The Philippines is racing to contain the oil from a tanker that sank on Thursday in the midst of heavy rains from Typhoon Gaemi. It was carrying 1.5 million litres of oil, and the spread of it could cause an environmental catastrophe. We hear the latest on the coast guard operation from Jhesset Enano, a journalist based in Manila.

This incident has reminded people about the devastating impacts of previous major oil spills like BP’s Deepwater Horizon in 2012 and when MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef near Mauritius in 2020. We unpack how oil can be cleaned up and what these spills do to marine life with BBC climate and science reporter Georgina Rannard.

We also hear from Vikash Tatayah, conservation director at Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, about how Mauritius’ biodiversity was affected by the country’s worst environmental disaster.