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environmentThursday, July 23, 2026

Europe's soil drought crisis deepens

A new analysis finds climate-driven heat is sucking Europe's soils dry, making extreme drought up to 80 times more likely. Meanwhile, data centers face mounting scrutiny for their water and emissions impacts, and counting heat wave deaths remains stubbornly difficult.

Sources

Drought and heat

The big story today is a scientific analysis quantifying how climate change is actively drying out Europe's soils and landscapes.

#01www.theguardian.comJul 23

Climate crisis-driven heat ‘sucking soils dry’ as extreme drought hits Europe

A scientific analysis finds climate crisis-driven heat is evaporating water from soils across Europe, making extreme drought up to 80 times more likely in western Europe. This is not a future projection, it's happening now.

8 min readRead original

#02heatmap.newsJul 23

Why It’s Still So Hard to Count Heat Wave Deaths

Robinson Meyer digs into why counting heat wave deaths is so hard, using France's recent deadly heat wave as a case study. Over 5,700 excess deaths were recorded, but the official tally often lags and underestimates.

by Robinson MeyerRead original

Data center backlash

Two stories highlight growing pushback against the environmental costs of the data center boom, from water use to emissions.

#03www.businessinsider.comJul 23

Erin Brockovich's crusade against data centers is going crowd-sourced

Erin Brockovich is crowd-sourcing a registry for people living near data centers to report environmental concerns like noise, water use, and pollution. It's a sign that local opposition to data center sprawl is getting organized.

#04www.abc.net.auJul 23

Watchdog sends NSW emissions warning amid 'insatiable' data centre surge

Australia's NSW Net Zero Commission warns that an 'insatiable' data center surge is threatening the state's 2030 emissions target, and recommends tighter planning controls for both coal extensions and data centers.

Coral and oceans

A new paper pins coral bleaching squarely on human-caused climate change, not El Niño, and a stunning video shows an orca exploding a sunfish.

#05carbon-pulse.comJul 23

Human-caused climate change is bleaching coral, not El Nino -paper

A new paper argues that human-caused climate change, not El Niño, is the primary driver of coral reef bleaching. That shifts the blame squarely onto fossil fuel emissions and away from natural variability.

Also today14

Orange Warning as Temperatures Hit 44C Inlanden.politis.com.cy
An orange weather warning will be in force from noon to 5pm on Thursday, with temperatures expected to reach 44C inland before gradually easing over the coming days.
Thirteen countries to participate in new UN-Water country engagement mechanismswww.unwater.org
The cohort was identified following an open call for applications to United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs), working with Resident Coordinators' Offices (RCOs). UN-Water received 42 applications, reflecting strong interest in advancing water- and sanitation-related integration at t
Researcher shocked as orca blows up a sunfish in front of herwww.abc.net.au
Underwater video captures the moment killer whales in the Gulf of California slam into a sunfish, causing it to explode.
Hanoi, northern localities on alert as heavy rain returnsen.vietnamplus.vn
The People's Committees of Hanoi and 14 other northern localities have been asked to closely monitor weather developments and issue timely warnings so local authorities and residents can take preparedness measures. Heavy rains batter northern provinces as flood, landslide risks r
Hosepipe ban now in force across Putney and Wandsworthputney.news
Break it and you could face a £1,000 fine (nobody in London has ever paid one)
Rhode Islanders need to earn $33.95/Hour to afford housing concludes new report by the National Low Income Housing Coalitionsteveahlquist.substack.com
"We have the resources to invest in expanding housing solutions that provide stable homes for the lowest-income people in our country. We need the political will to do so.”
Vietnam promotes ties with ASEAN partnersen.vietnamplus.vn
Le Hoai Trung, Politburo member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on July 22 met with Wang Yi, Politburo member, Director of the Office of the Commission for Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Mini
China cuts tax breaks as bigger, heavier EVs strain its roads, transport budgetswww.carexpert.co.nz
The trend towards larger, heavier vehicles in China has prompted a rethink of EV tax concessions amid concerns they're contributing to road wear while reducing revenue for road maintenance.