Earth ChangesS


Fire

Huge blaze threatens bird sanctuary in Battambang, Cambodia

Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon
The Phnom Penh Post
Fri, 13 May 2016 14:39 UTC
A man hoses down smouldering patches of scorched earth in Battambang province after a fire ripped through a flooded forest.
© Alessandro Marazzi SassoonA man hoses down smouldering patches of scorched earth in Battambang province after a fire ripped through a flooded forest.
Twenty six men armed with plastic jugs and three hoses drawing water from the Sangke River are all that stand between what's left of the Prek Toal bird sanctuary, and a fire that has already destroyed more than 5,000 hectares of flooded forest.

Prek Toal forms the "core area" of the Tonle Sap biosphere, an area some experts have called the single most important breeding ground for water fowl in Southeast Asia.

"In 16 years of patrolling, I have never seen a fire like this," said one Environment Ministry ranger who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the press. The men, who have been divided into three teams, are trying to contain a fast-moving fire on difficult terrain.

Suspected negligence started the fire in early April and it has since spread across the wetlands thanks to exceptionally dry conditions related to the El Niño-induced drought, climate change and yet-to-be-understood changes of the Tonle Sap flood cycle.

For the past 10 days, the conflagration has come within hundreds of metres of Prek Toal village, and on Wednesday, a column of smoke loomed over the floating settlement.
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Cloud Lightning

At least 8 killed by lightning strikes in Bihar, India


The Indian Express
Thu, 12 May 2016 14:14 UTC
Lightning
Eight persons, including minors, were killed in separate incidents of lightning in Bihar's Kishanganj and Katihar districts on Thursday.

Five persons were killed as lightning struck when they were working at a brick kiln at Rashiya Panchyat under Thakurganj block of Kishanganj district, Sub-Divisional Officer Mohammad Shafique said.

The five included a father-son duo, the SDO said, adding all five were brick kiln labourers.

The next of the kin of the victims will be given Rs four lakh each as ex gratia, the SDO said.

In two other incidents of lightning in Katihar, three persons, including two minors, died, while two other minors sustained burn injuries in different villages.
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Attention

Lord of the Rings' Mount Doom might be about to erupt in real life, experts say

Fiona MacDonald
Science Daily
Fri, 13 May 2016 13:23 UTC
Mount Ruapehu
© NASA
Mount Ruapehu on New Zealand's north island is showing signs that it's about to erupt, scientists have warned. The snow-capped volcano was used as one of the backdrops for those punishing Mount Doom scenes in Peter Jackson's Return of the King, and, if seismic activity is anything to go by, the Dark Lord Sauron has been pretty restless of late.

On Wednesday, the volcano alert level for the mountain was raised to Level 2 (moderate to heightened unrest), and the aviation colour code changed from green to yellow, with authorities warning climbers and hikers to avoid the 2-kilometre area surrounding the volcanic crater.

"There are more signs of life at the volcano," volcanologist Brad Scott from GNS Science told National Geographic. "Recent visits to the volcano have confirmed an increase in the output of volcanic gas."

On top of the gas, a swarm of tremors were recorded on the mountain in April, and the crater's lake has been steadily rising in temperature since last month, increasing from 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) to 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit).
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Cloud Lightning

Two killed by lightning bolt off beach in Kuwait

Hanan Al-Saadoun
Kuwait Times
Tue, 10 May 2016 19:09 UTC
Lightning in the sky.
© ShutterstockLightning in the sky.
In a rare incident of its kind, a coastguard diver and a citizen were killed after they were struck by a lightning bolt off Khairan beach yesterday.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that a jet ski of citizen Saad Khaled Al-Shereeda broke down and a coastguard boat was dispatched to rescue him.

The ministry added that the coastguard diver, Abdullah Othman Al-Doussary, jumped in the water to help the man, but they were both struck by lightning and were killed instantly.

In October last year, an Asian was killed by lightning in northern Kuwait during a freak storm. It is estimated that 6,000 to as many as 24,000 people are killed around the world by lightning strikes every year.

Bodies
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Cloud Lightning

Cambodia has recorded 18 deaths from lightning so far in 2016


News Ghana
Thu, 12 May 2016 18:58 UTC
Lightning strike
Lightning strikes and strong winds have killed 26 people in Cambodia so far this year, Keo Vy, spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management, said on Thursday.

He said thunderbolts claimed 18 lives and injured 16 others, as strong winds killed 8 and injured 71 others, he said.

Besides the human casualties, strong winds had devastated more than 3,000 houses in 20 cities and provinces across Cambodia, he added.

"I'd like to call on people, especially those in rural areas, to be vigilant over lighting and strong wind," he said.

"To avoid the dangers from lightning strikes, people should stay in houses when there are torrential rains."

The latest incident occurred late Wednesday in northeastern Stung Treng province, killing four people, three of them killed by lightning strikes and one by strong wind.

Source: Xinhua
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Cloud Lightning

Update: Lightning kills 64 in Bangladesh over 2 days; surge in deaths is causing panic


Newser
Sat, 14 May 2016 17:59 UTC
Lightning
© zmescience.com
More than 60 people have been killed by lightning over the past two days during tropical storms across Bangladesh, local media said Saturday. Most of the 64 lightning deaths since Thursday have occurred in the countryside, where farmers are busy with the current harvesting season, Bengali-language newspapers Prothom Alo and Samakal reported, per the AP. Experts say increased deforestation, increased use of metal equipment like cellphones, and rising temperatures have contributed to a surge in lightning deaths that has caused panic in some areas.

Most of the victims were farmer working in their fields, though children playing in the open and spectators at a soccer game have also died in lightning strikes. Mohammad Riaz Ahmed, chief of Bangladesh's disaster management department, tells Voice of America that authorities are "very concerned" by the number of lightning deaths. More than 90 have died so far this year and the storm season hasn't peaked yet. In the US, there were 27 recorded lightning deaths in 2015 and there have been five so far this year, according to the NOAA.
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Butterfly

Monarch butterfly population in jeopardy after Mexican storm


CBC News
Fri, 13 May 2016 13:10 UTC
Numbers are similar to those reported in 2013, when the monarch population was at an all-time low

Monarch Butterfly
© Ellen SharpFreezing rain and snow coated and killed monarch butterflies in Mexico back in March.
People hoping to catch a glimpse of monarch butterflies this spring will have to look a little harder because a harsh, late winter storm in Mexico may have wiped out up to 50 per cent of the butterfly's population.

Rain, sleet and snow ravaged over-wintering colonies in Mexico on March 8 and 9, leaving butterflies frozen to trees and dead on the ground.

Lingering effects of the storm aren't yet known for sure, but experts are preparing for plummeting numbers.

"Right now, it certainly looks like it's going to be a much lower population. It doesn't look particularly good," warned Chip Taylor, a professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Kansas and founder and director of Monarch Watch.

Monarch Watch described the storm that affected nine colonies in Mexico as "unprecedented."

There is no firm count of the monarchs that died in the storm. Estimates range wildly from three to 50 per cent because monarchs had already started their journey north.
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Attention

Elephant kills farmer in southern Tanzania; second death in 2 days


Coastweek
Sat, 14 May 2016 17:23 UTC
African elephant
A 42-year-old farmer in southern Tanzania's district of Namtumbo was killed by an elephant, which is believed to have strayed from Selous Game Reserve, the official said on Wednesday.

In a telephone interview, Namtumbo District Commissioner, Chande Nalicho confirmed the incident, saying the incident occurred on Tuesday at around 10am local time.

He said: "Before the incident, the man who was identified as Yassin Kalimoni was on his farm.

"He saw elephant herd coming in his direction and he tried to chase them but the jumbos became furious and attacked him to death."

According to the DC, the wildlife officials were in the area, so that they chase them to the game reserve.

Nalicho cited increasing poaching incidents were the reasons for the jumbos to run away from protected areas to residential areas.
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Attention

Dead Gray whale found in Seattle's Elliott Bay


The Seattle Times
Fri, 13 May 2016 16:46 UTC
Gray whale found dead in Seattle
© Cascadia ResearchGray whale found dead in Seattle
A juvenile gray whale found dead in Seattle's Elliott Bay over the weekend had air in its chest cavity that likely prevented it from diving for food, according to exam results released Friday.

A necropsy conducted by biologists with the Cascadia Research Collaborative confirmed what scientists observed when they assessed the whale a couple of days before it died. At the time, they suspected the animal was suffering from an infection or a collapsed lung that had filled its chest cavity with air, which would have made the animal too buoyant to dive.

Jessie Huggins, the group's stranding coordinator, said Friday they still don't know what caused all that air to build up in the whale's chest. It could be a previous traumatic injury, disease or both, she said. Tests of tissue samples may provide more information.
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Attention

Sloth bear kills 3 before being shot dead in India


Daily Mail
Sun, 13 Mar 2016 13:41 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
A bear killed two villagers and a wildlife officer sent to tranquilise it before being shot dead in a forest in central India, police said Sunday.

The sloth bear mauled the villagers late on Saturday, sparking a police hunt for the beast after fearful locals in Chhattisgarh state demanded its capture.

Police shot and killed the female bear after it also fatally attacked the wildlife official who had been sent to trap and tranquilise it, said Rajesh Kukareja, deputy police chief of Mahasamund district.

"The bear was very aggressive and killed the officer at the spot. We had no option but to shoot it," Kukareja told AFP.

"It was on a rampage, attacking everyone," he said.


Comment: See also these other selected reports from within the last 9 months: Three injured in two bear attacks in Kaghan, Pakistan; over 5 recent incidents in 2 months

Bear attacks in Russia increase as population explodes and climate goes haywire

Russian town besieged by hungry bears; one man killed and other locals attacked

Hunter attacked by grizzly in fourth British Columbia bear attack in 10 days

Second bear attack this week for New Mexico; 7th for the year

Grizzly bear attacks 2 hunters near Fort Nelson, Canada

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