Australia's financial regulator says the transition to a low-carbon economy 'is in motion' and local companies can opt to 'float with the transitional current' or fight 'against the rising tide'.

Pack away your bathers and get your umbrellas ready – summer is set to be rung in with a fierce rainstorm.

Some 100 coral reefs within the Great Barrier Reef have been identified as having particular resilience that could help corals recover from bleaching and other threats.

Widespread late-spring falls are predicted to soak much of Australia's south-east in coming days, with conditions described as "tropical" in areas used to much milder conditions.

Combustion has been found to release particles of titanium, researchers say.

• ANALYSIS

Why Frydenberg's modelling is unlikely to win over critics from both ends of the political spectrum.

The amount of new coal mining output being assessed by the Berejiklian government eclipses the Adani megamine proposed for Queensland and dwarfs its carbon emissions, according to analysis by Lock the Gate.

The state's controversial land-clearing codes could be overturned by a legal challenge, with lawyers leading the action advising landholders to exercise "extreme caution" before removing native vegetation until the matter is resolved.

The Queensland state election result threatens the future of the controversial Adani coal mine.

Electricity and water have come to villages that long had neither. Farmers have moved here from the mountains, seeking new futures on all the irrigated land.

Old-fashioned romance techniques of a nice meal and a bunch of flowers have proven successful.

Scientists have stepped in as environmental matchmakers by breeding baby coral on the Great Barrier Reef in a move that could have worldwide significance.

A tiger roamed the streets of Paris on Friday evening before being shot dead.

Australia is home to a global hot spot for sea-surface temperatures, with a record burst of prolonged heat in the country's south-east helping to make conditions several degrees warmer than average.

Sydney temperatures are set to reach or exceed 25 degrees over the next seven days.

Respected energy group says Turnbull government's energy plan has a weak emissions goal that would all but halt large-scale renewable investment.

The Turnbull government's National Energy Guarantee is set for a rocky reception when energy ministers meet in Hobart, with one state declaring new modelling confirmed its 'worst fears', and another saying it was 'deeply disappointing'.

Coogee Beach has the highest number of ambulance call-outs for suspected spinal injuries across the entire NSW coastline.

A La Nina is almost certain to develop in the Pacific this summer, with all eight models used by the Bureau of Meteorology anticipating threshold levels for the key climate pattern will be reached or exceeded in December.

Four tiny meerkat pups have played peek-a-boo with delighted spectators in the spring sun at Melbourne Zoo.

NSW's newest baby rhino weighed almost 40 kilograms at birth but nevertheless "slipped out like a cake of soap".

The President strongly suggested he will permanently block imports of elephant trophies from two African nations.

• EXCLUSIVE

From his multi-million dollar Woollahra terrace, Graham Chen sold Asian art and antiquities that often went under the hammer for more than $100,000.

• ANALYSIS

Most of the tree clearing is happening in Queensland, and it is accelerating.

The surge in new wind farm developments has failed to produce a concurrent upswing in complaints.

Providing a $1 billion loan to underwrite Adani's proposed mega coal mine would "unpick the progress" of the Paris climate agreement.

• ANALYSIS

Perhaps the most revealing moment at this year's United Nations climate talks came on Wednesday, when Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany addressed the nearly 200 nations gathered here.

On Sydney's northern beaches, a dedicated group of ocean lovers has helped to halt seismic testing during the peak whale migration season.

Exciting marine life is popping up down under.