What caused the catastrophic flash flood in Nepal and Tibet – and how does a glacier collapse?

Comté, beaufort and abondance makers can temporarily supplement cows’ diets as there is ‘no grass left to eat’ Strict production rules will be loosened for some of France’s most famous cheeses after drought and repeated heatwaves dried out grazing pastures, threatening the livelihoods of traditional dairy workers. Comté, a hard cheese made from raw cows’ milk in the Jura mountains, is France’s top-selling traditional cheese, with more than 62,000 tonnes produced last year. The government announced on Wednesday that its producers would be granted a temporary change to strict rules on grazing after farmers said extreme heat had scorched their pastures, putting production at risk...

Exclusive: utility company wants to draw off tens of millions of litres of water a day from Thames and replace it with treated effluent Levels of a toxic “forever chemical” rose to 13 times the legal limit during Thames Water pilots for a controversial multimillion pound water recycling scheme that will pump millions of litres of treated sewage into the River Thames during drought. The data from the pilots is in stark contrast to public comments from Thames Water that their water recycling project in south-west London will not harm the riverine environment...

Steel rails warping and signalling equipment failing in metal cabinets are among the problems to be solved Tarmac softens in the summer heat, which may cause problems on the roads, but even trains running on steel rails are not immune. Railways in the UK are generally designed to operate within a 45C temperature range. The rails expand slightly in the heat, and excessive temperatures can produce “sun kink” with rails warping into S-shapes. The effect is small but the distortion can derail fast trains, so speeds are reduced for safety...