Two more Hong Kong beaches closed after palm oil spill, bringing total to 13

Two more Hong Kong beaches have been closed due to the regional palm oil spill as environmental officials revealed that 1,000 tonnes of oil fell into the water following a ship collision in the Pearl River estuary last Thursday.

Wildfires under control in France, but danger persists

Huge fires that forced mass evacuations of residents and tourists in southern France are "under control", although firefighters have warned new blazes are still starting.

Video: Mysterious, Yellow, Sponge-Like Globs Are Fouling French Beaches

RECENTLY, ON FRANCE’S WESTERN COAST, thousands of sponge-like balls have been appearing, strewn across 18 miles of beaches, from Boulogne-sur-Mer to Le Touquet. And no one seems to know where they are coming from.

UW oceanography senior finds microplastics, likely from fabrics, widespread on beachs

A University of Washington (UW) undergraduate has discovered a problem much closer to home: nearly invisible bits of plastic on Puget Sound beaches, along the northwestern coast of the US state of Washington.

Bulgaria bans camping and parking 100m from beach shoreline

Bulgaria’s National Assembly has approved the second reading of amendments to the Black Sea Coast Act that ban camping and parking 100 metres from beach shoreline, although sleeping on the beach for a night will be allowed.

Shark nets fail to protect swimmers on Australian beaches - research

SHARK nets used at most Australian beaches to protect swimmers do nothing to reduce the chance of being attacked, a new research has revealed.

Mexican plea for climate consensus as hurricane nears

Mexico's climate negotiator issued a tearful plea Friday to U.N. colleagues to put aside their differences for a global pact, as a superhurricane headed for his country.

Category 5 Hurricane Patricia: Potentially catastrophic hurricane takes aim at Mexico

Hurricane Patricia has strengthened into an "extremely dangerous" Category 5 storm as it churns towards Mexico's Pacific coast, the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

El Niño blamed for sea snake found on S. California beach

For the first time in 30 years or so, a poisonous sea snake was found on a Southern California beach, drawn far north of its usual habitat by what experts think are the warming ocean waters caused by El Niño.

Australian beaches close following shark sightings

Four beaches on Australia's east coast were closed yesterday after numerous shark sightings, police said, as authorities patrolled waters off a southern island after a fatal attack on a diver a day earlier.

Two Men Hurt in Shark Attacks Off Coasts of Carolinas

Two men were bitten by sharks off the coasts North Carolina and South Carolina on Friday, bringing to six the number of attacks in the area in the past two weeks.

57 Cypriot beaches awarded Blue Flag, topping Europe's list for 10th year

Cyprus' beaches are declared the cleanest in Europe, local media reported on Saturday.

Costa Rica downgrades alert after toxic chemical spill

Costa Rica's National Emergencies Commission (CNE) downgraded a public alert from "red" to "yellow" on Sunday after a capsized barge had spilled 180 tons of ammonium nitrate off the Pacific coast of the Central American country.

Costa Rica issues alert over ammonium nitrate spill. The CNE has also posted photos online showing floating dead fish

Costa Rica has issued an emergency alert after a ship carrying 180 tonnes of ammonium nitrate sunk off the country's Pacific coast, releasing the massive amount of toxic cargo into the ocean.

Water quality excellent at most of Europe’s bathing sites

European Commission, Press release, Brussels, 27 May 2014:

The water at Europe’s beaches, rivers and lakes was generally of high quality in 2013, with more than 95 % of these sites meeting minimum requirements. Coastal performed slightly better than inland bathing waters, the data shows.

All the bathing sites in Cyprus and Luxembourg were deemed ‘excellent’. These countries were followed by Malta (99 % excellent), Croatia (95 %) and Greece (93 %). At the other end of the scale, European Union Member States with the highest proportion of sites with a ‘poor’ status were Estonia (6 %), the Netherlands (5 %), Belgium (4 %), France (3 %), Spain (3 %) and Ireland (3 %).

European Commission: Cyprus and Luxembourg top bathing water rankings

Water at nearly all of Europe’s beaches – and most of its rivers and lakes – are clean enough to swim in. And the quality is improving.

If you're planning a trip to the beach this year you can rest easy – the water at 95% of beaches is clean enough to meet minimum EU standards. Of bathing sites in rivers and lakes, 91% make the grade.
In the latest report, most sites were given an excellent rating for 2012 – the same proportion as in 2011. But more managed a “sufficient” rating than in the previous year.
2012 water testing
The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) annual bathing water report looked at samples from more than 22 000 bathing sites around Europe.
Water was tested for harmful pollutants and bacteria, such as E. coli – possibly from sewage or livestock waste.