Earth ChangesS


Attention

Beached pygmy sperm whale discovered in Port Canaveral, Florida


fox35orlando.com
Mon, 26 Sep 2016 14:14 UTC
Distressed pygmy sperm whale assessed by wildlife official as public watches at Port Canaveral boat ramp
© Derrol NailDistressed pygmy sperm whale assessed by wildlife official as public watches at Port Canaveral boat ramp
Officials were unable to save a whale that beached itself in Port Canaveral on Monday. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office were on the scene assisting in the rescue efforts.

Officials say the adult pygmy sperm whale, approximately 10 feet in length, was in "bad condition"when spotted by some passing fishermen.

The fishermen notified FWC officials, who brought the sick and injured animal to the public boat dock, so it could be evaluated by a marine veterinarian from the University of Florida.

The mammal was thin, weak, and was suffering from wet respirations, a symptom of congestive heart failure in whales.

Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Lightning storms knock out power to the entire South Australia state; 21,000 strikes in 12 hours

Jonathan Barrett, James Regan and Tom Westbrook
Daily Mail
Wed, 28 Sep 2016 13:45 UTC
Police direct traffic in the central business district (CBD) of Adelaide after severe storms and thousands of lightning strikes knocked out power to the entire state of South Australia, September 28, 2016.
© David MariuzPolice direct traffic in the central business district (CBD) of Adelaide after severe storms and thousands of lightning strikes knocked out power to the entire state of South Australia, September 28, 2016.
Severe storms and thousands of lightning strikes knocked out power to the entire state of South Australia on Wednesday, authorities said, leading to port closures and commuter chaos.

South Australia is the country's fifth most populous state, with 1.7 million people, and is a major wine producer and traditional manufacturing hub.

The Bureau of Meteorology said a vigorous cold front was moving across the state with an intense low pressure system due on Thursday.

"We'll have gale force winds and large seas (across the south of the country); also heavy rain and thunderstorms, which will lead to renewed river rises," it said on its website.

SA Power Networks said repairs to its transmission network were underway.

"There were more than 21,000 lightning strikes recorded over a 12-hour period from midday yesterday on the West Coast, and as a result it is likely some damage has occurred to our distribution network," it said.

The state has been brought to a standstill, with ports closed, trains and trams stopped, traffic lights out and long commuter delays, state agencies said.

Read More...
Sun

Hong Kong records hottest September day in 50 years, air pollution levels 'serious' for second day

Christy Leung
South China Morning Post
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 10:15 UTC
Hong Kong ollution levels index
© SCMP/Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department
Hong Kong recorded its hottest September day in more than half a century on Tuesday as the influence of Typhoon Megi brought ­"serious" levels of air pollution to the city for a second day.

Temperatures hit a high of 36 degrees Celsius in Happy Valley as ­Taiwan felt the full force of the tropical cyclone, which is forecast to bring gloomy weather to Hong Kong over the next six days.

The Environmental Protection Department issued a warning after the Air Quality Health Index in Tuen Mun and Tung Chung hit 10+ on Tuesday afternoon, its highest level. That indicates a serious health risk.

It was the second day the city recorded such severe levels of air pollution.

The index in Central reached 10, and it climbed to nine in Yuen Long and Causeway Bay, indicating a "very high" health risk.

The department advised children, the elderly and people suffering from heart or respiratory illnesses to stay indoors as much as possible.

Typhoon Megi, named after the Korean word for catfish, made landfall in Taiwan but was ­forecast to spare Hong Kong. The storm however created stifling conditions in the city on Tuesday, with low visibility and a max­imum temperature at the Observatory's headquarters of 34.9 degrees, constituting the hottest September day since 1963, when September 5 saw the same ­location record 35.2 degrees.

Comment: Temperatures around the world, like the weather, are becoming more extreme. See also:

Read More...
Windsock

Typhoon Megi: Deadly storm batters Taiwan and mainland China


BBC News
Wed, 28 Sep 2016 06:54 UTC
Typhoon Megi hits Taiwan
© EPAMegi is the third and worst storm to hit Taiwan in the past two weeks.
At least five people have been killed and hundreds injured by Typhoon Megi, which has battered Taiwan and mainland China.

Megi has now reached eastern China, causing widespread disruption, though it has weakened to a tropical storm.


Comment: Typhoon Megi: Taiwan braces for third severe storm in two weeks

Read More...
Fire

Wildfire rages through Santa Cruz mountains in California


Seeker
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 12:49 UTC
Santa Cruz wildfire
© twitter/scott balentine (screen capture)
The Loma fire has consumed more than 2,000 acres and forced evacuations in Santa Clara County, Calif.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes due to a wildfire near Loma Prieta in the Santa Cruz mountains that grew to more than 2,000 acres. On Tuesday, the fire was just 5 percent contained.

Dramatic photos of the fire appeared on social media as 500 firefighters battled the blaze.

Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Massive water drawdown beneath world's megacities poisoning groundwater with arsenic


Phys.org
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 00:00 UTC
arsenic poisoning bangladesh
Arsenic poisoning in rural Bangladesh's groundwater has been a known health hazard for at least two decades, and is blamed for the death of more than 40,000 people every year.
A massive drawdown of water beneath delta-based megacities across the world may be pulling surface pollution deeper into the ground, risking contamination and health problems for local populations, a new study said Tuesday.

Research led by Holly Michael of the University of Delaware in the United States used the example of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka to show how unsustainable water use was exacerbating arsenic pollution.

Water consumption in greater Dhaka, home to some 18 million people, is lowering the local water table by more than three metres per year in some areas.

Slaking the capital's thirst is driving down shallow water contaminated with arsenic—known to cause a host of deadly health problems.

Using a new method for calculating water flows, the researchers showed that deep sources of clean water outside the capital could be polluted "within a decade," said the study, published in Nature Communications.

Previously, scientists had said it would take up to a century for contaminants such as arsenic to infiltrate deep groundwater at least 150 metres below the surface.
Read More...
Attention

Four farmers mauled by sloth bear in Maharashtra, India

Manka Behl
The Times of India
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 16:54 UTC
Sloth bears are found in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan but shrinking habitats and rampant poaching have reduced their numbers
© Manpreet RomanaSloth bears are found in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan but shrinking habitats and rampant poaching have reduced their numbers
At least four people have been mauled by a female sloth bear in Ashti range of Wardha. The attacks have been taking place since last two months.

All the attacks were on farmers and took place mostly when they were working in the farms. Forest officials informed that in the initial two attacks, farmers sustained serious injuries and were shifted to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). The last attack happened about three days back. Officials said that so far, there have been no deaths.

The same female bear is being sighted regularly with two cubs on the fringes of Manikawada and Moi villages. "Maximum attacks took place on the boundary of farms and forest. While patrolling their farms, farmers mistook the bear as wild boar or some other animal and tried to chase it away. The mother bear instinctively attacked to protect its cubs," officials said.

Comment: Reports of other sloth bear attacks this year: Sloth bear kills 3 before being shot dead in India

Pack of sloth bears attack and injure 3 in Chandrapur, India

Farmer survives 3 hour bear attack in Karnataka, India

Read More...
Arrow Down

Five sinkholes open within two days in Hyderabad, India


Deccan Chronicle
Fri, 23 Sep 2016 07:19 UTC
Sinkhole in Hyderabad, India
© Deccan Chronicle A fresh road cave-in at King Koti. So far, five sinkholes have appeared across the city.
Three more sinkholes opened up on Thursday, taking the total to five after just two days of rain. A one-metre diameter sinkhole opened up on the road opposite HDFC Bank in Basheerbagh and another one on the road at King Koti.

Earlier in the day, a four-foot deep sinkhole formed on the Shivam Road near Amberpet on Thursday, the third after two days of rain following the ones on NTR Marg and at Neredmet.

A tanker-trolley got stuck in the Shivam Road sinkhole at about 6 am on Thursday, and was cleared using two large cranes at about noon. The accident caused a massive traffic jam and congestion along the busy road from Osmania University to Amberpet. Traffic police barricaded the sinkhole, even as emergency repairs were being undertaken.

At Basheerbagh, Narayanaguda traffic inspector A. Balaji said he and his team had barricaded the sinkholes. "The road at Basheerbagh is a busy route. We have diverted traffic from one side of the road. GHMC and water works officials will begin repairs from Friday morning," he said.

About the massive NTR Marg sinkhole that had opened up on Wednesday, Sewerage and Water Board MD M. Dana Kishore said six teams had been set up to reduce water flow into the site.

Emergency response teams have been posted at the sinkhole itself. Infrastructure Repairs will begin after the flow of water stops. Another sinkhole had opened at Neredmet on Wednesday.

Comment: Sinkholes: The groundbreaking truth

Read More...
Attention

Barujari volcano erupts in central Indonesia sending ash column 2 km high


Global Times
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 14:39 UTC
Thick volcano ash emanates from the crater of Mount Barujari, a sub-volcano of Mount Rinjani in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara
© West Nusa Tenggara Disaster Mitigation Agency Thick volcano ash emanates from the crater of Mount Barujari, a sub-volcano of Mount Rinjani in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara
Mount Barujari in West Nusa Teggara province of central Indonesia erupted on Tuesday, with ashes potentially enveloping a nearby city and disturbing international flight, a disaster agency spokesman said.

The eruption took place at 14:45 local time with a column of ash rising up to 2 km in the sky, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the national disaster management agency told Xinhua via phone.

The ash tends to spread to southwest of the crater and fall down on the provincial capital of Mataram city and hamper flight at the Lombok international airport, Sutopo said.

Authorities are preparing more than 300,000 masks for local people, he added.

Indonesia, an archipelago country home to over 16,500 islands, has 129 active volcanoes.

Source: Xinhua
Read More...
Seismograph

3.9 magnitude earthquake at Katla Volcano, Iceland

Vala Hafstad
Iceland Review
Mon, 26 Sep 2016 14:28 UTC
Katla volcano.
© Páll StefánssonKatla volcano.
An earthquake of magnitude 3.9 hit Mýrdalsjökull glacier at 1:30 pm today, mbl.is reports. A few aftershocks have registered, but there is no sign of volcanic activity in the area, according to the Icelandic Met Office.

The source of the quake was the south side of the Katla volcano caldera, which is under the ice cap of Mýrdalsjökull glacier. The area is being monitored day in and day out by the Icelandic Met Office.

There was less seismic activity in Mýrdalsjökull glacier last week than during the previous week. On August 29, two earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 registered in the northern part of the Kaltla volcano caldera. Those were the largest quakes to hit the area since 1977.
Read More...