The high temperatures that have struck the southwestern US, Mexico and Central America recently, were 35 times more likely and 1.4C hotter “because of the warming from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas”, the Associated Press reports. A rapid attribution study by researchers at World Weather Attribution explored the impact of climate change in the on-going heat that has killed “at least” 125 people so far, the newswire explains. Climate change also led to unusually high night time temperatures that were up to 1.6C warmer than they would have otherwise been – and made “unusual evening heat” 200 more times more likely, it continues. The article adds that “doctors say cooler night temperatures are key to surviving a heatwave”. The researchers examined the five-day maximum temperatures across North and Central America in May and June for their study, the Guardian reports. It notes that tens of millions of people have endured dangerous heat recently as a “heat dome” has engulfed Mexico – with the conditions spreading north into Texas, Arizona and Nevada and south into Belize, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. BBC News explains that the study is based on the scientists comparing events today against models of what would have been likely to occur in a world without human-induced global warming. Such a level of heat would have been a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence in 2000, but today the average person could experience such an event five or six times in their life, according to the New York Times.

The Associated Press also reports on heat across the US, noting that heat index readings – which account for temperature and humidity – were expected to pass 37.7C in many locations across the country, “possibly setting some all-time records”. It reports from New England in the northeast of the country, where temperatures have soared. NBC Boston describes the heat as “relentless” across the region. Nearly 100 million people in the US are “under an excessive-heat advisory” during the fourth day of a heatwave that has covered much of the eastern US, according to the New York Times. El País reports that the Copa América football tournament is kicking off in Atlanta, Georgia, which is in the grip of the heatwave and has seen temperatures reach 32C this week. The South American Football Confederation has published a set of health directives recognising that “rising temperatures due to climate change poses significant threats to players”, it adds. A Los Angeles Times editorial says that private landlords must start providing all tenants with cooling equipment to prevent homes from becoming dangerously hot. It concludes: “It’s time for California’s health and safety protections to change with the climate.”

Separately, the first named storm of the hurricane season – Alberto – has made landfall in Mexico, bringing “heavy rain and flooding to the country’s Gulf Coast and to Texas”, according to CNN. While the storm has weakened to a “tropical depression”, Reuters reports that four people have been killed. The New York Times reports that as extreme weather strikes parts of New Mexico, firefighters have been forced to “contend with a disorienting mix of raging flames and rushing floods”. Finally, a “surge in natural disasters” this year has already cost the US more than $25bn in damages caused by wildfires, tornadoes and flooding, according to the MailOnline.

The “unrelenting” heatwave across much of India claimed at least 110 lives and left over 40,000 people with suspected heatstroke between 1 March and 18 June, according to health ministry sources cited by the Hindustan Times. Health minister J P Nadda said that special heatwave units should be set up in all central government hospitals to help those falling ill due to the heat, the article says. It notes that ministry sources expect the final death toll to be higher. While these months are generally hot in India ahead of the monsoon rains, “heat has become more intense in the past decade and is usually accompanied by severe water shortages, with tens of millions of India’s 1.4 billion people lacking running water”, according to the Associated Press. It notes that extreme heat events are becoming more frequent in parts of south Asia, pointing to an attribution study that found climate change had made a recent heatwave 45 times more likely. “The ongoing heatwave has caused significant distress across Asia, with scientists attributing the worsening conditions to human-induced climate change,” Business Standard reports. It adds that northern India has seen temperatures reach nearly 50C during what the outlet describes as “one of the lengthiest heatwaves on record”. BBC News reports from what it describes as “India’s first heat stroke emergency room”. The article stresses the ways in which heat threatens the poorest Indians most, and those working in heat-exposed jobs such as construction and mining. Despite the growing threat of heatwaves, it notes that “heat emergency doesn’t figure in the political discourse”. The Economics Times adds that the northeastern state of Assam has seen “additional fatalities” as heavy rains have brought landslides and floods. According to Mint, the India Meteorological Department has reported that the country has received 20% less rainfall than usual since the start of the monsoon period on 1 June this year.

Elsewhere, there is continuing coverage of the heat-related death toll among Muslims on the hajj pilgrimage in the city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, with Sky News reporting that “more than 1,000” people have now died amid temperatures of 51.8C. BBC News has a rundown of some parts of the world that are currently experiencing extreme heat, including Greece, Saudi Arabia and India.

The UK’s Supreme Court has ruled that the climate impact of burning fossil fuels should be taken into account when granting permission for oil and gas drilling sites, the Financial Times reports. The “landmark” ruling found that Surrey County Council’s decision to expand a drilling permit for a project in Horse Hill, near Horley in southern England, was unlawful, it continues. The newspaper explains that the verdict “could make it harder” for other fossil fuel projects to go ahead, with climate campaigners saying the Whitehaven coal mine project in Cumbria and the Rosebank oilfield project could be affected. In both cases, environmental impact assessments focused on their direct emissions, and not the emissions from burning the fossil fuels they produce, it adds. BBC News explains: “While this precedent for taking emissions from products like oil into account does not stop new drilling it is something companies will have to consider when looking at new projects.” Nevertheless, the Daily Telegraph says the ruling “set a precedent” for similar legal challenges against Shell’s Jackdaw project and Equinor’s Rosebank development in the North Sea. The Times notes that Labour – which is likely to form the next government after the upcoming election – has promised to block new oil and gas licences. However, it adds that the party has said it will not cancel projects already approved, which includes Rosebank. The newspaper adds that estimated emissions from Rosebank’s fossil fuels would dwarf those from Horse Hill – at 129m tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) compared to 10MtCO2. The ruling makes the frontpage of the Scottish Daily Mail, under the headline: “Judges’ ruling that could kill off oil industry.” The newspaper reports that the ruling sparked a “furious backlash”, quoting politicians including former energy secretary and climate sceptic John Redwood, who says fossil fuels are needed to improve UK energy security. The Daily Mail also names and profiles the judges who issued the ruling, including details of what schools they went to. In related news, the Times reports that the billionaire Jim Ratcliffe – whose company Ineos has interests in chemicals and oil refining – has criticised Labour’s climate plans as “absurd”, saying that the North Sea fossil fuel industry will be “taxed out of existence”. The Daily Telegraph, in a story trailed on the frontpage, notes that this comes just days after Ratcliffe publicly backed Labour leader Keir Starmer.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports on the creation of a new company, chaired by former BP chief executive Tony Hayward, which will focus on producing gas from offshore fields in the Mediterranean Sea. The story, which is trailed on the newspaper’s frontpage, says it is the latest foray by the private equity group Carlyle into oil and gas, “even as most of its competitors have backed away from such investments”.

In other UK fossil fuel news, the Guardian reports that Just Stop Oil activists have sprayed orange powder over private jets at Stansted airport on the airfield where, according to them, Taylor Swift’s plane is stationed. The Daily Mail has a lengthy, “exclusive” article about one of the activists being a “superfan” of Swift, who is one of the most popular musical artists in the world. In its coverage, the Times notes that Swift has been widely criticised by campaigners for her use of private jets – reportedly racking up 178,000 miles on her two planes last year. The Daily Telegraph’s coverage emphasises that the activists “failed to find” Swift’s plane, instead targeting two other jets.

Finally, the Times covers reporting that the first heatwave of the year may be on its way in the UK. It says: “Temperatures are expected to rise later this weekend and into the first half of next week, although whether the temperatures meet the criteria for a heatwave is another question,” noting the “strict rules” the Met Office says must be met for conditions to qualify as a heatwave.

The Chinese government has promised to “guide capacity expansions and avoid redundant investments” in response to the country’s “beleaguered” solar manufacturers’ call for help, Bloomberg reports. The outlet adds that China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) will “monitor solar factory utilisation and expansion plans to help improve market conditions”. Economic news outlet Jiemian also covers the story, quoting an NEA official saying the department will “consolidate the domestic market for newly installed solar power capacity”, adding that the industry should “avoid repetitive construction of low-end solar capacity”. Zhang Jianhua, head of the NEA, said that China should “promote the development and use of nuclear power, hydropower and new energy in an integrated manner”, according to energy news outlet BJX News. State news agency Xinhua covers Chinese president Xi Jinping’s calls for Qinghai province to continue to protect its ecology and “promote high-quality development” through “pursuing green development”. Reuters reports that China’s coal production fell by 3% in the first five months of 2024 compared with a year earlier, adding that the slowdown suggests that the “energy supply situation has become more comfortable, allowing the government to focus on long-term structural changes”.

Elsewhere, Reuters reports that, according to a survey, 82% of Chinese automotive industry participants say that the EU’s anti-subsidy probe into Chinese new energy vehicles (NEVs) has “harmed their confidence in investing in Europe”. Xinhua reports that China’s NEV penetration rate will “hit a new high” of 49.1% in June. The state-supporting newspaper Global Times publishes an article stating that the EU’s tariffs on NEVs will harm the economic interests of both the EU and China. Reuters also reports that 61% of Japanese companies “see no need” for their government to follow the US in imposing extra duties on Chinese imports, with around 53% saying that “excessive production capacity in China’s industrial sector does not affect them”.

Local newspaper Guangxi Daily reports that Guilin, a city in Guangxi province, has been hit by the largest flood since 1998, following heavy rain. The newspaper cites a forecaster explaining that the extreme weather is due to meteorological reasons, and does not mention climate change. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post also covers the Guilin flood, saying that China has “issued a level-1 flood emergency alert”, the most severe response scenario in the country’s four-tier emergency response system. Xinhua reports that China issued a level-4 emergency response to flooding in Anhui and Hubei provinces following “torrential rain”.

EU member states have approved a 14th package of sanctions against Russia due to its war against Ukraine, which includes a ban on re-exports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the EU for the first time, EurActiv reports. The article explains that, as it stands, European ports in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Spain are the main entry points for LNG deliveries from Russia’s Siberian Yamal Peninsula. Some of these ports then serve as key hubs for re-exports of the product to Turkey, China and parts of Southeast Asia, it adds. This “once-unthinkable step” could “drain hundreds of millions from Moscow’s war chest”, according to Politico. However, it says that while the ban will stop EU ports from reselling Russian LNG and block financing for Russia’s planned Arctic and Baltic LNG terminals, it still “won’t hit the majority of Russia’s LNG exports to the EU”. Bloomberg clarifies that the ban will still allow the import of LNG for use within the EU.

In related news, Reuters reports that Russian president Vladimir Putin has said he is keen to partner with Vietnam in energy and security, on a visit to the country. The article notes that “Russia has long cooperated with Vietnam in the oil and gas sector with the state-run company Zarubezhneft being at the forefront of that business”.

Former Conservative energy minister Chris Skidmore has written a comment piece for the Guardian in which he criticises the current Conservative government led by prime minister Rishi Sunak, and the stance it has taken on climate policies. He writes: “We have seen Rishi Sunak decide to prioritise new oil and gas expansion at a time when our fossil fuel industries are in rapid decline and will become stranded assets within decades. His decision to renege on net zero means the UK has scaled back on measures that would have saved households £8bn a year in lower energy costs.” Skidmore says the UK risks losing its “greatest economic opportunity in a generation” as other nations, such as the US, have committed to long-term support packages for “green” industries. “Worse still has been an extremist rhetoric that frames net zero policies as an imposition…Sunak’s decision instead to side with climate deniers and to deliberately politicise the energy transition is perhaps the greatest tragedy of his premiership,” he continues. Skidmore concludes by describing the opposition Labour’s policy platform as “sensible and mainstream”, professing his support for the party as the election approaches. The Guardian also has an “exclusive” news story about Skidmore’s article that appears on the newspaper’s frontpage, noting the “deeply personal attack” issued by the Conservatives’ “former net-zero tsar”.

The Guardian has also published an editorial about climate change and the UK election. It laments the “disconnect” between climate science and climate policy, which it says is growing “more and more alarming”. The article criticises both Labour’s “abandonment” of a pledge to spend £28bn a year on “greening the economy”, and also “attempts by rightwing politicians to weaponise climate politics, and to undermine public support for net-zero by suggesting that the transition will be at the expense of the poor”. It concludes: “The next UK government needs to face down the cynics and lobbyists. The scale of the climate threat and the injustice it encompasses – including the implications for children and young people everywhere – should make the case for ditching fossil fuels irresistible.”

Meanwhile, politics.co.uk has a piece by the hereditary peer and engineer Lord Ravensdale, emphasising how important it is that the next UK government provides certainty for the UK solar sector. He writes: “With a general election now fast approaching, the next government will need to address barriers to green economic growth, including reforming the planning system and making timely decisions on large-scale energy projects.”

Right-leaning newspapers in the UK have criticised a ruling by the nation’s Supreme Court concerning a fossil-fuel drilling site in Surrey. In an editorial, the Daily Telegraph expresses concern that it will hamper the UK’s fossil fuel industry. “We will need oil and gas for the foreseeable future despite the fantasies of net-zero proponents and will either have to produce our own or import it,” it says. Moreover, it concludes that “this damaging ruling can only encourage the Just Stop Oil zealots who have spray-painted Stonehenge and tried to attack the private plane belonging to the pop star Taylor Swift”. A Daily Mail editorial calls the decision to “put the emergency brakes” on the oilfield an “incendiary ruling”. The editorial says that, as a result of the outcome, “it will be harder for the UK to keep the lights on. It will cost jobs, investment and billions in tax revenues. And it will undermine our energy security, making us dangerously reliant on imports in an unstable world (which will, with depressing irony, push up carbon emissions).” Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir has a piece titled “judges setting our energy policy is even more terrifying than the so-called climate crisis”.

In a swipe at the Just Stop Oil activists themselves, a Times editorial says their recent activism “may be a good way to grab headlines”, but is “bad politics”. Daily Telegraph columnist Petronella Wyatt has penned a rambling column in which she says “the climate hasn’t changed” and concludes: “The worship of nature makes idiots out of its proponents, and unsavoury idiots at that…The young who were to make Hitler’s Germany lit their campfires and communed with nature. The Führer was entranced by Wagnerian landscapes, while Goering, who was obsessed with biodiversity and hated hot weather, would have been a hero to Extinction Rebellion. Someone tell that to the Greta goblin person.”

An editorial in the Economist focuses on the enormous success of solar power. It explains: “To call solar power’s rise exponential is not hyperbole, but a statement of fact. Installed solar capacity doubles roughly every three years, and so grows ten-fold each decade. Such sustained growth is seldom seen in anything that matters. That makes it hard for people to get their heads round what is going on.” This is part of a “special issue” – illustrated on the magazine’s frontpage – dedicated to “the dawn of the solar age”. It centres on a lengthy feature on the success of solar power, which concludes: “If real energy costs drop dramatically across the global economy, and access to energy expands, to bet against great things is to bet against the innovative engines of capitalism. It is not a wager history encourages.”

A new study finds that the Southern Ocean – the carbon-rich waters around Antarctica – absorbs around 30m tonnes of CO2 in the wintertime. Using satellite data, researchers reconstruct a 16-year timeseries of the partial pressure of CO2 at the ocean’s surface around the Southern Ocean, then calculate the strength of the carbon sink. They find that previous estimates of CO2 flux underestimated the strength of the sink, which they say is “potentially due to underestimations of biological effects”. They conclude: “This work highlights the efficacy of active remote sensing for monitoring sea surface pCO2 and contributes insights into the dynamic carbonate systems of the Southern Ocean.”

Aerosols caused by human activities have had a stronger impact on “Arctic amplification” than greenhouse gases, according to a new study. Researchers use observational datasets and climate models to isolate the effects of greenhouse gases and aerosols on global temperature increases. They find that over 1955-84, Arctic amplification is more strongly associated with aerosol concentrations “due to a greater sensitivity of Arctic sea ice” to aerosols. The authors conclude that “clean air policies which have reduced aerosol emissions may have exacerbated the Arctic warming over the past few decades”.