Weather tracker: Warm March in US leaves snowpack critically low 06. April 2026 (11:58) Concerns about coming wildfire risk, and temperatures also remain high on other side of Pacific where rare tropical cyclone has formedAfter a historically warm winter across nine states in the US, the first month of meteorological spring again brought exceptionally high temperatures, with numerous states recording new all-time high temperatures in March. The remarkable intensity and longevity of the warmth have left much of the mountain snowpack, a crucial source of water for millions in the American west, at critically low levels.Though precipitation totals tend to increase in spring, the low snowpack has raised concerns about a potentially severe wildfire season if conditions do not improve soon. And with further spells of abnormally warm, dry weather expected this week, the outlook is becoming increasingly worrying heading into the late spring and summer months. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘I just legged it’: teenage shark bite victim recalls lucky escape while surfing in South Australia 06. April 2026 (11:22) Oliver Tokic-Bensley, 16, says he had been in the water mere minutes when a shark bit his footGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA teenage surfer bitten by a shark at a South Australian beach has described how he “flicked it off” and “legged it back to shore”.Oliver Tokic-Bensley, 16, was bitten on his foot while surfing on Good Friday near his family beach house at Middleton, 80km south of Adelaide. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘The original triple threat’: two exhibitions celebrate Marilyn Monroe as creative pioneer 06. April 2026 (11:00) BFI and National Portrait Gallery to mark centenary of the film star’s birth with ‘the summer of Marilyn’Though often reduced to a sex symbol frozen in time, or a tragic figure at the centre of several scandals, Marilyn Monroe was something far more subversive, according to two exhibitions that will herald what has been nicknamed “the summer of Marilyn”.To mark the centenary of her birth, Monroe is being celebrated by leading British cultural institutions as a performer of sharp comic intelligence, a canny architect of her own image, and a woman who reshaped the possibilities for female stardom on screen. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila on track to hit far north Queensland three weeks after Narelle tore through 06. April 2026 (10:14) While path and strength of storm remain uncertain, BoM warns Cape York could again take direct hit if cyclone makes landfallGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnother cyclone may hit the Queensland coast just over three weeks after the same area was smashed by Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle, the Bureau of Meteorology says.But a meteorologist warned forecasts predicting the path and strength of Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila remained uncertain, with the storm likely to make landfall over the weekend. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Diesel remains volatile as prices rise again despite Labor’s fuel tax relief 06. April 2026 (09:38) Energy minister Chris Bowen says 3.4% of Australia’s service stations had no diesel, as of Monday, after wholesale prices surgedTrack Australia’s fuel prices, service station outages and shipments in chartsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDiesel users in Australia are not enjoying the same relief as unleaded customers, with one in 30 service stations still entirely out of diesel and prices rising again after an initial slump last week.But while the energy minister, Chris Bowen, urged Australians not to participate in a social media trend where people claim to be filling up their fuel tanks with cooking oil, he said the government was keen to support the development of biofuels like biodiesel from fats and vegetable oils. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
