Out now: April Geographical Magazine

In our April edition, head to Canada, Uganda, the North Atlantic and more in our array of stories from across the world

In our April 2026 issue, head to northern Canada for our cover story, which follows wildlife photojournalist Andy Skillen finally capturing one of the Arctic’s rarest spectacles: polar bears fishing for char in a remote fjord.

Also in this issue, we visit a Cornish headland shaped by natural and economic forces with Rory Walsh. Bryony Cottam voyages across the North Atlantic to follow the noisy, precarious world of seabirds, while Tristan Kennedy discovers how bikerafting – part bikepacking, part packrafting – is opening up new ways to travel through landscapes where roads and rivers meet. In Uganda, Stuart Butler discovers a wider crisis of human-chimpanzee conflict, where shrinking forests are fuelling fear, anger and hard choices, while back in Britain, tensions are rising as airports push for expansion – but at what cost?

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Our columnists bring an array of topics to the forefront to help you stay on top of the world: Tim Marshall dissects India’s strategic balancing act in a world dominated by the US and China. Andrew Brooks reflects on how modern policing around the world still carries the DNA of colonial rule, while Marco Magrini explores how colonising Mars is far harder than people think – and focusing on it risks distracting us from fixing problems on Earth.

Our digital edition is out now, too, giving you access to all the stories in our latest issue, plus our full archive dating back to 1935, with hundreds of magazines to explore. Digital access is available through the Geographical app, and you can now enable notifications to be alerted the moment the latest issue is live. And if you want to enjoy our beautifully designed and produced print magazine, we can post the next edition to you anywhere in the world. Join us and stay on top of the world!

Gone fishing

At the edge of a braided glacial river feeding the Ikudliayuk fjord in Nunavik, polar bears have begun to fish. Not with the practised efficiency of their brown-furred grizzlycousins, but with something closer to persistence – and, occasionally, chaos.

This is no predictable salmon run. For a few fleeting weeks each summer, small pulses of char push upstream from the Labrador Sea. Some days they arrive in clusters of dozens; on others, not at all. The system depends on tides, temperature and timing – variables that are becoming increasingly uncertain. When conditions align, the river flickers with movement.

The bears know the rhythm. When the moment comes, the shift is instant – stillness to action in a heartbeat, a surge of white fur and spray as instinct takes over.

It’s a behaviour long rumoured, rarely witnessed and still imperfect. Polar bears are not built for such fishing. But in a changing Arctic, they are learning.

A middle way

They talk of alliances, but most middle powers are hedging. Caught between Washington and Beijing, they edge towards the US while avoiding full commitment, wary of being pulled too far into either orbit.

India stands apart. It is not yet a superpower, but it is large, ambitious and patient enough to imagine becoming one. With a fast-growing economy, a vast young workforce and an expanding tech and manufacturing base, it has the foundations of independence. For now, though, it lacks the weight to rival the US or China and must navigate carefully between them.

Geography leaves little room for error. Border tensions with China remain unresolved, and Beijing’s ties with Pakistan sharpen the risk. That reality pushes India closer to Washington, seen in defence deals, joint military exercises and growing technological ties.

Yet alignment has limits. India still buys Russian oil, maintains links with BRICS and keeps diplomatic channels open with Beijing.

What emerges is a strategy of balance rather than loyalty. India is buying time – strengthening partnerships, managing rivalries and building its own power, with no intention of choosing sides forever.

A cry from the forest

In villages around Muhorro, where forests have been reduced to scattered fragments, encounters between people and apes have turned deadly. Children have been taken from gardens and paths to school, killed by chimpanzees driven out of shrinking habitats in search of food. What was once rare has become routine, fear shaping daily life.

The roots of the conflict lie in the forest itself. Uganda is losing around 122,000 hectares of tree cover each year, cleared for farming and charcoal. As forests shrink, chimpanzees are squeezed into ever smaller patches, unable to find enough to eat. Inevitably, they move into fields and villages.

Not everywhere tells the same story. In Kibale, where tourism supports conservation, chimps are protected and largely tolerated. In Bugoma, where deforestation is accelerating, tensions are rising.

What links these places is a simple truth: when forests disappear, conflict follows.

Cleared for take-off – but at what cost?

Britain is flying more than ever. Airports are fuller, routes are expanding and ministers are pushing for even more growth. But behind the optimism lies a growing tension.

In 2025, UK airports handled a record 302 million passengers, cementing the country’s position as one of the world’s largest aviation markets. Demand is rising, and the government argues that expanding capacity – including a third runway at Heathrow – is essential for economic growth.

Critics see a collision course. Aviation is already one of the slowest sectors to decarbonise, and existing airport capacity could soon exceed the limits set by the UK’s legally binding carbon budgets. Expansion plans risk pushing passenger numbers far beyond what climate advisers say is compatible with net zero.

The government’s answer is technology. Sustainable aviation fuels and future efficiencies are expected to offset emissions. But these fuels remain scarce, expensive and unproven at scale.

At the centre of the debate is Heathrow, where a new runway could make the airport the UK’s single largest source of carbon.

What is being sold as growth increasingly looks like a gamble.

Monarchies around the world

They feel like relics of the past, but monarchies are far from extinct. Across the world, 43 countries still retain a royal figure at the top of the state.

Most are constitutional, where power sits with elected governments and monarchs play a symbolic role. Others are mixed systems, while a handful – including Saudi Arabia and Oman – remain absolute, with power concentrated in royal hands.

Europe accounts for more than a quarter of the total, but monarchies stretch from Asia to Oceania. King Charles III alone is head of state in 15 countries.

Far from disappearing, monarchy has adapted – reshaping itself to fit the modern world.