UN • 2026-06-06

Five things you need to know about ocean plastics

From surgical gloves to water bottles, shopping bags and chewing gum, every part of our daily lives includes plastic. They epitomise convenience – their durability makes our dependence on them inextricable, but it also stifles the environment.

UN • 2026-06-04

World Ocean Assessment highlights urgent need for science and global action

In the wood-panelled rooms of New York’s storied Explorers Club, where portraits of pioneering adventurers line the walls, diplomats, scientists and ocean advocates gathered on Tuesday evening with a shared sense of urgency – and anticipation.

The Guardian • 2026-06-05

Scientists warn Trump plan to axe US ocean monitoring system will leave world ‘flying blind’

Experts say dismantling the ocean observation system will ‘severely degrade’ the accuracy of weather predictions

CBS • 2026-06-03

El Niño could bring more widespread coral bleaching, NOAA warns

The expected arrival of El Niño this summer could trigger another mass coral bleaching event, which would be the fifth on record, researchers said.

UN • 2026-06-02

El Niño confirmed, set to fuel more extreme weather, says WMO

The UN urged all countries on Tuesday to bolster early warning systems after confirming the onset of El Niño, warning that the Pacific Ocean-warming phenomenon will bring above-average temperatures “nearly everywhere” and fuel more extreme weather.

UN • 2026-06-06

‘The ocean has no boundaries’: Beauty and life in a war zone

When US and Israeli forces launched strikes on Iran on 28 February, triggering one of the most serious geopolitical crises in years, the Strait of Hormuz – a narrow channel just 34 kilometres wide at its narrowest point – became a global flashpoint overnight.

UN • 2026-05-28

Global temperatures set to stay near record levels: UN weather agency

The world is heading into another period of dangerous heat, a new UN report warns on Thursday, and it’s nearly certain global temperatures over the next five years will stay “at or near record levels” as climate change accelerates across land and sea.

The Guardian • 2026-06-05

‘Unpredictable and extreme’: Asia braces for El Niño

Weather models project a potentially strong El Niño this year, which could spell disaster for heatwave-hit India, drench China and hurt agriculture across south-east Asia