate risk to the security of supply”, meaning no more immediate action is warranted. Politico explains that when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the EU imposed an embargo on imports of Russian oil but exempted pipeline supplies to give pipeline-dependent nations “time to find alternative sources, with the understanding they would do so rapidly”. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom’s daily natural gas supplies to Europe reached their highest level this year in July – up 5.7% compared with a year ago and 12% higher than in June.

At least 17 Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested for trying to disrupt Heathrow Airport, the Evening Standard reports. It says six were arrested after blocking the departure gates at terminal 5, alongside a person filming, as well as another 10 that the protest group says were arrested on public transport. The article notes that the campaigners are currently targeting airports, with two protesters arrested on Tuesday after coating Heathrow’s terminal 5 in orange paint. The Independent says the demonstrators were removed from the area within 20 minutes “with minimal impact on passengers”. As a result, the Daily Telegraph is among the right-wing newspapers describing the act as a “failed protest” and a “damp squib”. The newspaper adds that Just Stop Oil is calling on the UK government to establish a “fossil fuel treaty”, noting that the group said last week that it would use “all means necessary” to disrupt summer holidays. The Daily Mail says Just Stop Oil has dubbed its campaign targeting airports “oil kills”, and has stated that 21 groups across 12 countries have taken action at 18 airports so far. The Daily Telegraph profiles one of the Heathrow protesters, Phoebe Plummer, who previously threw soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and is now “facing prison, again”.

Separately, five Just Stop Oil activists have been jailed for climbing the gantries over the M25 in an attempt to block the motorway, the Guardian reports. The protesters wanted to cause “maximum disruption” in a bid to force the government to ban new fossil fuel exploration in the North Sea – a demand they pointed out has since “become government policy” under Labour. BBC News says people “suffered hours of delay” on 9 November 2022 as a result of the protest. It quotes the judge who told the activists “your actions were disproportionate to your aims”.

Elsewhere, the Daily Telegraph reports that Onward Together, a campaign organisation run by former Democrat US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, has donated $500,000 (£391,500) in the last three years to Californian NGO the Climate Emergency Fund (CEF). The newspaper says that the CEF has channelled funds into climate protest groups in the UK, and therefore runs the story under the headline: “Hillary Clinton-run group helps fund Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion.”

Finally, in Hungary, Reuters reports that farmers have led two camels through downtown Budapest to the farm ministry to raise awareness of the impact of climate change on Hungary’s agriculture. “The link between camels and the desert is obvious,” protest organiser Laszlo Kulcsar said, according to the newswire.

Germany’s Leipzig airport temporarily halted flights on Thursday after climate activists “breached the airfield as part of a disruptive protest campaign that has lawmakers calling for stricter punishment and better airport security measures,” reports Reuters. Deutsche Welle details that at least five members of the Last Generation climate group glued themselves to the taxiway at the airport. In a statement, the group “reiterated its demand” to the German government to “help shape and sign a legally binding international agreement that regulates the global phase out of oil, gas and coal by 2030,” adds DW. Recently, ABC News reported that a total of 270 flights were cancelled at “Germany’s busiest [Frankfurt] airport” due to “environmental activists.” 

Meanwhile, Der Spiegel reports widespread delays in connecting renewable energy projects in Germany to the grid due to “a backlog of applications and insufficient grid capacity”. The news explains that the rapid expansion of renewables in Germany has overwhelmed the grid infrastructure, leading to inefficiencies and lost power. In addition, the decentralised structure of Germany’s grid operators and lax regulation exacerbate these problems, notes the newspaper. It also emphasises that by 2030, Germany plans to connect 22 gigawatts (GW) of new solar systems to the grid every year, heat indoor spaces with six million heat pumps by the beginning of 2025 and have 15m electric cars on the streets by 2030.

Finally, Bloomberg reports that “four in 10 German manufacturers are considering limiting production or relocating abroad amid uncertainty over the nation’s future energy supplies and crippling bureaucracy”. The outlet says that energy-intensive firms are particularly impacted.

A “different breed of net-zero lawmakers” has emerged in recent months, according to Financial Times columnist Pilita Clark. She observes a trend in which leaders “with a deep understanding of the climate challenge” have been voted into power. Specifically, she cites the new climate-scientist president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, as well as another scientist, Taiwan’s new environment minister Peng Chi-ming, and Iceland’s new president Halla Tómasdóttir. “It obviously won’t lead to an instant plunge in carbon emissions. But it does make it likely that more governments will include people who grasp the need for swift action to cut those emissions – and know how this can best be done,” she writes. Clark also highlights the new Labour government in the UK, with “seasoned climate politician” Ed Miliband in the role of secretary of state for energy security and net-zero. 

Separately, Politico’s energy and climate reporter Nicholas Earl considers the potential clashes between the UK Labour government and trade unions over its climate policies – specifically the commitment to ending new oil and gas licences. The piece is titled: “Keir Starmer’s worst nightmare? Becoming Margaret Thatcher.” 

Elsewhere, in his column for the Daily Telegraph, world economy editor Ambrose Evans-Pritchard discusses the state of the UK’s plans for carbon capture and storage (CCS). He says the new Labour government has “inherited a roll-out schedule that has gone off the rails”. He notes that Miliband intends to persevere with plans for CCS, but adds that if it is to be successful: “He will have to commit more money, rush through a string of project deals, and take an unpopular political gamble on the most complex CCS experiment in the world. If he does not, he will preside over a big policy failure.” In the newspaper’s print edition, the article has the headline: “Labour must stick to its guns on green power.” And, writing in the Irish Times, Hannah Daly, professor of sustainable energy at University College Cork, emphasises the need for emissions removals via both land-based methods such as tree planting and emerging technologies such as direct air capture. She stresses the need for “carbon drawdown targets” and concludes: “Political commitments have not caught up with this weight of evidence. In wealthy and high-emitting countries that have the ability and responsibility to take action, the planned date of net-zero should be brought forward: 2050 is clearly too late.”

Analysis of bedrock exposed by retreating ice in the Andes suggests that the glaciers are smaller now than they have been in the entire Holocene. The researchers analyse bedrock at the margin of four glaciers spanning the tropical Andes to reconstruct their past extents relative to today. The findings suggest that “these locations were never exposed during the Holocene”, the study says. The authors conclude: “Our data imply that many glaciers in the tropics are probably now smaller than they have been in at least 11,700 years, making the tropics the first large region where this milestone has been documented.”

Fluctuations in the climate associated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) appear to have played an important role in “facilitating the establishment of a new invasive strain in the sixth cholera pandemic” in the early 20th century, a new study says. Using newly assembled historical records for climate variables and cholera deaths in provinces of former British India, the authors “examine the regional synchrony of outbreaks and associations of the disease with regional temperature and rainfall, and with ENSO”. They find that the sixth cholera pandemic “featured the striking synchronisation of cholera outbreaks over Bengal during the El Niño event of 1904-07”. The implications of the findings show that “increased climate variability and extremes under global warming would thus provide new windows of opportunity for emerging pathogens/re-emerging cholera outbreaks”, the authors conclude.