Earth ChangesS


Attention

Thousands of jellyfish-like creatures wash up on Barcelona beaches

David Brennan
Newsweek
Wed, 02 May 2018 20:15 UTC
Thousands of Velella velella near Barcelona
Thousands of Velella velella near Barcelona
Barcelona's beaches have been carpeted with thousands of mysterious jellyfish-like creatures, turning the city's white sands a rich shade of blue, thelocal.es reported.

Fortunately the animals, identified as Velella velella, are relatively harmless to humans, making this invasion more of a natural marvel than a toxic emergency.

Velella look like jellyfish, but are actually floating colonies of microscopic hydrozoans—tiny predatory creatures that generally live far offshore in open waters. Velella have small, stiff, sail-like structures to harness the power of the wind and allow them to travel across the water in search of plankton and other small prey.
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Cloud Precipitation

Flooding in Somalia affects 500,000 people

Yurou
Xinhua
Wed, 02 May 2018 19:43 UTC
The heavy rains and flash floods come only months after a devastating drought
© UNThe heavy rains and flash floods come only months after a devastating drought
Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has appealed to the international community to support efforts to help 500,000 people affected by the floods that has displaced close to 175,000 from their homes.

Mohamed who visited Somalia's central region of HirShabelle to assess the impact of flooding on Monday said his government was taking action to address the humanitarian crisis caused by the floods.

"We have formed a national disaster committee to respond to the needs of our fellow citizens who have been affected," he said in a statement issued on Tuesday evening.

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Snowflake

May snowfall on Mount Lemmon, Arizona following overnight storm


Arizona Daily Star
Wed, 02 May 2018 18:47 UTC
A webcam posted on Mount Lemmon shows Tuesday night's snowfall.
© Summerhaven Radio Ridge WestA webcam posted on Mount Lemmon shows Tuesday night's snowfall.
While many parts of Tucson saw overnight rain, residents of Mount Lemmon were treated to overnight snow.

With temperatures in Tucson having already broken 90 degrees and rapidly approaching 100, a temporary reprieve from the heat likely upsets no one.

The Radio Ridge West webcam posted on Summerhaven caught the snowfall on tape. Check out the video by clicking on the link below.

Summerhaven: Radio Ridge West
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Seismograph

Fears Hawaii's Kilauea volcano will erupt at any moment following 250 earthquakes in the region in 24 hours

Tim Collins
Daily Mail
Tue, 01 May 2018 14:28 UTC
A series of earthquakes and the collapse of the crater floor at Hawaii's most active volcano
A series of earthquakes and the collapse of the crater floor at Hawaii's most active volcano could trigger an eruption, officials have warned. The lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea is one of several persistent on Earth. This image shows how it appeared on the evening of April 11
A series of earthquakes and the collapse of the crater floor at Hawaii's most active volcano could trigger an eruption at any moment, officials have warned.

Lava may burst through the ground east of Kilauea, one of five volcanoes on the US state's largest island, experts say.

The warning follows 250 seismic readings over the past 24 hours, with similar activity recorded prior to previous eruptions in the area.

In mid-April, an observatory issued a volcano activity alert when scientists noticed the Puu Oo vent was inflating and becoming pressurised.

The crater floor of the vent has since collapsed, and an 'intrusion' of lava was sent into a new area of the volcano which spread throughout last night.

Underground magma, which now flows beneath a main road and close to the residential district of Puna, could cause fatalities if it blows.
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Wolf

Raging pack of stray dogs maul 3 children to death on the same day in Uttar Pradesh, India - 14 such deaths in the state since January

Afp and Julian Robinson
Daily Mail
Wed, 02 May 2018 13:46 UTC
canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
A raging pack of stray dogs mauled three young children to death on the same day in India - before angry villagers took revenge by killing 13 of the animals.

Villagers in Khairabad in Uttar Pradesh state took the law into their own hands after being gripped by panic over daily attacks that have now left 14 children dead since January.

The three children, all aged under 12, were killed by packs of dogs in separate attacks on Tuesday as they collected mangoes in fields outside the village.

A 2001 animal welfare law outlawed the killing of stray dogs. But the Khairabad villagers shot dead three and beat to death at least 10 others.

'Our investigations revealed the children were alone at the time of attacks,' district police chief Sureshrao A. Kulkarni told AFP, confirming the three latest deaths.
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Cloud Lightning

At least 14 people killed as 41,025 bolts of lightning strike in 16 hours across Andhra Pradesh, India

Venu Lanka
The Times of India
Wed, 02 May 2018 13:14 UTC
lightning
At least 14 persons were killed and two others injured on Tuesday as over 40,000 bolts of lightning and thunderstorms struck Andhra Pradesh. The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) confirmed that 41,025 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes took place across 11 districts on Tuesday from 07.30am to 11.40pm as per the data available with Earth Networks.

The APSDMA, which predicted severe lightning activity in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts, issued thunderstorm alerts from early hours of Tuesday and later lightning continued in West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Nellore, Prakasam, and Kadapa.
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Snowflake

Storms pelt Las Vegas Valley, Mount Charleston receives snow in May

Max Michor
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Tue, 01 May 2018 12:26 UTC
Mount Charleston sees rare May snowfall
Mount Charleston sees rare May snowfall
May came in like a lion Tuesday, as lightning flashed and thunderstorms pelted parts of the Las Vegas Valley, and snow covered higher-elevation areas on Mount Charleston.

Lightning was seen throughout the western valley, and flashes also were reported with storms over the central and south valley, the National Weather Service said.

"So it's basically everywhere," meteorologist Chelsea Kryston said.

McCarran International Airport received about 0.24 inches of rain in a 24-hour span, Kryston said. Rain fell harder in other parts of the valley, however, as Summerlin saw about 0.27 inches, Centennial Hills recorded about 0.31 inches and southeast Henderson received 0.42 inches.

The weather service issued a flood advisory late Tuesday that was set to end at 10:15 p.m.
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Snowflake

Spring snowfall hits the Sierra


kron4
Tue, 01 May 2018 12:18 UTC
snow
Another round of winter weather is hitting part of the Sierra.

Snow and ice falling overnight in Nevada County caused some traffic problems, as Interstate 80 was shut down for a couple of hours due to slick road conditions.

The snow and ice fell on Monday.

Watch the above video to see the white powder falling!


Source: CNN
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Seismograph

Powerful earthquake in Bárðarðarbunga, Iceland, one of Vatnajökull's monster volcanoes


Iceland Magazine
Mon, 30 Apr 2018 11:56 UTC
Ice cauldron in Bárðarbunga The volcano is hidden beneath the ice cap of Vatnajökull glacier.
© Tómas GuðbjartssonIce cauldron in Bárðarbunga The volcano is hidden beneath the ice cap of Vatnajökull glacier.
The monster volcano Bárðarbunga, one of the most active and powerful volcanoes in Iceland and Europe, trembled yesterday afternoon. A sharp 3.9 magnitude earthquake was detected at 16:13 on Sunday afternoon, followed by a handful of smaller quakes.

The volcano has been relatively calm in 2018, with only a handful of 3+ magnitude quakes. The relative calm comes at the heels of relatively high levels of activity in 2016 and 2017. Since the largest earthquake to hit Bárðarbunga at the end of January, a 4.9 magnitude quake.

A 3.9 magnitude quake is considered a significant seismic event, as any quake in an active volcano which is larger than 3 on the Richter scale is considered a powerful quake. Quakes larger than 4 in volcanoes are relatively rare.
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Bizarro Earth

Graphic footage shows lion attacking safari park owner in South Africa


RT
Tue, 01 May 2018 15:01 UTC
An African lion.
© Stephane De Sakutin / AFPAn African lion.
The founder of a private animal reserve in South Africa is reportedly in serious condition after being mauled by a lion in front of shocked bystanders.

The man, understood to be a British citizen, was attacked inside a lion enclosure at an animal sanctuary in Limpopo, South Africa.

Harrowing footage obtained by News24 shows the moment of the lion attack, which occurred in a rural province bordering Botswana and Zimbabwe.

In the 90-second clip, a man can be seen being dragged away from the gate of a fenced-off enclosure by a male lion. The big cat's victim calls out for help in front of screaming bystanders before a number of gunshots can be heard to ring out.

Comment: While it's not unnatural for a lion to attack a human, what may be strange is that this safari keeper probably had more of a rapport with the lion than if the animal was in the wild, and when we take into account that animal attacks around the world seem to be on the increase, the trend does seem to reflective of changes occurring on our planet:

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