More than 900 hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia have died amid scorching heat, as friends and family search for missing loved ones, reports Le Monde with Agence France-Presse (AFP). An “Arab diplomat” tells AFP that deaths among Egyptians alone had jumped to at least 600 on Wednesday, from more than 300 a day earlier “mostly from the unforgiving heat”, it continues. Some 922 people have now died, according to an AFP tally of figures released by numerous countries, it adds. The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims with the means to do so must complete it at least once, with about 1.8 million people taking part this year including 1.6 million from abroad, reports the Guardian. The pilgrimage is increasingly affected by climate change, according to a recent Saudi study, with temperature in the area where rituals are performed rising 0.4C each decade, the article notes. At the Grand Mosque in Mecca on Monday, temperatures hit 51.8C, according to the Saudi national metrology centre, it adds. Deaths are not uncommon at the Hajj, where there have been stampedes and epidemics throughout the pilgrimage’s history, reports the Associated Press. However the number of dead this year “suggests something caused the fatalities to swell”, with countries including Jordan and Tunisia already pointing to the heat as the cause, it continues. Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars on crowd control and safety measures for the five-day pilgrimage, but the sheer number of participants makes ensuring their safety difficult, the newswire adds. It says: “Climate change could make the risk even greater. A 2019 study by experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that even if the world succeeds in mitigating the worst effects of climate change, the hajj would be held in temperatures exceeding an ‘extreme danger threshold’ from 2047 to 2052, and from 2079 to 2086.” This story was also covered by the Washington Post, Sky News, the New York Times, and others.

Consumption of fossil fuels reached a record high in 2023, driving emissions to more than 40bn tonnes of CO2 for the first time, according to a global energy report, reports the Guardian. Despite a record rise in the use of renewable energy last year, consumption of fossil fuels continued to rise, the annual review of world energy by the Energy Institute found. (The report was also covered by Carbon Brief, with analysis finding wind and solar added more to global energy than any other source in 2023.) The Financial Times quotes Nick Wayth, chief executive of the London-based Energy Institute, who said: “Clean energy is still not even meeting the entirety of demand growth. Arguably, the [energy] transition has not even started.” Renewable generation rose 13% from 2022 to a record 4,748 terawatt hours, leading to “lopsided” progress, the FT adds. Global primary energy consumption hit an all-time high of 620 exajoules (EJ) in 2023, reports Reuters. Fossil fuels accounted for almost all demand growth in India, while in China fossil fuel use rose 6% to a new high, it adds. However, China also accounted for over half of global additions in renewable energy generation last year, the article notes. The Energy Institute published the annual report in collaboration with consultancies KPMG and Kearney, taking over the publication from BP in 2023, notes Al Jazeera. 

Protesters from Just Stop Oil have sprayed orange powder on part of Stonehenge, reports BBC News. The campaigners sprayed the historic site the day before the summer solstice was set to be celebrated at the 5,000-year-old landmark, it adds. Just Stop Oil has noted that the orange powder paint is cornflour and should “wash away with rain”, it continues. Wiltshire Police have confirmed the arrest of two people on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument, and the group has named the two protesters as Niamh Lynch, a 21-year-old student from Oxford, and Rajan Naidu, a 73-year-old from Birmingham, BBC News notes. Photos of the protest are on the front cover of the Times, the Independent, the Daily Mail, and the Daily Express. In its coverage, the Daily Mail quotes prime minister Rishi Sunak, who “rounded on major Labour backer Dale Vince”, who had previously donated money to Just Stop Oil. The Daily Express highlights that Labour leader Keir Starmer, Reform’s Nigel Farage and the Liberal Democrats’ Ed Davey all called for the protesters to “face the full force of the law”. The story was also covered by the Times, the Associated Press, Reuters, the Guardian and others. 

In other UK news, around one in six 2019 Conservative voters who want to see action taken on the climate are planning to switch parties in the coming election, reports PoliticsHome. Dubbed “Turquoise Tories”, these Tory voters think it is important to tackle climate change even if it entails higher prices for consumers, according to polling data from consultancy Stonehaven, shared exclusively with PoliticsHome. [A recent report from the International Energy Agency found accelerating action on climate change “could lead to major reductions in household energy bills”.] Elsewhere, outgoing Labour MP and shadow minister for energy security Alan Whitehead has told the New Statesman that “clean energy is no longer on the periphery of policymaking” in an interview. The article includes discussion of attitudes towards climate change, reskilling workers – in particular in areas near the North Sea – to ensure no one is left behind within the energy transition, as well as local power initiatives. Finally, BusinessGreen covers the ongoing clash between Labour and the Conservatives over the impact of Labour’s energy pledges. The outlet says Labour has rejected Conservative claims that recent falls in energy prices would wipe out its promise of a £300 drop in energy bills by 2030.

Power has now been nearly fully restored in Ecuador, after a nationwide electricity outage left around 18 million in the dark, reports the Guardian. Public works minister Roberto Luque said in a post late on Wednesday afternoon that 95% of service had been restored, it continues. It quotes Luque saying “what happened today is just more proof of the energy crisis we’re dealing with” and pointing to recent problems caused by insufficient power capacity that has led to unscheduled service cuts. The “major” outage caused the subway system in the capital, Quito, to grind to a halt, as well as traffic lights stopping working, reports BBC News. Ecuador has faced an electricity crisis since last year, with rationing being introduced in April by the government of president Daniel Noboa as drought linked to El Niño weather pattern depleted reservoirs and limited the hydroelectric generation plants that produce about 75% of the country’s power, reports the Associated Press. Meanwhile, in Chile, storms have affected nearly 500 people and left 40,000 without power supply, La Tercera reports. The newspaper adds that the rainfall has impacted nine regions of the country, particularly the Biobío region, and the conditions are expected to persist throughout the week.

Sicily is having to turn away tourists as “brutal heatwaves” have led to crops dying, farm animals facing slaughter and bed and breakfasts with no water, reports the Times. According to the newspaper, Italian farmers’ lobby group Coldiretti said around 80% of wheat crops grown near Caltanisetta and Enna in the centre of the Italian island have now been lost and production of hay has plummeted. The Times continues: “As summers become increasingly hot due to climate change, Sicily is in the firing line, registering Europe’s highest recorded temperature of 48.8C in 2021.” Reservoirs near Palermo may need to ration water due to droughts, and in Agrigento, home to the Valley of the Temples, tourists are being turned away from bed and breakfasts because water “as water runs out for days”, it adds.

Elsewhere in Europe, Greek firefighters appear to be close to containing a wildfire near Athens that forced dozens to flee their homes, reports Reuters. There have been no reports of deaths or injuries from the fire, which authorities believe was the result of arson as well as the hot, dry conditions, it adds. More than 140 firefighters, assisted by 16 water-dropping planes and helicopters, have tackled the blaze, reports the Associated Press. Footage has been released of a burnt-out home as well as destroyed boats in the sparsely inhabited area near Vari, some 30km (18 miles) south of central Athens where the fire started, although authorities have said it is too early to confirm reports of damage to businesses and homes, it adds. In Turkey, fires near the historic Gallipoli peninsula and Eceabat, both in the northwestern Canakkale province, have now been brought under control, adds the AP. 

Chinese vice premier Ding Xuexiang and executive vice president of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič agreed to “deepen green cooperation” at the EU and China’s fifth “high-level environment and climate dialogue”, reports Xinhua. The state news agency quotes Ding saying the two powers must “push for more fruitful cooperation on green transformation”, adding that Ding also said that the EU’s plan to tax imports of Chinese electric vehicles is “typical protectionism” which is “not conducive to the EU’s green transformation”. The state-run newspaper China Daily quotes Xia Yingxian, director of the climate change department at the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment, saying “China and the EU are ‘ballast’ that help stabilise the world’s multilateral climate process”. Climate Home News carries a commentary by Yao Zhe, global policy advisor for Greenpeace East Asia, who writes that “it is time for China to think more creatively about how to leverage its industrial advantages to provide [low-carbon technology] solutions”. Chinese finance newswire Yicai quotes an employee of a Shanghai-based automaker saying that producing vehicles in Europe rather than in China would increase the cost of each unit by “10,000 to 20,000 yuan ($1,380 to $2,760)” and take 12 months longer. State broadcaster CGTN reports that “a communication mechanism will be established to promote subnational climate cooperation between China and the United States”. 

The Chinese Communist-party affiliated newspaper People’s Daily carries a commentary by an expert at the National Climate Center, explaining that “global warming serves as the climate backdrop for the occurrence of extreme high temperatures worldwide”. Yicai says that farming expenses, including irrigation, have risen “significantly” in China’s central Henan province due to drought. Xinhua reports that the heatwave in northern China will “persist over the next few days, with some areas experiencing temperatures as high as 42C”, adding that “global warming is the cause of global extreme high temperatures”. China Environment News publishes a commentary by the director of the environmental sociology department at the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences, saying that “in recent years, the adverse effects of climate change have become more and more obvious: heavy rainfall, typhoons, hail and other extreme weather occur”.

Separately, Chinese energy outlet International Energy Net quotes National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) spokesperson Li Chao saying that the agency is “making every effort to ensure smooth power supply during the summer”. Reuters reports that China adopted a policy aimed at “improving the efficiency of its natural gas sector and ensuring supply security”, adding that gas-based manufacturing of methanol and other petrochemicals will be “restricted”. Chinese power newspaper Dianlian News carries a commentary arguing that “accelerating the transition to green and low-carbon energy is fundamental to reducing reliance on foreign oil and gas and ensuring China’s energy security”.

The Arhuaco people in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia agreed with a company to begin building a solar power plant in the area known as El Copey, Cesar, El Espectador reports. It adds that the project will be outside protected areas and “will build a village for the Arhuaco people”. 

An investigation by Fábrica de Periodismo highlights the threat posed by rising sea levels to the entire coastline of the southern Mexican state of Tabasco. The outlet indicates that over 90,000 people are at risk of displacement due to climate change, with the region’s lagoons and mangroves also in jeopardy.

Elsewhere, Folha de Sao Paulo visits a shelter for women affected by last month’s floods in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, noting that “most of those who are there were victims of some form of sexual violence during the floods” and are seeking safety to restart their lives. In a separate piece, during an event in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian newspaper interviews Chinese architect Kongjian Yu, pioneer of the concept of sponge cities and professor at Peking University, who stresses the importance of nature-based solutions for combating flood damage in Brazil, instead of building more dams or dikes.

Finally, La Nación interviews an agronomist and director of the Interdisciplinary Research Group (Agsus) who emphasises the need for Argentina to have its own climate data and to enhance knowledge about the country’s producers and land conditions. She tells the newspaper that the country has “a great opportunity” to improve and apply technologies.

In a comment for the Times, financial editor Patrick Hosking explores the recent boycott of book festivals sponsored by Edinburgh fund management group Baillie Gifford, along with the news that just 1.3% of MPs’ pensions are invested in the UK. He argues that the connection between the two news stories is a thread of “bone-headed ignorance or a serious lack of curiosity”. Hosking highlights that Baillie Gifford has just 2% of its £230bn of client assets invested in fossil fuel producers, far below the industry average of 11% and so “picking on this firm, of all firms, seems obtuse and counter-productive”. Hosking concludes: “The ignorance isn’t helping, whether you’re trying to reduce carbon emissions or shape economic policy. Activists need to go to the trouble of understanding who they are attacking and why; policymakers should examine their own habits before imposing their ideas on everyone else; and the investments industry must do more to disclose its numbers and explain its decisions.”

In other comment, columnist Juliet Samuel argues in the Times that opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer “will struggle to deliver growth”, with energy policy falling short due to “Treasury doom-mongering”. Elsewhere, a raft of editorials and comments focus on the Just Stop Oil protest at Stonehenge, including the Mirror calling on them to “just stop that”, climate-sceptic author and farmer Jamie Blackett querying if the group wants to “take us back to the Stone Age?” in the Daily Telegraph, home secretary James Cleverly denouncing the activists as “hemp-wearing hoodlums” in the Daily Express, and a separate editorial in the Daily Express calling for them to be locked up.

Cloudiness decreases more during the day than at night, which can “amplify” surface warming around the world, a new study finds. Clouds generally cool temperatures in the daytime by blocking sunlight and warm them at night by “trapping longwave radiation”. Using climate models, the researchers find that cloud cover changes are largely attributed to “increasing greenhouse gases rather than natural variability”. The “asymmetry” in cloudiness at day and night increases surface warming by lowering the amount of sunlight blocked by clouds during the day and increasing the “long-wave greenhouse effect” at night, the researchers find.

China and the US – two of the world’s biggest methane emitters – should make their methane policies more “climate-centric”, according to a new study. The two countries previously pledged to work together to boost efforts to reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas. In this study, researchers comprehensively examined the methane-related governance structures and policies in both nations. They find that the countries place “uneven emphases across sectors, with a notable focus on the energy sector”. Policies relating to methane are “largely driven” by safety, pollution concerns and use of resources instead of reducing emissions. The researchers suggest that both countries should focus on  methane mitigation and “consider more climate-centric policies”.