Environment

Wildfires burning across southwestern France and Spain have displaced more than 300,000 people, triggering one of Europe's largest ever evacuation operations.

The line of defence has just moved. Authorities have confirmed H5 bird flu is passing from bird to bird inside Australia for the first time, which turns the job from keeping the virus out of the country to keeping it away from poultry sheds and egg farms.

Illinois EPA and National Weather Service Chicago issued a Red Forecast Air Pollution Action Day for Chicago and Cook County effective 16 July 2026, citing hazardous smoke levels driven south by Canadian wildfires.

A wildfire closed around a CN freight train near Armstrong, Ontario on the night of 13 July 2026, forcing the rapid evacuation of rail crew and town residents. CN suspended rail operations in the area immediately, cutting freight movement along one of the key corridors through northwestern Ontario.

Barn temperatures cracked 40 °C across Emilia-Romagna during July 2026 heatwaves, and the cows felt it straight away. Yields dropped by up to 10% when temperatures inside sheds exceeded that threshold, squeezing the raw milk supply that feeds one of Europe's most tightly regulated food chains.

The Category 4 system brought a year's worth of rain in 12 hours, marking the region's third natural disaster this year.