across an entire year. the last 12 months were the hottest on record. pakistan has temporarily suspended mobile services as millions head to the polls to vote—in a new government. a us drone strike kills an iran—backed militia leader in baghdad. iraq says the strike is a threat to regional stability. the biggest mass migration in the world is under way in china as millions of people head to their hometowns to celebrate chinese new year with their families. a volcano in south—west iceland erupts for the second time this year. images show fountains of molten rock shooting from faults in the ground in the reykjanes peninsula. hello, i'm luxmy gopal. is the planet warming faster than we thought? and are current targets signed—off

by world leaders enough to tackle the most damaging effects of global warming in the years to come? new evidence from the eu's climate service, copernicus, highlights that for the first time, the world was 1.5 degrees warmer than pre—industrial levels for a whole year. scientists say a combination of greenhouse gas emissions and dramatic sea temperature rises are to blame. let's go live now to cardiff and speak to our climate editorjustin rowlatt. explain the significance of that figure. it's reckoned to be an arbitrary boundary at which we avoid the worst effects of climate change. there was a landmark un paper in 2018 which found it would be really significantly greater impacts at 2 degrees and urged all efforts to be made to try and keep temperature

rise to 1.5 degrees which was also the targets a landmark climate summit in paris in 2015, world leaders agreed they would make all possible efforts to keep it to 1.5 so nudging as close as we are and having passed it for a single year does not mean the boundary has been passed, it is a longer term average, ten years or more above 1.5 to breach the paris commitment but for a single year, it shows just how close to the boundary we are getting and when you drill down into the figures you see just how dramatic the temperatures have been over the past 12 months. eight of those months were a record high temperatures for those months, the highest august, september, october and november, all the way through to january and sea temperatures have been high as well with record daily temperature set every single day since april last year.— since april last year. what could

the long-term — since april last year. what could the long-term impact _ since april last year. what could the long-term impact b - since april last year. what could the long-term impact b of - since april last year. what could the long-term impact b of this | since april last year. what could i the long-term impact b of this 1.5 the long—term impact b of this 1.5 degrees breach? the long-term impact b of this 1.5 degrees breach?— degrees breach? what climate scientists say _ degrees breach? what climate scientists say is _ degrees breach? what climate scientists say is we _ degrees breach? what climate scientists say is we can - degrees breach? what climate scientists say is we can expectj degrees breach? what climate i scientists say is we can expect to see more of the kind of extreme weather we had seen all over the world in the last few years. talking about the heatwaves and droughts which have led to forest fires all around the world. we have also seen extreme rainfall events that have caused drought and they say we can expect more of that. that will challenge our ability in some places to grow food as effectively as we do at the moment and make cause water supply issues in places around the world. really dramatic impact. another way of looking at it is the impact on the natural world. 1.5 degrees, some of our coral reefs will survive, the consensus seems to be among scientists that 2 degrees centigrade of warming, 99% of coral reefs we could expect to die is a

really dramatic tipping points for ecosystems like coral reefs if we see temperatures continue to rise which they say boublil and leslie urgently cut the emissions that are the key driver of the warming we are seeing. the key driver of the warming we are seeina. ., ~ the key driver of the warming we are seeina. . ~' ,, the key driver of the warming we are seeina. ., ~ i. ., the key driver of the warming we are seeina. ., ~' ,, ., ., live now to norwich to speak to asher minns, executive director at the tyndall centre for climate change research at the university of east anglia. thank you forjoining us. first of all, did you expect this beach to happen? all, did you expect this beach to ha en? . all, did you expect this beach to ha . en? , . ., , happen? yes, we did, certainly the research community _ happen? yes, we did, certainly the research community and _ happen? yes, we did, certainly the research community and the - research community and the scientific community did. we know there is no such thing as natural weather any more. that is a thing of the past because of the huge human footprint we have on the planet and in global warming and deforestation. and so we know we had 1.1 degrees of

warming already. this past year. and the el nino effect, the warming of the el nino effect, the warming of the oceans adds an extra layer onto the oceans adds an extra layer onto the warming we know it's happening already. so yes, we did expect it and we are always helpful. what and we are always helpful. what needs to be _ and we are always helpful. what needs to be done _ and we are always helpful. what needs to be done to _ and we are always helpful. what needs to be done to bring - and we are always helpful. what needs to be done to bring things back from the brink? does this suggest the efforts so far are not really doing what they need to be doing? really doing what they need to be doinu ? . really doing what they need to be doin? . , really doing what they need to be doing? yes, absolutely. global efforts to reduce _ doing? yes, absolutely. global efforts to reduce carbon - doing? yes, absolutely. global| efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels is not achieving what it supposed to be achieving especially since there is a 1.5 degrees target since the paris agreement. this rapid, rapid decarbonisation this decade, stop including fossilfuels decarbonisation this decade, stop including fossil fuels into the atmosphere from the whately brendan,

our transport, deforestation and crops, that's absolutely key. we also have to be thinking about adapting to these impacts of climate change. it's about the extreme weather we see, the floods, droughts, the heatwaves. we had a year like this in the uk this year, we've had it here, lots and lots of flooding, homes being lost because of coastal erosion. and so that's about adapting, reducing the risks of what we know is happening with global warming so absolutely rapid decarbonisation, lets make our society and our infrastructure more resilient to these extreme weather impacts. it’s resilient to these extreme weather imacts. v ., , resilient to these extreme weather imacts. v . , ., resilient to these extreme weather imacts. �*, ., ., ., resilient to these extreme weather imacts. �*, ., ., , impacts. it's easy to have a sense of desmndency — impacts. it's easy to have a sense of despondency around _ impacts. it's easy to have a sense of despondency around what's - of despondency around what's happening and that can paralyse efforts to make any changes so i think it's important to ask our way

past a point of no return or is this something that can really be turned around? in a very feasible way? we are around? in a very feasible way? - are absolutely not beyond a point of no return. we are a very intelligent species, the 1.5 degrees that we are discussing today, the pitch for the year does not mean there is a point of no return so it might be that we go below 1.5 degrees in future years, average global warming so people absolutely should not be despondent at all. 1.5 degrees target out of the paris agreement, the lower threshold of the target, the lower threshold of the target, the higher target is 2 degrees but it's really important that we had these targets and for all of us society and decision—makers and energy companies and others to

really be focusing on what these targets are to try and achieve these targets are to try and achieve these targets but of course this global effort, every country in the world and every industry, every form of transport in the world and from the global carbon budget which the university of east anglia is involved with, we see emissions keep going up year on year—on—year and that has to stop. there has to be a rapid decline in emissions. but people out there, listeners, do not be despondent, we know now how to decarbonise and it's about putting those actions and policies and technology... those actions and policies and technology- - -_ technology... reasons to be positive- _ technology... reasons to be positive. thank _ technology... reasons to be positive. thank you - technology... reasons to be positive. thank you for - technology... reasons to be positive. thank you for your | technology... reasons to be - positive. thank you for your time, we must leave it there. here in the uk labour is ditching party's promise to spend £28 billion a year on environmental projects, if they win the next election. it's a major u—turn

for sir keir starmer. labour's position on the policy in recent weeks has been increasingly muddled, with some senior figures refusing to use the £28bn figure when pressed in interviews, while others, including party leader sir keir starmer, continued to do so. sources insist the party's green prosperity plan, which includes creating a publicly—owned green power company, is not being dropped altogether. an official announcement is expected later today. live now to westminster to get the latest from our chief political correspondent, henry zeffman. just explain for the details are behind this u—turn. this just explain for the details are behind this u-turn._ just explain for the details are behind this u-turn. this was a big flan-shi behind this u-turn. this was a big flagship policy. — behind this u-turn. this was a big flagship policy. the _ behind this u-turn. this was a big flagship policy, the centrepiece i behind this u-turn. this was a big flagship policy, the centrepiece of the annual conference in 2021, they said they would spend £28 billion a year should they win the general election to help britain on its transition to a net zero economy.

that policy has been softened a little in a couple of different technical ways, the key figure 20 8 billion was still there until we are told today from the labour party will say that while it is still committed to the great transition to what they call their green prosperity plan, investing in things like home insulation, clean steel plants, battery technology and so on, they will not be committing any longer to that figure, £28 billion a year of green investment. £31 longer to that figure, £28 billion a year of green investment. of course we had seen — year of green investment. of course we had seen on _ year of green investment. of course we had seen on the _ year of green investment. of course we had seen on the day _ year of green investment. of course we had seen on the day the - we had seen on the day the conservative government scaling back its green policies. so where does this leave the potential commitment from this country �*s government after the next election towards green policies? than after the next election towards green policies?— green policies? an interesting question- _ green policies? an interesting question. the _ green policies? an interesting question. the government - green policies? an interesting question. the government is i green policies? an interesting i question. the government is still bound by a law passed in parliament some years ago when theresa may was prime minister to hit net zero by 2050 and there are of course all the

carbon budget agreements signed annually at summits that the uk government is committed to by force of law but i think what you probably are seeing with both parties, more emphasis on this in the conservative party than the labour party, is attempts to ensure that the transition to a net zero does not hit the poorest households in britain hard. that there are ways to mitigate the financial impact on hassles of making that transition. and of course plenty of green campaigners will argue the biggest cost to households would be if climate change runs amok and therefore affects the climate, the environment, the economy profound ways. i don't think that's principally what labour have made this u—turn, it's more about heading into a general election which we know it will take place this year, they want to emphasise their fiscal prudence at a national level and this move is designed to reassure

voters, swing voters who might still be unsure about that fiscal prudence. be unsure about that fiscal prudence-— people in pakistan are voting in general and provincial elections after a campaign period marred by violence. election day has seen the authorities unexpectedly cut mobile phone and mobile internet services because of what they call deterioriating security. the move is already being widely criticised. in the city of quetta in balochistan, a province that saw deadly militant attacks before the election, some polling stations are largely empty because of security threats and cold weather. live now to our south asia correspondent, samira hussain, who is in islamabad. we have some hours to go until the polls close but tell us about are

not. it polls close but tell us about are not. . ' . ., polls close but tell us about are not. , m ,, not. it is difficult to assess turner because _ not. it is difficult to assess turner because some - not. it is difficult to assess turner because some of. not. it is difficult to assess i turner because some of them not. it is difficult to assess - turner because some of them are quite remote but we are getting reports in some areas you are seeing some lower turnout which is really concerning, but also the shutting down of mobile internet services which makes it difficult for political parties to be able to communicate and to mobilise its workforce. it's electorate. and although the government says it was citing security concerns, political parties here have been expressing their dismay saying this again is more evidence of a crackdown on the freedom of the political process in this country. freedom of the political process in this country-— freedom of the political process in this country. what is being done to reassure voters _ this country. what is being done to reassure voters safety. _ this country. what is being done to reassure voters safety. as - this country. what is being done to reassure voters safety. as you - this country. what is being done to j reassure voters safety. as you say, there is criticism over the suspension of mobile services which was purportedly for security reasons but of course we did have two bomb blasts killing 28 people in the baluchistan province on wednesday so

what measures are in place to protect people as they head to the polls? protect people as they head to the olls? ., ., ., ., ., polls? there are more than half a million security _ polls? there are more than half a million security forces _ polls? there are more than half a million security forces on - polls? there are more than half a million security forces on the - million security forces on the ground, deployed at various polling stations across the country. particularly in those areas which have seen some violence like baluchistan and the kp provinces as in fact one of our reporters on the ground, reporting as soon as the polls opened, there are two things to remark, mobile services were cut immediately and the presence of a strong police and military force or there are a lot of efforts being made to try and make sure that people are able to vote in an environment in which it is secure. just remind us of some of the key issues that will be on the minds of voters as they head to the polls? remember, the selection happens at a time in which the country is facing one of the biggest economic crises

it has ever seen. inflation is a 28%. they are under a crushing amount of debt. there is of course security concerns that continue to persist in parts of the country and then there is the ongoing political instability which really lends itself to these issues of economic distress and of the security concerns. and because the people that are running in the selection have either been in the job before or part of an old political dynasty in this country, many voters are somewhat disillusioned by the entire process, saying they will not see very much political change or any kind of political stability in the country and that will not help them economically. country and that will not help them economically-— country and that will not help them economically. thank you for bringing us the latest- _ economically. thank you for bringing us the latest. and _ economically. thank you for bringing us the latest. and the _ economically. thank you for bringing us the latest. and the polls - economically. thank you for bringing us the latest. and the polls were - us the latest. and the polls were close in the pakistan elections in just under three hours. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other

stories making news. the co—op retail chain is urging mps to make assaulting or abusing a shop worker a specific criminal offence. the company said there'd been a 44% increase in incidents of shoplifting and violence in its stores within the past year. it's already a criminal offence in scotland. the prince of wales has thanked the country for its support, after his father king charles was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer. william's public engagements mark a return to his royal duties after taking a step back last month when his wife princess catherine underwent abdominal surgery. friends of the woman who was injured in a chemical attack in south london have launched a fundraiser to support her family. eight days on, the mother—of—two remains sedated in hospital and may lose the sight in her right eye. police are still hunting suspect abdul shokoor ezedi who was last seen on 31 january. he was seen on vauxhall bridge road

on the 31st of january the night of the attack. you're live with bbc news. iraq's army has said an american drone strike on an iranian—backed militia in the iraqi capital baghdad has threatened security and stability in the region. three people were killed in the attack, including a commander of the group that us officials say was behind recent attacks on us bases in iraq and syria. this was the scene in baghdad earlier. you can see there angry crowds surrounding the burnt out vehicle hit in the attack, chanting, "america is the biggest devil". our middle east correspondent hugo bachega is in baghdad and told us more about the significance of the attack. it is a significant escalation because this american retaliation has now come to the country's capital.

so this attack happened last night at around 9.30 in the evening when streets and cafes are busy. i was actually here in the bureau and i heard a loud explosion not really far from here. now, this precision strike hit this car carrying a senior commander of kataib hezbollah, which is this powerful militia here in iraq that is supported by iran. and this commander has been identified as abu bakr al—saadi, and the americans are describing him as somebody who had participation in planning and also carrying out attacks targeting us bases in the region. and we saw that days ago the us military started their retaliation for that attack that happened injordan when three american soldiers were killed. we saw that positions used by militias along the iraq and syria border were targeted. and i think it isn't really a surprise that the american strategy would not only involve targeting infrastructure being used by those groups, but also

some senior commanders. so, again, significant because this happened here in the iraqi capital. and again, i think the statement yesterday by the american military left the door open for more attacks targeting these groups operating here in iraq and syria. and as expected, there was some angry reaction from militia groups that have vowed to retaliate and also from the iraqi army saying that this threatened stability and security in the region. so i think now the focus is very much on iran and its proxies and how or if they will respond. radioactive water has leaked from a device treating contaminated waste at the fukushima nuclear power plant injapan. 5.5 metric tonnes

of the substance spilled when valves were left open during maintenance. the plant operator said the surrounding environment was unaffected — but it plans to remove soil that may have been contaminated. let's bring you some pictures coming in from iceland where a volcano has erupted for the second time this year. you can see molten rock shooting out of the ground in the reykjanes peninsula in south—west iceland. icelandic meteorological office said the fissure was around three kilometres long. it's not clear if today's outbreak will affect grindavik, whose 4,000 residents were evacuated after lava reached the fishing town in the middle of last month. icelandic officials began construction on dykes to channel lava flows away from homes in november. those are some live pictures coming from iceland at the minute, showing those dramatic pictures of the

erupting volcano. it's been a pretty stormy couple of weeks across the uk, which can be especially distressing for the wildlife on our coastlines. seals often have to be rescued and nursed back to health before they can be released into the wild. cornwall seal hospital has seen an increase in the number of pups needing urgent care. john maguire went to see the work being done there. so, lizzie, ithink you actually were on the beach with this one last night. yeah, this one was called at the far end of penhale. so pitch black. you can get him with a torch. and as you can see, he's very dark himself. the thing that i could see with the torch, there was definitely something wrong with his right eye. like any hospital, the day here at the cornwall seal hospital starts with ward rounds. and for the head vet, the first chance to examine a patient who was rescued and brought in last night. i'm having a listen to the lungs, and his breathing is nice and relaxed. like the storms that so often are the seal pups�* main threat, they�* re given names. the current theme is dogs. and so this is dingo. honking.

the fact that he's so vociferous is a good sign. he has enough energy to complain and doesn't of course realise that the staff here are saving his life. we're kind of doing that intensive care period where they need a lot of veterinary attention each day and they need help feeding themselves as well. so initially, they will be rehydrated with fluids for the first sort of 2a to 36 hours and then we'll focus on starting to get some fish introduced to them and try and get them eating fish on their own as quickly as possible. being a seal pup is tough. they only stay with their mothers for three weeks after birth and at that point should weigh more than 30 kilos. all the patients here are underweight and struggled to fend for themselves in the winter seas. so then the last one that we have is jack russell, who came in yesterday from newquay town. lizzie started out by caring for the rescued pups in her garage, but now the operation has expanded into this purpose—built hospital

in somercotes, near newquay, where they are busier than ever before. so loads of challenges. so predominantly things like climate change causing more storms at the time that seal pups are really small and having to learn how to make their way in the world. they have to fight against swell. they become malnourished, dehydrated, bashed up against rocks. so that's a big issue that's human—caused. disturbance. people getting way too close to these animals could cause things like separation between mums and pups. and then we have things like entanglement issues with things like ghost fishing nets, which can cause a huge hazard to these animals. and this is an example of that abandoned fishing gear. ghost gear, as it's known. 11 metres long and obviously hazardous. this is actually the largest piece of net we've taken off a live seal in the charity. this was a couple of years ago near st ives. what happens? the flippers get stuck in there? so the seal, this is an old piece of gear. it has got holes in it in places where the net has actually already been damaged from being dashed on rocks in storms.

and the seal had managed to get its head through there, but luckily it was found before any real damage had been done. but this pup only weighs 13 kilos. remember, three weeks old, once they've left their mother, they should be something like 30 or a0 kilos. you can tell that he's undernourished because of the folds in his skin. if he was up to weight, he'd look like a blimp. but as you can see, he really is underfed. all right, then. all right. thank you. this time of year, they receive up to 20 calls a day. are you alright to do that? yeah. so we going right now? we're right here. so apparently down the stairs, they said, but imagine steps. 0k. and on the right. so lizzie's just had a call about a pup that's on one of the beaches on the north cornwall coast. so we're just going to go and see if it needs rescuing. it may not, it may be in good enough condition, but the people who called in thought that it was vulnerable. so we'll see what happens. no, no sign? maybe it's not there. there's one in the water. the pup looks like it's quite awake and alert when it's looking back

out at us. it means it's either been disturbed by people or it may have just gone back out of its own accord. but yeah, we like to see them out in the wild and quite often when we come out on call outs, that happens. it's obviously gone out... and it's probably quite happy. fingers crossed. yeah, fingers crossed. we better have that outcome than bring them into us. and they'll probably be happier if we get off the beach. i think so. i think so, yeah. so a positive outcome. and just as well as this is already a record year for rescues and welfare centres are full. so the best thing for pups is for them to be fit, fat and happily fishing in the sea. john maguire, bbc news, cornwall. some breaking news, two people have been killed after a blast at a polling station in south of pakistan. we will bring you more on that news as we have it.

i love again. some of us have seen some snow but we will not all see it. a lot of it will be falling on higher ground and it could lead to travel disruption. at lower levels we are looking at a mixture of rain, sleet and snow and times and with a developing easterly wind that snow will be blowing. the met office has two amber weather warnings and force meaning an increased likelihood of disruption because of severe weather across southern wales, shropshire and the peak district and parts of the pennines. if you are travelling, it could reach 25 centimetres or ten inches of snow on higher rates but its rain as we come further south and this is pushing northwards, getting into the rest of northern ealing, northern ireland and southern scotland. behind that, along with some showers before the next band of rain comes in and as a result it will be mild. i had a bad, hazy sunshine but it will be a cool day for most of us, especially in

the exposed easterly wind and snow. this evening this band of rain almost catches up with the first band of rain, sleet and snow as it pushes northwards. with a lot of cloud around, especially in the south, it will be a mild night, the milder air travel further north. still cold in the north, the risk of ice. heading through the course of friday, this is the low pressure bringing us this inclement weather. the weather front continuing to push north so we could see some transient snow in the morning, the pennines for example, turning back to rain and more snow coming across scotland especially in the east. with that brisk easterly wind there will lizards on the top of the grampians and further south, some cloud around with bright spells and showers but the mild air will continue to travel further north. you can see that nicely here on the air mass chart, yellow indicating mild air pushing towards all but the far north of scotland on friday into saturday and

as that happens we find this note risk will push that further north through the course of saturday. leaving behind a cloud, some sunny spells and some showers but these are the temperatures, three and lubbock, 7—12 across the rest of the uk.

this is bbc news, the headlines.

for the first time, global warming has exceeded 1.5 degrees celcius across an entire year. the last 12 months were the hottest on record. snow is expected in parts of northern england and north wales, which could bring travel disruption. yellow weather warnings are in place across all four nations. two people have been killed in a blast near a polling station in south—west pakistan as millions head to the polls to vote in a new government. men who take drugs for erectile dysfunction may reduce their risk of alzheimer's disease, a study suggests. snow is expected in parts of northern england and north wales today, which could bring travel disruption. up to 25cm of snow is forecast across high ground in the peak district and southern pennines. live now to our north of england correspondent, nick garnett, who is at a gritting centre in milnrow.