Articles by Jessica Shankleman

England Warns Nearly a Million More Properties Face Flood Risks

Almost a million more properties in England are at risk of flooding than previously thought, raising concerns about a growing number of uninsurable or unsellable properties over the coming decades. Data from the Environment Agency on Tuesday showed 6.3 million …

UK Urged to Prepare for Floods After Unusually Wet September

The UK government has urged people to ensure they are prepared for flooding this winter after an unusually wet September. The warning marks “Flood Action Week” which starts Monday and coincides with the anniversary of last year’s Storm Babet, which …

UK’s Thames Water Seeks Deal to Escape £104 Million Sewage Fine

Cash-strapped Thames Water is seeking to strike a deal with its regulator to avoid a fine of £104 million ($133 million) for polluting rivers. Industry regulator Ofwat said the utility released raw sewage from wastewater treatment works for years without …

Europe Braces for Heat Following Greek Fires and Swiss Floods

European capitals are bracing for heat wave conditions, following wildfires in Greece and flooding in Switzerland over the weekend. High pressure over southern Scandinavian will bring the highest temperatures this year to the UK, with London and parts of the …

Climate Change Made Recent UK and Ireland Storms Much Worse

The heavy downpours seen in the UK and Ireland last fall and winter were about 20% worse because of climate change, a new scientific report found. The region saw as many as 14 severe storms between October and March, flooding …

UK’s Second Biggest Mortgage Lender Pulls Offers Over Flood Risk

The UK’s second biggest mortgage provider has stopped making loans on homes at risk of flooding, over fears they may become uninsurable — and therefore, unsellable — over the coming years. Nationwide Building Society uses mapping technology to identify which …

Thames Water Debt Insurer Taps Advisers as Crisis Deepens

A US insurance firm with at least $2 billion in exposure to Thames Water Utilities Finance Plc is working with bondholders and advisers to protect their interests ahead of potential debt talks, according to people familiar with the matter. Assured …

Southern Water Fined for Sewage Spill That Killed 2,000 Fish in England

Southern Water was fined £330,000 on Tuesday after admitting a raw sewage spill that killed thousands of fish on the edge of England’s South Downs National Park. Southern, which supplies more than 4.6 million people in England, acknowledged that sewage …

Near Record Jump in CO2 Emissions This Year Risks Climate Goal

Carbon dioxide emissions are on track for one of the biggest increases on record this year, pushing the planet closer to catastrophic climate change. That jump is the result human-induced pollution, plus the El Niño weather pattern, which weakens the …

UK Will Fail to Meet Flood-Defense Goals for Homes as Climate Threat Grows

Hundreds of thousands of British homes will miss out on flood protections in the next few years as spending has been affected by Brexit, inflation and the pandemic, according to the National Audit Office. In 2020, the Department for Environment, …