Charles pays tribute to ‘resilience' of Antarctic research scientists
While the UK enjoys its longest day of sunlight on Saturday, British scientists at the South Pole experience 24 hours of darkness.
In a morale-raising message recorded for the BBC's midwinter broadcast, Charles praised the researchers' 'critically important' work as well as their 'resilience and commitment' to their jobs.
'Each observation, measurement and calculation you undertake adds to the world's understanding of the Earth's fragile systems,' he said.
'With the sun shying away from your horizon today, I particularly wanted to send my warmest good wishes.'
Charles said the research stations highlight the 'role humanity plays, as we struggle to live in harmony with nature'.
It comes a month after the King, a longtime environmental advocate, urged people to help save the planet during a charity fundraiser, telling the crowd: 'Collaboration is far better than conflict.'
He said the charity's work comes at a time when efforts are under way to 'develop an even greater ability to manage the human and animal conflict'.
Charles said: 'If we're going to rescue this poor planet (from) continuing degradation, and restore some degree of harmony to the proceedings, we must also understand that whatever we take and exploit from nature, we need to give something back in return to enable nature to sustain us.'
The BBC's midwinter broadcast coincides with sweltering weather back on British soil, as the UK prepares for thunderstorms which are set to mix with continued high temperatures on Saturday – with up to 34C possible in some areas.
A yellow thunderstorm weather warning covering all of northern England, from Nottingham up to above Newcastle, will come into force from 3pm and last until 4am on Sunday.
The Met Office warned the most intense storms could produce 'frequent lightning, large hail and gusty winds', along with a chance of flooding.
Parts of eastern England could also see temperatures peak high enough to eclipse the 32.2C seen on Thursday and become the hottest day of the year so far.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Third heatwave of the summer set to hit UK, Met Office says
A third heatwave is set to hit the UK by the end of next week, the Met Office said. Temperatures could climb into the low 30s and the heat is forecast to remain at night, making sleeping uncomfortable. It follows a weekend of cooler air, cloud and rain in most of England, and a yellow warning for thunderstorms in the east of the country on Sunday. Marco Petagna, senior meteorologist at the Met Office, said: 'I think Wednesday is probably going to be the day when we could start to reach the thresholds of 25 to 28 degrees, depending on where you are. 'But of course, you need three days at those temperatures for it to be able to be called a technical heatwave. 'So, although the temperature will be reaching the criteria, we probably won't actually reach an official heatwave until around Friday, to give the three consecutive days at those temperatures. The week ahead will see high pressure building across the UK Increasingly settled and sunny conditions will likely drive a rise in temperatures 📈 Some areas could reach 30°C by the end of the week 🌡️ — Met Office (@metoffice) July 6, 2025 'But temperatures are going to continue to climb as we go toward the end of the week and certainly by Friday and Saturday we could see 30 degrees, perhaps just nudging into the low 30s. 'At the weekend, we could just start to see humidity increasing a little bit as well and nighttime temperatures look like they are going to be, so it will be starting to become more uncomfortable by night.' Yet the duration of the hot spell remains difficult to gauge, and there are uncertainties about just how high temperatures will rise. It also appears as though the UK will avoid the stifling weather of the high 30s and low 40s seen in the Mediterranean. Mr Petagna said: 'It's a bit of a question mark going through the weekend early next week as to how long the heat will last and how high the temperatures will get, because some models are sort of pushing the heat away a bit more quickly, whereas others keep the heat going. 'At this stage it looks as though certainly into next weekend, we should hold on to hot weather across the south of the UK and temperatures could again certainly get into the low 30s in a few spots. 'And we are going to see some very high pollen and very high UV levels as well. 'But at this stage, we've managed to escape some of the very highest temperatures, those seen across Spain and Portugal in particular, where it has reached the mid-40s.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Weedkiller ingredient widely used in US can damage organs and gut bacteria, research shows
The herbicide ingredient used to replace glyphosate in Roundup and other weedkiller products can kill gut bacteria and damage organs in multiple ways, new research shows. The ingredient, diquat, is widely employed in the US as a weedkiller in vineyards and orchards, and is increasingly sprayed elsewhere as the use of controversial herbicide substances such as glyphosate and paraquat drops in the US. But the new piece of data suggests diquat is more toxic than glyphosate, and the substance is banned over its risks in the UK, EU, China and many other countries. Still, the EPA has resisted calls for a ban, and Roundup formulas with the ingredient hit the shelves last year. Related: 'We thought we'd got the numbers wrong': how a pristine lake came to have the highest levels of 'forever chemicals' on record 'From a human health perspective, this stuff is quite a bit nastier than glyphosate so we're seeing a regrettable substitution, and the ineffective regulatory structure is allowing it,' said Nathan Donley, science director with the Center For Biological Diversity, which advocates for stricter pesticide regulations but was not involved in the new research. 'Regrettable substitution' is a scientific term used to describe the replacement of a toxic substance in a consumer product with an ingredient that is also toxic. Diquat is also thought to be a neurotoxin, carcinogen and linked to Parkinson's disease. An October analysis of EPA data by the Friends of the Earth non-profit found it is about 200 times more toxic than glyphosate in terms of chronic exposure. Bayer, which makes Roundup, faced nearly 175,000 lawsuits alleging that the product's users were harmed by the product. Bayer, which bought Monsanto in 2018, reformulated Roundup after the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as a possible carcinogen. The new review of scientific literature in part focuses on the multiple ways in which diquat damages organs and gut bacteria, including by reducing the level of proteins that are key pieces of the gut lining. The weakening can allow toxins and pathogens to move from the stomach into the bloodstream, and trigger inflammation in the intestines and throughout the body. Meanwhile, diquat can inhibit the production of beneficial bacteria that maintain the gut lining. Damage to the lining also inhibits the absorption of nutrients and energy metabolism, the authors said. The research further scrutinizes how the substance harms the kidneys, lungs and liver. Diquat 'causes irreversible structural and functional damage to the kidneys' because it can destroy kidney cells' membranes and interfere with cell signals. The effects on the liver are similar, and the ingredient causes the production of proteins that inflame the organ. Meanwhile, it seems to attack the lungs by triggering inflammation that damages the organ's tissue. More broadly, the inflammation caused by diquat may cause multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, a scenario in which organ systems begin to fail. The authors note that many of the studies are on rodents and more research on low, long-term exposure is needed. Bayer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Despite the risks amid a rise in diquat's use, the EPA is not reviewing the chemical, and even non-profits that push for tighter pesticide regulations have largely focused their attention elsewhere. Donley said that was in part because US pesticide regulations are so weak that advocates are tied up with battles over ingredients like glyphosate, paraquat and chlorpyrifos – substances that are banned elsewhere but still widely used here. Diquat is 'overshadowed' by those ingredients. 'Other countries have banned diquat, but in the US we're still fighting the fights that Europe won 20 years ago,' Donley said. 'It hasn't gotten to the radar of most groups and that really says a lot about the sad and sorry state of pesticides in the US.' Some advocates have accused the EPA of being captured by industry, and Donley said US pesticide laws were so weak that it was difficult for the agency to ban ingredients, even if the will exists. For example, the agency banned chlorpyrifos in 2022, but a court overturned the decision after industry sued. Moreover, the EPA's pesticides office seems to have a philosophy that states that toxic pesticides are a 'necessary evil', Donley said. 'When you approach an issue from that lens there's only so much you will do,' he said.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
New dinosaur species unveiled at London's Natural History Museum
On July 3, 2025, London's Natural History Museum revealed the 'Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae.' This Late Jurassic dinosaur was reclassified as a new species after fresh research. The fossil now resides in the Earth Hall, showcasing a rare small herbivore from the U.S.
