Earth ChangesS


Snowflake Cold

Thousands in need of emergency relief as extreme cold and heavy snow batter communities in central Atlas regions of Morocco

APO
CNBC Africa.
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 19:46 UTC
Oukaïmeden
Oukaïmeden, Morocco
Heavy snow and unusual, extreme cold weather in January has cut off thousands from major transport routes in Morocco's High and Middle Atlas regions, raising the risk of food shortages and dangerous living conditions for the affected communities.

The combination of heavy snow and temperatures dropping as low as -5° C has caused water supply shortages, power outages, lack of heating and damage to homes. As food supplies dwindle farmers have reported loss of livestock, prompting a surge in food prices.

More than 100 volunteers and staff from the Moroccan Red Crescent have been deployed to central mountainous provinces to provide emergency transport and medical assistance as well as to distribute food, blankets and supplies. The Moroccan Red Crescent assistance is part of the Government's response to support 700,000 people affected by the cold wave.


Comment: See also: Snow blocks 5,000 kilometers of roads in Morocco

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 16 cattle in Zambia


ZNBC
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 19:29 UTC
lightning
Lightning has killed 16 head of cattle in Chipili District in Luapula Province.

Chipili Town Council Chairperson Isaac Kafwimbi says the animals owned by five farmers of Mukanga Village in Chieftainess Mwenda's Chiefdom died on the spot after being struck by lightning in a communally owned kraal.

Mr Kafwimbi says the people of Chipili are still in shocked from the accident.

He says it is sad that at the time when farmers in the district are making efforts to start keeping cattle such an accident can happen.

Mr Kafwimbi has since called on government through the office of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit to find means of helping the affected farmers.
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Ice Cube

Fantastic frozen waterfalls formed in northwest China following days of snow (VIDEO)


CCTV Plus
Thu, 25 Jan 2018 18:19 UTC
waterfall frozen
Fantastic frozen waterfalls have formed in northwest China after days of lingering snowfall.

The incredible spectacle is seen in a valley in Xunyi County of Shaanxi Province, where it has been snowing for days. The frozen waterfalls cling closely to the three stonewalls at the end of the valley through the winding, precipitous trench.

The valley is one of the Guanjiadong grottoes which are typical of the Danxia landform -- various landscapes which feature red beds and steep cliffs usually found in east, southwest and northwest China.

The frozen waterfalls, formed in different shapes and sizes, look like beautiful stalactites, an uncanny workmanship of the nature attracting large number of shutterbugs and tourists.

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Bizarro Earth

Something brewing? California rocked by 15 earthquakes over 2.5 magnitude during the past week

Kristin Hugo
Newsweek
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 18:14 UTC
trabuco canyon los angeles earthquake jan 2018
Three earthquakes hit California on Thursday, one as far south as Trabuco Canyon and a second all the way up to a spot off the coast of Eureka, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

A third earthquake struck near Lytle Creek, California, registering a 2.5 on the Richter scale. Trabuco Canyon, which is close to Lytle Creek, registered 4.0. Both cities are near Los Angeles.

The northernmost earthquake, closest to Eureka, registered a 5.8 on the Richter scale. However, because it hit 100 miles off the coastline, the vibrations were not as strong when they reached land. ABC7 reports that residents of Ferndale, California, in Humboldt County, felt the earthquake, but there are currently no reports of damage or injuries.

Comment:

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Snowflake Cold

Blizzard wreaks havoc across Central, Eastern China

Du Caicai and Li Rongde
Caixin
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 18:06 UTC
Airport crews remove snow from an airplane at Changzhou airport, in Jiangsu province, on Jan. 25, 2018.
© VCGAirport crews remove snow from an airplane at Changzhou airport, in Jiangsu province, on Jan. 25, 2018. A blizzard caused flight and train delays Thursday and Friday across much of central and eastern China.
A blizzard sweeping across central and eastern China since Thursday has led to cancellations and delays of dozens of flights and high-speed train services.

Up to 20 centimeters (7.87 inches) of snow had fallen by 5 a.m. Friday on southern parts of Henan province, northwest Hubei, southwestern parts of Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang province and Shanghai, according to China's Central Meteorological Administration.

In Shanghai, the first heavy snow to hit the metropolis this winter forced the city's two airports, Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Hongqiao Airport, to cancel 138 flights - nearly 12% of scheduled flights - by 6p.m on Thursday., according to the city's airport authority. Seven more were delayed by at least two hours. Another 70 flights out of Shanghai had been cancelled by midday Friday.

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Cloud Precipitation

China's largest inland saltwater lake sees record water rise due to "unusually" abundant precipitation

Xiang Bo
Xinhua
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 17:52 UTC
Qinghai Lake, Largest Saline Lake in China
Qinghai Lake, Largest Saline Lake in China
Qinghai Lake, China's largest inland saltwater lake, saw a record increase of 0.4 meter in its water level last year, the highest during the past 13 years.

The rise largely resulted from "unusually" abundant precipitation in the lake basin, which recorded average rainfall of 511 millimeters in 2017, 40 percent more than previous years, according to Dai Sheng, senior engineer at the provincial meteorological center.

The lake's water level has grown by 2.07 meters since 2005, Dai said, adding that the current water level is equal to the level in the mid-1970s.

Rising temperatures and precipitation due to climate change, as well as increasing snow melt, have contributed to continuous growth in the lake's water level, Dai said.

Qinghai Lake plays an important role in the ecological security of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The lake had been shrinking since the 1950s, but the combined effects of conservation and changes to the regional climate turned things around in 2005.
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Snowflake Cold

Inner Mongolia village hits 50 degrees Celsius below zero

Catherine Lai
Hong Kong Free Press
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 17:33 UTC
This photo taken on January 24, 2018 shows ice forming on the face of a Chinese sanitation worker on a cold winter day in Hulun Buir, northern China’s Inner Mongolia region.
© AFPThis photo taken on January 24, 2018 shows ice forming on the face of a Chinese sanitation worker on a cold winter day in Hulun Buir, northern China’s Inner Mongolia region.
Temperatures in parts of Inner Mongolia have reached -50.2 degrees Celsius, according to the Inner Mongolia Weather Bureau.

The temperature of -50.2 degrees Celsius was recorded on Thursday morning in Jinhezhen, a village in the northeast of China, near its border with Russia. The village had experienced temperatures below minus 47 degrees for several days.

The weather bureau said that a bout of cold weather swept into the region since the beginning of this week, and on Tuesday and Wednesday, temperatures across the region reached record lows.

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Attention

4.0 magnitude earthquake felt across Southern California

John Plessel
Daily News
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 14:02 UTC
Earthquake seismograph
A 4.0-magnitude earthquake struck an area of the Santa Ana Mountains straddling Riverside and Orange counties early Thursday, Jan. 25, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The temblor hit at 2:09 a.m. at a depth of around 6 miles, with the epicenter described as 10 miles south, southeast of Corona in Riverside County and 8 miles northeast of Trabuco Canyon in Orange County, according to a report by the Southern California Seismic Network, a cooperative project of Caltech and the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor quakes in Southern California.

There were no immediate reports of damages, but hundreds of tweets flooded Twitter after the quake, with people in San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange counties saying they felt it or it shook them awake.

Comment: Also see: Two shallow earthquakes above magnitude 5.0 strike off California coast

Later on Thursday, a 2.9 quake hit San Jose, bringing the Bay Area total to 7 in a week.

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Snowflake

Alpine resorts buried in the snow (PHOTOS)

Patrick Thorne
inthesnow.com
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 13:22 UTC
snow
As the skies clear following one of the snowiest Januaries on record in the Alps, great images are appearing of vehicles, buildings and other structures buried in the snow.

There are various claims that, after three winters with little snowfall at the start, this is the snowiest start to a season for 20, 30 or 40 years - one resort is comparing this with the winter of 1948.

Here are some of the best images we've seen:
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Attention

North Atlantic right whale discovered dead off Virginia coast, 1st in 2018

Alexander Quon
Global News
Thu, 25 Jan 2018 12:43 UTC
At least 18 North Atlantic right whales have now died in Canadian and U.S. last year and this winter.
© Center for Coastal Studies/NOAAAt least 18 North Atlantic right whales have now died in Canadian and U.S. last year and this winter.
Another North Atlantic right whale has been found dead, the first to be recorded in 2018 and the 18th since last year.

The whale was reportedly found off the coast of Virginia on Jan. 22.

Jennifer Goebel, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), confirmed the information to Global News on Thursday.

According to NOAA, the remains of the whale appeared to be wrapped in a fishing line.

Based on past experience with entangled whales the NOAA believe the whale was alive and swimming when it encountered the line.
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