Scientists have warned that extreme weather across the globe is set to continue, after April marked the 11th month in a row where global average temperatures were at record levels, the Financial Times reports. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, April was 0.67C above the 1991-2020 average for the month and 1.58C above pre-industrial levels, the FT says. It continues: “The global average temperature for the past 12 months was the highest on record at 1.61C above the pre-industrial average, Copernicus said. This temperature reading is distinct from the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rises to ideally 1.5C, which is based on a longer timeframe.” The Daily Mail says that “both record levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the weather phenomenon known as El Niño” drove the new April record. Analysis of the Copernicus data by BBC News says that the world’s oceans have broken temperature records every single day over the past year. It explains: “From March 2023, the average surface temperature of the global oceans started to shoot further and further above the long-term norm, hitting a new record high in August. Recent months have brought no respite, with the sea surface reaching a new global average daily high of 21.09C in February and March this year, according to Copernicus data. Not only has every single day since 4 May 2023 broken the daily record for the time of year, but on some days the margin has been huge.”

The Associated Press reports that “extreme weather seems nearly everywhere”, with “flooding in Brazil and Houston” and “brutal heat in Asia”. It continues: “In sweltering Brazil, flooding killed dozens of people and paralysed a city of about 4 million people. Voters and politicians in India, amid national elections, are fainting in heat that hit as high as 46.3C. A brutal Asian heat wave has closed schools in the Philippines, killed people in Thailand and set records there and in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives and Myanmar. Record temperatures – especially at night when it just won’t cool down – have hit many parts of Africa. Flooding devastated Houston, and the United States as a whole just had its second highest number of tornadoes for the month of April.” It adds that “climate scientists say they are hard pressed to remember when so much of the world has had its weather on overdrive at the same time”. Salon reports that the death toll from Brazil’s floods has now reached 83 people and is expected to rise further. Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva asked Congress on Monday to recognise a state of public calamity for the heavy rains, Reuters says. Elsewhere, the Guardian speaks to people living in Nairobi’s Mathare slum about the impacts of recent flooding.

Five people have been killed by forest fires in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, with the state recording 125 of the 157 large fires blazing across the country this week, the Hindustan Times reports. According to the paper, experts have attributed the spike in forest fires to rising temperatures and “an exceptionally dry” winter and spring. In contrast, forest officials pinned the blame on agricultural waste burning and “anti-social” elements, the story says. According to a conservationist quoted by Scroll.in, state forest officials “realised that these fires had been accidental”, after initially arresting locals. A NewsLaundry investigation reports that forest staff were deployed on election duty, violating state and court orders while “affecting official preparedness” to deal with the fires.

Extreme heat continues to sweep across the country, with Nandyal and Nalgonda in the southeastern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana recording temperatures over 45C, the Economic Times and Times of India report. The Press Trust of India quotes the Congress party’s VD Satheesan saying for “the first time in history”, Kerala “has been included in the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) heatwave map”. Satheesan “urge[d]” the state government to compensate families of those who died in the heatwave as well as farmers suffering crop losses, PTI adds. Heat “seems to be a major reason” for a significant drop in voter turnout in Kerala, Economic Times reports, after “nearly ten people reportedly died” on Friday following heat strokes, many allegedly while queueing up to vote. BBC News quotes India’s former election commissioner N Gopalaswami as saying heat “may have had a role” in lower voter numbers and holding elections between February and March “might encourage” more Indians to vote. Meanwhile, government officials tell Mint that Indian states are drawing up separate action plans “to combat the effects of climate change on people’s health”. Finally, the Hindu reports that researchers at India’s Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) recorded “widespread bleaching impacting coral reefs in the Lakshadweep Sea owing to marine heatwaves” that has seen temperature rises over 1C since October last year.

Chinese climate envoy Liu Zhenmin will visit the US from 7 to 16 May for talks with his US counterpart John Podesta, reports China Energy Net. The two sides will be “guided by the consensus of the[ir] heads of state” and discuss topics falling under the Sunnylands statement agreed last year, the newspaper says, adding that Liu will also meet with UN representatives, local government representatives and thinktanks. Bloomberg says the talks will cover “curbing potent planet-warming pollutants, promoting energy efficiency and other issues”. State-supporting newspaper Global Times says the talks “carry great significance[,] as it is expected they can continue and extend the positive exchange between the two countries in addressing climate change”. 

Meanwhile, China Energy Net reports that, in the first quarter of 2024, solar capacity newly added to the grid totalled 45.7 gigawatts (GW), according to the National Energy Administration (NEA). Bloomberg quotes the chairman of solar manufacturer Jinko Solar saying that the current “slump” in solar panel prices is “irrational” and has little room to continue. Economic outlet Caixin reports that Chinese wind turbine makers accounted for “four of the world’s top five manufacturers” in 2023 for the first time. Another China Energy Net article quotes an official from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s economic planning body, saying that it will accelerate encouraging the “exit of backwards enterprises and production capacity” and drive the “optimisation and restructuring” of new energy vehicle (NEV) companies.

State news agency Xinhua reports that a flash flood occurred in Guangxi province on Monday due to “continuous heavy rainfall”, although it did not link the rain to climate change. State-run newspaper China Daily covers the same news, adding that “two people died” in the floods. Communist party-affiliated newspaper People’s Daily reports that “over the next three days”, south and southwest China should expect “torrential rain” and “thunderstorms”. 

Elsewhere, People’s Daily carries an editorial under the nom de plume Zhong Caiwen, which is linked to the party’s Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, saying that the “new three” (NEVs, lithium batteries and solar panels) are popular overseas because of their “continuous technological innovation and extreme efficiency improvements”. Economic newswire Jiemian quotes former central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan saying “compared to the technological innovation and research and development expenditures of large corporations”, the role of subsidies in the sector is relatively small. Industry newspaper China Electric Power News publishes a commentary by an NDRC official, who writes that “overcapacity” arguments are crafted to “implement trade protection measures” on China.

A report by the thinktank Ember finds that renewables accounted for more than 30% of the world’s electricity for the first time last year following a rapid rise in wind and solar power, the Guardian says. The report suggests that the “world may be on the brink of driving down fossil fuel generation”, with renewables already helping to slow the growth in fossil fuels by almost two-thirds in the past 10 years, the Guardian reports. New Scientist says that solar is by far the fastest-growing electricity source, increasing its share of generation from 4.6% in 2022 to 5.5% in 2023, according to Ember analysis. It adds that, since 2000, wind and solar power have gone from generating just 0.2% of global electricity to a record 13.4% today. Carbon Brief also covers the findings, noting that wind and solar are the fastest growing electricity sources in history. Elsewhere, BusinessGreen covers International Energy Agency (IEA) analysis finding that investment in manufacturing capacity for solar PV, wind turbines, batteries, electrolysers and heat pumps surged by 70% last year.

Fossil fuel company BP has “softened the language on its pledge to cut its 2030 oil and gas output in an effort to reassure investors over its energy transition strategy”, Reuters says. It adds that BP has a target to reduce oil and gas output by around 25% between 2019 and 2030 to 2m barrels of oil equivalent per day. [This has already been watered down from a previous target to slash output by 40%.] Speaking to Reuters on Tuesday, BP CEO Murray Auchincloss said the company may overshoot or undershoot the target. He tells the newswire: “Two million is a decent number to stick by right now. Could it be higher? Yes. Could it be lower? Yes.” Auchincloss also said that switching BP’s listing from London to New York is currently “not on the agenda” despite earlier comments, the Times reports. Elsewhere, the Guardian’s financial editor Nils Pratley says in a comment that BP is “right to hold steady on climate targets despite below forecast profits”.

The number of charging points for electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK has now surpassed the 60,000 mark, just six months after reaching 50,000, according to mapping data reported on by BusinessGreen. According to charge point mapping service Zapmap, 1,900 charge points were installed each month for the first four months of 2024, marking a significant increase on the average of 1,400 a month achieved during 2023, BusinessGreen reports. It comes as the Times reports that the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has cut its forecast for the proportion of new car registrations being from EVs for this year from 25% to 19.8%. The government’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate requires manufacturers to ensure 22% of cars sold are zero-emission vehicles or else they could potentially face fines, the Times says. [According to thinktank New Automotive, the 22% is in effect only 18.5%, due to flexibility within the ZEV.] The Times continues: “The latest data from the SMMT shows that in April electric car sales rose 10% year-on-year to capture 16.9% of the total market, a recovery after a stagnation during the first quarter of the year. However, the figures show that only about 15% of electric cars sold went to private motorists – or just 2.5% of the total market – with the rest going to fleets or businesses that enjoy company car tax breaks.” It adds that the “falling take-up of electric cars by private motorists has prompted the SMMT to cut its zero-emission vehicle forecast for the year”. The Daily Telegraph also reports on the SMMT forecast, focusing on the falling take-up of EVs by private motorists rather than the overall growth in EVs. [A growing proportion of “fleet” cars are destined for private motorists via salary sacrifice schemes, according to the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association.]

Elsewhere in the UK, the Daily Mail is among publications reporting that the UK is to build Europe’s first facility for producing advanced nuclear fuel, according to a government announcement. Reuters adds: “Britain is investing almost £200m to build Europe’s first facility to produce high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), a fuel it says will be needed to power the next generation of nuclear energy projects.” BBC News reports that an environmental impact inquiry is to be held for the Hinkley Point C nuclear project.

London’s Evening Standard newspaper has a front-page feature on Sadiq Khan, who has just secured a historic third term as London mayor while pledging to do more to tackle climate change and toxic levels of air pollution. In a public address following his victory, the newspaper says Khan said that London “is now a beacon – not just for climate action, but for openness, inclusion and equality across the world”. According to the Evening Standard, he pledged to “go even further”, including a “100% zero emission bus fleet by 2030″. He added: “We’ll also continue planting more trees and clean up our rivers – including the Thames – in the same way we’ve cleaned up our air.” Elsewhere, BusinessGreen editor James Murray has a news analysis on how local elections in England revealed a “surge in support for bolder green policies”. “It remains unclear if the humbling results will trigger a shift in strategy from Number 10,” he says. Meanwhile, Conservative Environment Network director Sam Hall writes for Conservative Home that Tories “should learn to be loud and proud of their environmental record”.

A decline in the number of cooler days as a result of climate change could make existing varieties of lychee “unsuitable for cultivation in production areas in southern Taiwan”, a new study says. With some lychee farmers in Taiwan already experiencing economic losses as the climate warms, the researchers project yield changes in the country’s lychee-producing regions through the 21st century. The study finds that yield changes are linked to the number of days with an average flowering temperature below 16C. The projections indicate a decline in lychee yields per hectare of 12-35%, across a range of emissions scenarios, by the end of the century.