[vlad-perevezentsev]

GitHub Actions is moving ubuntu-latest to Ubuntu 26.04 (runner-images#14748, rollout Oct 19 – Nov 19, 2026). This breaks two Linux workflows on master and on every PR:

• Conda package / Conda package (conda-forge): Linux jobs use the conda preinstalled on the runner ($CONDA), and the Ubuntu 26.04 image has none, so they fail at Update conda with conda: command not found (example). Windows jobs install conda with setup-miniconda and are not affected.
• Build with Open Source LLVM SYCL compiler: the ld.lld shipped with the DPC++ nightly is linked against libxml2.so.2, and Ubuntu 26.04 only has libxml2.so.16, so linking fails (intel/llvm#23618, example). Same fix as in Pin open source SYCL build workflow to ubuntu-24.04 dpnp#3127.

This PR pins these jobs to ubuntu-24.04. Other Linux workflows were checked and do not depend on the image's conda.

• Have you provided a meaningful PR description?
• Have you added a test, reproducer or referred to an issue with a reproducer?
• Have you tested your changes locally for CPU and GPU devices?
• Have you made sure that new changes do not introduce compiler warnings?
• Have you checked performance impact of proposed changes?
• Have you added documentation for your changes, if necessary?
• Have you added your changes to the changelog?
• If this PR is a work in progress, are you opening the PR as a draft?

[github-actions]

Deleted rendered PR docs from intelpython.github.com/dpctl, latest should be updated shortly. 🤞

[coveralls]

coverage: 74.989%. remained the same — pin-linux-runners-ubuntu-24.04 into master