July 2024 was second-warmest on record, and other nature and climate stories you need to read this week

Data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (CS3), revealed that last month was the second hottest July on record.

This finally ended the 13-month streak of consecutive record-breaking months for global average temperatures.

"The streak of record-breaking months has come to an end, but only by a whisker," said Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of CS3.

Though July 2024 wasn't the hottest July recorded to date, it did harbour the two hottest days on record, CS3 data shows.

Burgess added that "the devastating effects of climate change started well before 2023 and will continue until global greenhouse gas emissions reach net-zero".

The United Nations (UN) has said fossil fuel companies are running “a massive mis- and disinformation campaign” to delay emissions-cuttings policies and hinder progress towards the green transition, according to The Guardian.

Selwin Hart, Assistant Secretary-General of the UN's Climate Action Team, said that "there is this prevailing narrative – and a lot of it is being pushed by the fossil fuel industry and their enablers – that climate action is too difficult, it’s too expensive”.

He also told the UK newspaper that "it is absolutely critical that leaders, and all of us, push back and explain to people the value of climate action, but also the consequences of climate inaction".

The public appears widely in support of this. The Peoples' Climate Vote 2024 – the world's largest standalone survey on climate change – revealed that 72% of people globally want their country to move away from fossil fuels to clean energy quickly.

The death toll of birds hitting buildings may exceed one billion annually in the US, with the mortality rate for window collisions being as high as 40%, according to a new report.

Repeating climate denial claims makes them seem more credible, even to climate science endorsers, an Australian-led study finds. Lead author Mary Jiang told The Guardian: "The findings show how powerful and insidious repetition is and how it can influence people’s assessment of truth".

Antarctica is experiencing temperatures more than 10°C above normal levels, due to an unprecedented weakening of polar vortexes across the continent.

Researchers have achieved 98% efficiency in battery recycling, at a relatively low cost. This is particularly important for the electric vehicle revolution, which relies on the availability of batteries.

The Great Barrier Reef is facing its hottest temperatures in at least 400 years, posing an "existential threat" to this vital ecosystem.

Wasp populations are falling rapidly in the UK and the nation isn't doing enough to track this decline, one expert warns.

‘Cruisezilla’ passenger ships have doubled in size since 2000, which presents a serious threat to the environment, campaigners warn. The Transport & Environment campaign group also found that cruise ship numbers have risen 20-fold since 1970.

US landfills are a major source of toxic 'forever' chemicals that leach from landfills into groundwater across the nation. New research has revealed that this pollution is also escaping into the environment via the air.

The destruction of mangrove forests threatens coastal communities, increasing the risks posed by coastal erosion, storm waves, surges and flooding. These compelling images from the Mangrove Photography Awards 2024 shine a light on these vital ecosystems.

More than 2.4 billion workers are at risk as a result of experiencing excessive heat at work. Here's why the UN labour body is urging for the legislation of new policies to protect workers from heat stress.

Brazil's deforestation nearly halved last year, according to government satellite data.

One often overlooked impact of the nature and climate crisis is its effect on our mental health. Find out how a growing sense of climate anxiety or “eco-anxiety” among the youth of Pakistan is being addressed.