welcome to bbc news. our top stories. the us climate envoy john kerry issues a passionate plea to step up efforts to tackle climate change, with a stark warning about any failure to act now. this test is now as acute and as existential as any previous one. torrential rain in central china causes widespread disruption, and huge anxiety for passengers caught in one flooded subway system. stepping onto dry land at last — a flotilla of small vessels brings a record number of migrants across the english channel i'm sarah mulkerrins live in tokyo where although the opening ceremony is still two days away, the action has got underway with hosts japan thrashing australia at softball.

good morning and thank you for joining us. his words could hardly be more timely. the us climate envoy, john kerry, has delivered an impassioned warning about the risks of climate change — and the urgency of acting now. speaking in london as floods devastate parts of europe and china, and heatwaves and wildfires sweep across north america, mr kerry warned that the world cannot wait for the pandemic to end to tackle climate change. the climate crisis, my friends, is the test of our times. and while some may still believe it is unfolding in slow motion, no.

this test is now as acute and as existential as any previous one. the irony should not be lost on us that it is young people around the world who are calling on adults to behave like adults, and exercise their basic responsibilities. young people who feel forced to put down their school books, march out of the classroom to strike for climate. they know the world is not responding fast enough to an existential threat that they didn't create but for which they risk bearing the ultimate burden. unprecedented extremes in weather have pushed the issue of climate change firmly back into the spotlight. and scientists warn there s far worse to come without a huge global cut in greenhouse gas emissions. so what s the world doing to tackle what many see as an existential threat? it s nearly 30 years since around 200

countries signed up to the un s framework convention on climate change. its aim 7 to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system . in 1995, berlin hosted the first cop — or conference of the parties — with representatives from governments, cities and companies discussing how best to counter climate change. two years later 7 the cop adopted the kyoto protocol: committing countries to limit their greenhouse gas emissions. but the protocol didn t include the world s largest and fastest growing economies 7 and the us chose not to sign. fast forward a decade to copenhagen and an agreement to provide billions of dollars to help poorer countries adapt to climate change. but industrialised nations again fail to agree legally—binding emissions targets. a breakthough came in paris in 2015, all parties adopting a legally—binding treaty, limiting global warming to well below 2

and ideally no more than 1.5 degrees. five years on, the covid pandemic postpones glasgow s cop until 2021. one man whose fingerprints can be traced through almost every stage of these major developments and gatherings is bill hare — climate change scientist, cop veteran and chief executive of climate analytics, based in berlin. thank you so much for your time. going through that timeline again, a chance for you to reflect perhaps on progress made or failure to achieve?— progress made or failure to achieve? ~ , ., ~ ., �* , progress made or failure to achieve? ~ ~ ., �*, ., achieve? well, you know, it's a mixed story _ achieve? well, you know, it's a mixed story as _ achieve? well, you know, it's a mixed story as you _ achieve? well, you know, it's a mixed story as you have - mixed story as you have outlined. we saw progress in the 90s, with the agreement of the 90s, with the agreement of the kyoto protocol and resort major steps backwards with the

us government under george bush repudiating the protocol followed by canada, australia, japan and so on, and that went backwards and so it's been a real roller—coaster ride. from the science point of view we have known for a long time how dangerous it is, i remember in 1995, in germany, angela merkel was then a junior environment minister, already visibly concerned about climate change, greenpeace released a major study on river flooding greenpeace released a major study on riverflooding in europe and i was reflecting on that over the last days, watching the absolute catastrophe unfolding in parts of germany that i know very well, the loss of life, catastrophic problems. and thinking, well, you know, the scientific community has been warning about this for decades and decades and i'm struck by whatjohn kerry said. i and decades and i'm struck by what john kerry said.- what john kerry said. i was auoin what john kerry said. i was going to — what john kerry said. i was going to pick _ what john kerry said. i was going to pick on _ what john kerry said. i was going to pick up on - what john kerry said. i was going to pick up on john i what john kerry said. i was - going to pick up on john kerry, going to pick up onjohn kerry, the rhetoric is very strong and yet here we have the international energy agency

saying 2023, we will have the greatest output of co2 emissions caused by us ever so it's very difficult for people to work out where rhetoric begins and action really starts. u, , ,, begins and action really starts. , ,, starts. of course, the us has been in a _ starts. of course, the us has been in a difficult _ starts. of course, the us has been in a difficult place - starts. of course, the us has| been in a difficult place under president trump butjohn kerry was a key figure in securing the paris agreement. and i think we should all be very thankful that he is back on the case now and he is absolutely correct. this is a really existential threat. and climate change impacts affect everyone, rich and poor countries, forever you are, it will be extremely serious if we do not really tackle it and i guess thatis really tackle it and i guess that is where his energy is coming from, my energy is coming from, my energy is coming from, my energy is coming from, the global movement energy is coming from, we have to do something really major at this year.— major at this year. what does that look like? _ major at this year. what does that look like? what - major at this year. what does that look like? what is - major at this year. what does that look like? what is the i that look like? what is the next major step?—

that look like? what is the next major step? next ma'or step? well, what we have next major step? well, what we have been _ next major step? well, what we have been aiming _ next major step? well, what we have been aiming for— next major step? well, what we have been aiming for the - next major step? well, what we have been aiming for the last i have been aiming for the last few years is to see countries really step up in terms of what they are promising to do in glasgow. what their ambition is. right now, there's been significant improvements since we adopted the paris agreement, now that we know the global warming outcome, if the pledges are honestly implemented, between two and 2.4 degrees, it's far above 1.5 degrees, we have a long way to go for countries to step up. but that takes money. _ countries to step up. but that takes money, doesn't - countries to step up. but that takes money, doesn't it? - countries to step up. but that takes money, doesn't it? is l takes money, doesn't it? is that the next step? genuine commitment to see the readies on the table if i could put it like that?— on the table if i could put it like that? we are at a lucky moment — like that? we are at a lucky moment in _ like that? we are at a lucky moment in history, - like that? we are at a lucky moment in history, the - like that? we are at a lucky i moment in history, the efforts of countries such as the uk, germany and so want to introduce renewable energy technologies has led to a massive drop in the cost of these technologies, a drop that i could only have dreamt of ten years ago. this makes acting

cost—effective, in most parts of the world now it's cheaper to actually shut down a coal fired power station and build a new renewable power station than run the old system, that's the place we are in. you're absolutely right, there are a lot of countries that need poorer countries in the developing world that need a lot of our support, notjust in cash but de—risking investments by banks and government guarantees to roll out clean technology. that is... there are two big things we need to do in glasgow, one of them is increase ambition and the others ramp up by mid—finance is we bring the rest of the world with us.— is we bring the rest of the world with us. and in terms of how ou world with us. and in terms of how you do — world with us. and in terms of how you do that, _ world with us. and in terms of how you do that, give - world with us. and in terms of how you do that, give people | world with us. and in terms of i how you do that, give people an idea if you could about the importance of actually gathering these players together into the conference of parties, as they call it. it's very obtuse to many of us, exactly what you all do. we did not for example if glasgow sadly falls victim to covid and

it has to be some sort of virtual event7 it has to be some sort of virtual event? i it has to be some sort of virtual event?— virtual event? i think it's hard to _ virtual event? i think it's hard to understand - virtual event? i think it's hard to understand from j virtual event? i think it's - hard to understand from the outside but what we do when it works really well is it brings all of the major players globally together in one place at one time, it creates a global moment where governments know they have to step up, there will be a public spotlight on them. this year we have a leadership group of the us, the uk, the european union, china and some others but there are many others sitting on the edges waiting to see will they go a bit further and get down to the 1.5 degrees pathway or not? this only happens when ministers eyeball each other, face—to—face, not virtually. i have never seen this work virtually, that's why these events are so important. we know they can't completely fail, i would say cope and haganin fail, i would say cope and hagan in 2009 was a real failure but we also know how

powerful that energy can be, we saw it in paris with the global alliance that came from there, it only happens when you get people working together for a week or so so they overcome local and national interests and come together in the interests of us all and in the larger interests of their own countries. it larger interests of their own countries-— countries. it feels like there's _ countries. it feels like there's no _ countries. it feels like there's no room - countries. it feels like there's no room for. countries. it feels like - there's no room for failure any more. we will have to leave it there but thank you so much. a dense layer of smoke from wildfires in the western united states and canada has reached the east coast of the continent. in new york, health agencies are warning that air quality has become unhealthy for sensitive groups such as people with breathing problems. at the same time, canada's western province of british columbia has declared a state of emergency, with wildfires expected to grow even larger in the coming days due to high heat and winds. and in the united states, more than 80 large fires are burning, the biggest of which is in the pacific northwest state of oregon. the bootleg fire has scorched almost 390,000 acres — an area bigger

than los angeles. torrential rain has caused severe flooding in parts of central china. more than 10,000 people in henan province have been evacuated to shelters where it's reported a dam could collapse at any time. at least 12 people have died in the city of zhengzhou after its subway system was inundated with rushing water. mark lobel reports. shouting. floodwater spreading fear. the partly submerged city of zhengzhou, its subway system now an underground river. commuters are standing for air. rescuers bravely reacting to unprecedented scenes. though not everyone made it. large parts of the train system shutdown. rip currents seemingly

running along roads. the amount of rain over the last three days in this provincial capital usually falls in an entire year. bringing traffic to a standstill. many homes were no place for refuge. over 10,000 residents in the region relocated. more than a dozen cities in this central part of china affected with the population of henan close to 100 million. with10,000 lost hectares of crops, the flooding causing an estimated $11 million worth of damage and counting. rescuers worked all hours to clear up the flooding, a result of many factors, including that a warming atmosphere caused by climate change makes extreme rainfall like this more likely. with downpours here forecast to

continue for many hours yet. mark lobel, bbc news. let s get some of the day s other climate—related news. the german chancellor angela merkel has pledged funding within days to get essentials to flood victims without bureaucratic delays. speaking in the devastated town of bad muenstereifel, she said a cabinet meeting would free up finances on wednesday. the french parliament has approved a climate change law that environmentalists say falls far short of its initial objective. most fossil fuel cars will be banned from 2030, and single—use polystyrene food containers from 2025. but the offence of ecocide — killing the environment — will be the equivalent of a misdemeanour, not a crime, as environmentalists had demanded. at least 430 migrants crossed the english channel to reach the uk yesterday — according to the home office —

a new record for a single day. around 50 people were seen landing on the beach at dungeness in kent — the group included women and young children. the government said it was taking �*substantial steps to tackle the unacceptable problem of illegal migration' , as our correspondent jon donnison reports from the english channel. they have come a long way. some of them may have travelled thousands of miles, but for these migrants, thejourney�*s end comes near dungeness, south—west of dover. it's a giant step in their search for a better life, and scenes like this are now playing out on a daily basis. earlier, we took a boat out into the channel. we have spotted another rig which appears to be a migrant boat. it is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, but bobbing on the waves, a tiny dinghy. no motor, just paddles.

where are you from, guys7 sudan. from sudan7 are you ok7 help will be coming soon. they will come and pick you up. here are some fruit and biscuits, somejuice. having given them some food, we shadowed them and called the coastguard, who organised their rescue. and not far away, we find another migrant boat. we are about eight miles off the coast of dover now, and we have come across this small dinghy, probably three orfour metres long. we think there are 12 or 13 on board, a couple of small children at the front, and a couple of women, and we have now called in the uk border force, the uk coastguard, who are going to pick them up. for some, these are desperate people fleeing some of the world's most desperate countries. for others, they are

simply economic migrants. over the last few days, the border force has brought hundreds of migrants ashore. the government says people smugglers are its target but it is also proposing that unauthorised migrants themselves could be jailed for up to four years. putting people injail who have come here because of the terrible things that have happened to them in their lives is really draconian and punitive, and all it will do is fill up ourjails without resolving the issue. and though the number of people crossing the channel in boats has increased significantly, hitting a record of 2000 last month, overall, the number of people claiming asylum in the uk actually fell last year. behind the figures, though, there are human stories. the government is pushing back but for those making these dangerous journeys, the pull of a better future is strong. jon donnison, bbc news,

in the english channel. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: drawing inspiration from the olympics — we introduce you to the international anime characters representing the nations competing in tokyo, through the samurai legend. coming down the ladder now. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30 year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. but now a decade later, it has been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today.

there's been a 50% decrease in| sperm quantity, and an increase in malfunctioning sperm unable to swim pronerly. _ thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: the us climate envoy, john kerry, has warned that the suffering caused by the coronavirus will be magnified many times over if the world fails to tackle climate change. there are just two days to go before the olympics are officially opened in tokyo. let's get the latest from sarah mulkerrins.

welcome along to tokyo bay area of the japanese capital, where the likes of the swimming, tennis and gymnastics will all take place. the opening ceremony is on friday at the olympic stadium in the heart of the city, but the action has already got under way in one of the team sports. hosts japan had the honour of starting things off in softball, which is taking place in fukushima about 200 miles north of the capital. the sport is back in the games for the first time in 13 years,

and the japanese women got off to the very best of starts as in beijing the japanese women won. and the japanese women got off to the very best of starts by beating australia 8—1. the olympics don'tjust inspire the athletes themselves. artists too are getting in on the action, with one group celebrating the different countries and cultures in a uniquelyjapanese way. sofia bettiza has this report. music plays. anime characters of samurai warriors, each of them representing a country that's going to compete in the olympics in just a few days. it's the work of a group of artists in japan. translation: our pro'ect is about connecting i different countries. i'm really excited about the games. i've watched every olympic

since i was a little girl and i'm so happy thatjapan is hosting it. first, they research the history and the meaning of a country's flag. for example, the mexican flag has an eagle perched on a cactus eating a snake — so they've incorporated all those elements in the mexican samurai. sometimes, they hold polls on twitter asking people to vote for the most iconic symbol or object from a country. the designs are really sophisticated. just look at the details. maple leafs for canada, a sherlock holmes monocle for the uk, and of coursejapan — in a traditional kimono. translation: samurais | because we want everyone to get to know traditional japanese culture. and we drew them as anime characters because anime is famous all over the world. with the designs they're creating, the artists hope that

people injapan and around the world will get excited about the olympics because of course no—one will be able to get into that stadium as japan has banned all spectators because of covid. the japanese authorities have declared a state of emergency in tokyo. and many people here feel it's wrong to hold the games when covid cases are on the rise. but despite that, these designers take pride in what they do. and they don't do it for money. many of them are web designers, students, and vets during the day. translation: i feel very proud that the olympics i are being held injapan and with this product, we want to promote mutual understanding. that's what the games are about. with only a couple of days to go, these designs are not going to erase all the restrictions and the hurdles facing the games.

but they symbolise the olympic spirit. as athletes from all corners of the globe join together once more. sofia bettiza, bbc news, tokyo. a bit of news, the tokyo 2020 organising committee has said that an olympic athlete, not residing in the village, has tested positive for covid—19. so still some issues. even though the ceremony is not yet upon us, the sport is and they will be hoping that turns the corner. ~ , ,., y will be hoping that turns the corner. ~ , , ., . corner. absolutely, once we get throu~h corner. absolutely, once we get through these _ corner. absolutely, once we get through these few _ corner. absolutely, once we get through these few days - corner. absolutely, once we get through these few days where i corner. absolutely, once we get. through these few days where we have had a bit of action to begin with, the opening

ceremony on friday, then the sport properly gets under way, there is a sense that the international olympic committee, the government and the tokyo 2020 organisers will be hoping the sport and all the feel—good stories we will have from all around the world will potentially take away from a lot of the negativity of these games in the build—up, because we know it is happening under the cloud of the coronavirus pandemic. we are seeing cases emerge and arrive with athletes in the olympic village and elsewhere, and support staff around it. we had the words this morning from the head of the who that this could be a celebration, a moment of hope for the world about how we emerge back into a vaguely normal life and how we can evolve within restrictions to try and keep everybody safe. the sport itself today, a great start for the hosts japan, 8—1 winners against australia in their opening match in the

softball. they are the defending champions. another sport that gets under way a couple of days early is football, because they have to get three more games to fit them in, always a couple of days before the opening ceremony. a lot of viewers will know about the us women's national team, world cup winners in 2019 in france. going for olympic glory. they begin their campaign a bit later, against sweden, a really good european teams. sweden in fact knocked them out of the last olympics, so a bit of a grudge match there a bit later. the good news is you are talking sport! thank you very much. the start of a very long road through the olympics. before we go, one last note from the world of sport. leonid stanislavskyi from ukraine may not be heading to the olympics, but he's a fierce competitor nonetheless. the 97—year—old holds the

oldest tennis player. he's been training hard ahead of the super—seniors world championship, due to be held in spain in october. he says his ultimate goal is to reach 100 years old, and take on roger federer. hello. the heat goes on, and it will do for a couple more days and indeed nights. because of the persistence of the heat, the met office have issued an extreme heat warning. two particular areas have been identified, this one to the south west of england covering parts of the midlands and wales, this one across northern ireland which comes into force on wednesday. it doesn't mean that these are the areas exclusively affected by the heat but these are two areas identified as potentially having the biggest impacts. you can see the heat an issue from first thing on wednesday. we start our day with temperatures around 20 celsius in many areas. it will be a little cooler through wednesday perhaps down some of the north sea coast, just because we will pull

a little bit more cloud in here but overall, still a very hot day lies ahead. temperatures across the southern uk widely in the high 20s to low 30s, hotting up significantly will be northern ireland, hence why itjoins that heat warning, perhaps 30 degrees towards the south west here. warmer along the north coast than yesterday but still cloudy for northern scotland with some lingering sea fog. here, temperatures are peaking in the mid teens. that is the area that stands out as being significantly cooler. later in the day, potentially showers across the north west of england — certainly another hot, humid night to come for many. we move into thursday, i suspect there will barely be a cloud in the sky and the temperatures will rise accordingly. still for northern scotland, some cloud around and that does just hold things back in terms of the temperatures but even here things are creeping up —

stornaway getting closer to 20 degrees, potentially 31 for south west northern ireland, 31 for the south of england and wales. a change friday, a subtle one to start off with, an easterly wind and temperatures start to edge back. but through friday evening and overnight into saturday and on into the weekend low pressure starts to take hold from the south west. it will inject showers into england and wales, some heavy spells of rain to come for some. it will pull cooler air across all parts of the uk. so by saturday some sunshine still for scotland and northern ireland but a fresher feel for all of us.

john kerry has said the world cannot wait for the end of the pandemic. he said the suffering the us climate envoy has said the world can't wait for the end of the covid—19 pandemic before facing up to the environmental crisis. john kerry warned that the suffering caused by not tackling climate change would be much worse than coronavirus. there's been severe flooding across central china. it's caused widespread disruption, with video footage showing images of roads turned into rivers and cars being stranded by fast rising water. scientists say some regions have experienced an entire years' worth of rain in the past three days.

the american billionairejeff bezos has made a 10—minute, 18—second trip to space. the founder of amazon was accompanied by his brother, mark, the youngest ever astronaut, oliver daemen, and the oldest, the pioneering female aviator wally funk. now on bbc news, panorama: the dark side of horse racing. this programme contains scenes from the start which viewers may find upsetting. a grand national—winning trainer shamed after being pictured sitting on a dead horse. the prominent trainer gordon elliott has been temporarily banned from racing. it was an image that shocked the horse racing world. what concerned me was not particularly gordon elliott being an idiot, but the fact there's a dead young horse below him. tonight, we investigate what happens to racehorses when their careers end. sadly, so many of them come to us with injuries and ailments that need time and need, without a doubt, a large amount of funding.

the fate of some of the thousands of young horses