Climate breakdown drove the annual global temperature above the internationally agreed 1.5C target for the first time in 2024, EU data shows, supercharging extreme weather and causing “misery to millions of people”. Heatwaves of previously impossible intensity and frequency are now striking around the world, along with fiercer droughts and wildfires.
The ongoing California fires have claimed at least 10 lives. The death toll is likely to rise, the Los Angeles county sheriff has warned, as crews continue to comb through the rubble in search of additional victims.
Nearly 180,000 people so far have been forced to evacuate, with the burned area now covering more than 30,000 acres.
Top news
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Australia violated rights of asylum seekers on Nauru, UN watchdog rules
Bright future for Australian women’s tennis adds colour to Open hopes
In pictures
The Feast of the Black Nazarene is attended by millions of Catholics every year on 9 January in the Philippines. In this image, selected by the Guardian’s picture editors, Filipino devotees try to touch the dark wood sculpture of Jesus, considered miraculous by followers.
What they said …
***
“No one will stop our people.”
The president of Bougainville, Ishmael Toroama, tells the Guardian independence for his people is only a “matter of time”. The president has fought for decades for his island to claim its sovereignty from Papua New Guinea.
In numbers
In less than a week and a half, the world’s wealthiest people had already caused, on average, 2.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, according to analysis by Oxfam GB. It would take someone from the poorest 50% of humanity three years to create the same amount.
Before bed read
Hadi Nazari was found alive after being lost in the remote Kosciuszko national park for almost two weeks. Reflecting on his survival story, experts explain how everyone can prepare for a hike, and what to do if you become “geographically embarrassed”.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: HOME. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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