Latest environment news

Arctic heat caps off a record hot year for planet Earth.

World's weather took a weird track that will continue into 2016

Peter Hannam 11:45 AM   The combination in 2015 of an epic El Niño in the Pacific overlaying the backward warming unleased by humans' combustion of fossil fuels not only jolted the concept of what "normal" conditions mean, it also sets up 2016 to be at least as extreme.

The weather of 2015 captured in one image

By area affected, this year's El Nino is larger than the 1997-98 monster event, NASA says.

Peter Hannam 12:07 AM   There were many photographs that encapsulated the past year of weather extremes of fierce heatwaves, dangerous floods and wild winds but perhaps the most telling is a computer-coloured satellite image from space.

The most polluted suburbs in Sydney

Pollution concerns: latest data shows Sydney is hardly a pristine place to live.

Sydney Pead   Inner suburbs such as Rozelle and Earlwood were among the surprise parts of Sydney to experience spikes of air pollution during 2015, with levels soaring well above new national standards.

Up to 20 sharks close Hyams Beach on the NSW south coast

A school of sharks near Hyams Beach on Thursday. The Bendigo Aerial Patrol described the multiple sightings as an "interesting couple of days".

Kate Aubusson   About 100 people have rushed from the water after a school of up to 20 sharks was spotted just metres from shore on the NSW south coast.

'Bomb cyclone' to spike Arctic temperatures, add to UK's flooding woes

Off the charts: North Pole may go above freezing level on Wednesday.

Peter Hannam   The ferocious storm cell that spawned deadly tornadoes in the US over the weekend is expected to develop into what meteorologists are calling a 'cyclone bomb', steering exceptionally warm air over the Arctic and more flooding rains in to the UK.

Skiing on rocks new normal as climate change hits Europe's resorts

Tourists walk behind a snow gun and the rest of snow in the biathlon stadium in Oberhof, central Germany on Monday.

Andrea Rothman, Rudy Ruitenberg and Giles Broom   On a continent where ski holidays are de rigueur, the mountain meltdown at key resorts is putting a crimp in local economies that could be hurt more if bookings don't improve.

Unprecedented flooding in Britain prompts renewed discussion about climate change

Rescue teams evacuate residents in the Huntington Road area of York.

Nick Miller   "We are moving from a period of known extremes into a period of unknown extremes," said one of Britain's most senior environment officers.

Fatal weather rounds out a year of extremes

The blaze in the Victorian town of Wye River on Christmas Day.

Peter Hannam   Record heat in southern Australia, winter tornadoes in Texas and 'biblical' flooding in Britain are among the wacky extreme weather events rounding out 2015 across the globe.

Is leftover logging leaving a fire risk on the NSW south coast?

Logging slash in the Boyne State Forest, on the western side of the Princes Highway.

Lucy Cormack   Residents on the NSW south coast have expressed alarm at "metres high" piles of logs, leaves and branches left on forest floors after logging, as the bushfire season approaches.

10c for a bottle? NSW, have your say

The beverage industry has generally opposed regulations such as container deposit schemes.

Lucy Cormack   NSW is one step closer to implementing a container deposit scheme, a targeted approach to the 160 million beverage containers littered in communities across the state every year. 

Rainy week ahead for the capital

Harry Gibbs, of Red Hill, and cousin Coco Hyes enjoy the sunshine on New Year's Day at Yarralumla Bay but there is a change on the way.

Clare Sibthorpe 4:15 PM   If Canberra's New Year's resolution was to get some more rain, it is on the right track.

'There's going to be quite a bit of wet'

Swimmers enjoy the Sydney sun on New Year's Day. Rain is predicted for next week.

James Robertson 1:42 PM   The first week of the new year is threatening to be a washout with wet and mild conditions in Sydney and inundation for holidaymakers who have headed up the NSW coast.

Baby lemurs born at Mogo Zoo as part of endangered species breeding program

The Mogo Zoo has welcomed the birth of two baby Black and white Ruffed Lemurs.

Alexandra Back 11:32 AM   Two critically endangered black and white ruffed lemurs have been born at the south coast's Mogo Zoo.

Vignerons look to the weather gods in the lead up to harvest

Helen Gillard of Mill Creek vineyard: ''The grapes are looking beautiful and the vines are so exhausted.''

Esther Han 8:45 PM   Standing among her 6000 vines dripping in soon-to-be-picked grapes, winemaker Helen Gillard can't help but compare her vineyard to a woman in her eighth month of pregnancy.

Pets on planes for holidays send their owners stress levels soaring

A dog being loaded on to a Qantas flight in Canberra.

John Thistleton   Many holidaymakers packed and booked through an extra bag over the Christmas holidays, containing their pet dog or cat.

Ninja shark's prey unlikely to know what hit it

Black shark with a faint glow is thought to be able to sneak up on its prey.

A newly-discovered species of shark uses its black colouring and just the right amount of body glow to enable it to be super stealthy.

Sydney set for perfect New Year's Eve weather

New Year's Eve: Sydney Harbour should be offering ideal watching weather.

Peter Hannam   There's good news for the hundreds of thousands of people expected to flock to harbourside vantage points for Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks frolic.

Wallaby bounds through Chatswood streets

The wallaby spotted outside Chatswood Public School on Tuesday.

Patrick Begley   Perhaps this is the Sydney of foreigners' imaginations: a city in which wallabies sprint down streets in busy suburbs.

Australorp breeder's 30-year quest for a champion chook

Australorp breeder Peter D'Arcy at his Carwoola property feeding his hens and rooster.

John Thistleton   Peter D'Arcy does not care for the eggs of these Australorp chooks, even though they are the world's best layers.

Could this be Constable Kenny's new deputy?

A wallaby slipped into the Belconnen Police Station on Tuesday.

Constable Kenny Koala could have some competition for the cutest native Australian animal on the beat.

Weather Bureau forecasting ideal party weather for Canberra, coast

It will still be nice and warm when the fireworks are let off on New Year's Eve.

John Thistleton   Canberra and the South Coast should expect ideal weather to see in 2016.

Why we'll have to pay polluters to stop polluting right now

The Hazelwood Power Station in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, perhaps the dirtiest power station in the world, is an obvious candidate to be the first station to shut down.

Peter Martin   We need incentives to get all our brown coal power stations closed by the early 2020s, and all our black ones by the early 2030s.

Snake versus possum in Boxing Day showdown

Passerby Adrian Brand said the possum was still alive as it was being eaten.

Patrick Begley    

David Attenborough - a rare species

Sir David Attenborough has made a television series on the Great Barrier Reef.

Jessamy Calkin 9:15 PM   He is the most revered broadcaster in the world,and at the age of 89 Sir David Attenborough has lost none of his passion for life on Earth. He talks to Jessamy Calkin about climate change, Barack Obama, and his new series on the Great Barrier Reef.

Long-necked turtles get a hand through Mulligans Flat Sanctuary fence

A rescued turtle.

John Thistleton   Volunteers help turtles running the gauntlet past fences, foxes and cars.

Canberra Zoo animals have a very human Christmas

Bakkar the tiger was more impressed with his deer leg than the box it came in.

Katie Burgess   All the animals received their gifts a day early. So what did they unwrap?

Sydney to have a cool and dry Christmas Day

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 15: Participants dressed as santa take part in a world record attempt for the world's largest surf lesson at Bondi Beach on December 15, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. The surfers were participating in a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest surfing lesson. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Kieran Gair   Sydney can expect a cool, comfortable and dry Christmas this year, with the mercury predicted to reach a top of 25 degrees. 

The animals at RSPCA ACT celebrate Christmas

The animals at the RSPCA ACT got to open gifts on Christmas Day thanks to the generosity of the public.

Jil Hogan   They may not have found their forever homes yet, but Santa didn't forget the animals at the RSPCA ACT on Christmas Day.

Max still leads the pack as Canberra's weird dog names revealed

English Cross Australian Bulldog Max and his owner Magdalena Montalvo.

Matthew Raggatt   Don't be surprised if you hear Max yelled across Canberra's backyards this Christmas holidays.

Falling number of waterbirds in Australia's east sounds alarm

Richard Kingsford flies over the Macquarie Marshes in NSW in 2008.

Bridie Smith   The number of waterbirds that call the eastern third of Australia home has dropped to the second lowest level on record, sounding alarm bells for the health of the wider ecosystem as drought conditions take hold.

How is Christmas Day in Canberra looking?

Lawrence Kovacs, 5, and Amelie Smorhun, 5, cool off at Manuka pool.

Katie Burgess   Christmas Day in the capital is shaping up to be glorious. Boxing Day, not so much.

Fears for koalas under logging overhaul

Koalas.

Lucy Cormack   Koala populations in NSW have declined by at least 33 per cent in the last 20 years and, on current trends, could be extinct in the state by 2055.

Canberra's cutest animal stories of 2015

Shadow with a milk moustache.

Natasha Rudra   Here are the cutest, the most heartwarming and the downright terrifying animal stories we reported on.

'Don't be disgusting' this new year

Litter along NSW highways is not just bottles and food packets – large debris is also in the mix.

Lucy Cormack   Two sites along the Pacific Highway north of Sydney have been named as among the worst black spots in NSW for kerbside rubbish dumping.