Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

May snowfall strikes the mountains of Croatia, strong thunderstorms, heavy rain and hail hits Zagreb area


Croatia Week
Tue, 12 May 2026 17:35 UTC
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Severe storms swept across parts of northern Croatia on Tuesday, causing widespread disruption, damaging infrastructure and bringing unusual May snowfall to higher elevations.

Emergency services were called into action across Zagreb and Zagreb County after strong thunderstorms, heavy rain and hail hit the region.

According to Croatia's Civil Protection Directorate, the County Emergency Centre 112 received around 250 calls from residents reporting various weather-related incidents.

In Zagreb, one person was reported injured during the storm.

The severe weather also disrupted public transport in the capital. Due to damage to the overhead power network, several tram lines were forced to operate on altered and shortened routes.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills 4 teenagers, injures 3 in Kerala, India


The Statesman (India)
Tue, 12 May 2026 17:25 UTC
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Four students were killed after being struck by lightning at Mankada in Malappuram district of Kerala on Tuesday.

The deceased were identified as Rahees (20), Vahas (18), Siad (18), and Fahad (19), all natives of Vellila. Three others were injured and are currently undergoing treatment at Manjeri Medical College Hospital.

The tragedy occurred on Tuesday afternoon at the Panthalloor Hills View Point, also referred to as Kuranganchola or Vellila View Point, during heavy summer rains.

According to reports, a group of seven students had gone to the hilltop to spend the evening when they were caught in an unexpected downpour accompanied by intense lightning.

The injured were immediately rushed to Manjeri Medical College Hospital by local residents, but four of them succumbed to their injuries.

Rescue operations were initially delayed due to the remote location of the hilltop.

One member of the group went missing after the lightning strike and was later found during a subsequent search operation before being admitted to the hospital.
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Attention

'He was a warrior': South Florida man killed in bear attack in Montana, father says

Julian Quintana
NBC News
Sat, 09 May 2026 11:16 UTC
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A South Florida hiker was killed in an apparent bear attack in Montana, his father said.

Arthur Pollio told NBC6 on Saturday that his son, 33-year-old Anthony Edward Pollio, was on a two-week trip with a friend when he went missing at Glacier National Park.

"It was a road trip through central U.S., Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming to get to Montana, and I believe he pulled right into Glacier National Park," he said.

Pollio said that his son went on an advanced trail before he disappeared.

"And he texted me that evening, he says, 'Dad, I'm hiking up a mountain. It's wild out here,'" he said. "He says, 'I love you, dad,' and that was the last message I received from him."
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Attention

Japan confirms year's first fatal bear attack and suspects 2 more

Maroosha Muzaffar
Independent (UK)
Fri, 08 May 2026 11:10 UTC
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Japan has confirmed its first fatal bear attack of 2026 after recording an unprecedented 13 casualties last year.

Authorities said a 55-year-old woman found dead in the northern Iwate prefecture last month was killed by a bear. Two other bodies discovered in Iwate on 7 May and Yamagata prefecture on 5 May, respectively, were suspected to be linked to bear attacks as well.

One of those victims was identified by NHK as 69-year-old Chiyoko Kumagai, who had disappeared after going into a mountain forest to collect edible wild plants.

She was found with injuries to her face and head that appeared to have been caused by animal claws.

Japan saw a surge in dangerous bear encounters in 2025, with the animals entering homes, schools, supermarkets, and hot spring resorts.
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Lightning

Lightning killed 2,825 people across India in 2024, a 10% increase on 2023 - 17,000 killed over a 6-year period

Wahid Bhat
GroundReport.in
Tue, 12 May 2026 10:40 UTC
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Every day, on average, lightning kills nearly eight people in India. Not floods. Not cyclones. Not earthquakes. Lightning, a hazard most people still think of as random misfortune, has become the country's most lethal natural force, claiming more lives each year than any other weather event.

New data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that lightning killed 2,825 people across India in 2024, a 10.4 percent rise from 2,560 deaths in 2023. It accounted for 35.7 percent of all accidental deaths attributed to forces of nature that year, far ahead of heat stroke, which killed 1,832 people, and floods, which took 361 lives, 833 from cold exposure, and 361 from floods.

The figures are not an anomaly. Over the past six years, lightning has killed more than 19,245 people across India. The annual toll has remained stubbornly high: 2,357 in 2018, 2,876 in 2019, 2,862 in 2020, 2,880 in 2021, 2,887 in 2022 and 2,558 in 2023. Scientists say it will get worse before it gets better.
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Snowflake Cold

Best of the Web: May blizzard buries the Russian city of Noyabrsk

Nau Weather News
YouTube
Tue, 12 May 2026 09:46 UTC
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Unusual snowfall was reported in the southern Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, Russia, on Sunday, May 10, 2026.

Wind gusts reached 23 meters per second. A high alert status was declared in Noyabrsk.

Traffic was also restricted on regional highways in the Noyabrsk, Muravlenko, Gubkinsky, and Purovsky districts.

Drivers were advised to avoid traveling outside the city.

Public transportation was also suspended in densely populated areas.

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Lightning

Lightning strike kills 90 sheep in Jammu and Kashmir, India


Kashmir Observer
Mon, 11 May 2026 09:36 UTC
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At least 90 sheep were killed when lightning struck a grazing field in the upper reaches of Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Monday.

Lightning struck a meadow in Poshkar, Kangan area of Ganderbal district on Sunday night, killing 90 sheep, officials said.

The livestock belonged to a family of nomadic shepherds who were taking their animals toward the Sonamarg area for grazing, they said.

Strong winds and intermittent rains caused damage to houses and crops in some areas of Kashmir on Sunday night.
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Doberman

8-year-old mauled to death by stray dog in Gujarat, India

Saurabh Vaktania
NDTV
Fri, 08 May 2026 14:12 UTC
The incident occurred near the factory premises.
The incident occurred near the factory premises.
An eight-year-old boy was mauled to death by a stray dog in Gujarat's Morbi district. The victim, identified as Krunal Kripalbhai Malviya, was the son of a labourer working at the Titanium Vitrified factory. This death follows a series of aggressive dog attacks in the city over the last 48 hours.

The incident occurred near the factory premises, where Krunal was targeted by a stray dog. The attack was so severe that the child died due to his injuries. His body was shifted to a local hospital for a post-mortem examination. The incident comes just two days after a rampage on Morbi's Sanala Road and GIDC area, where more than 20 people were bitten by a single stray dog in a residential society.

Local residents and workers have expressed fierce resentment toward the municipal authorities, accusing them of negligence. Despite the reported surge in attacks in Chitrakut Society and nearby industrial zones, citizens claimed that the administration's response has been limited to paperwork rather than ground-level intervention.

Several residents argued that the stray dog population has reached a "lethal" level, and the lack of a comprehensive sterilisation or relocation programme has left vulnerable groups, particularly children of factory workers, at extreme risk.
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Attention

Elderly man dies in buffalo attack in Kerala, India


english.metrovaartha.com
Sun, 10 May 2026 14:08 UTC
A domestic buffalo , representative image
A domestic buffalo , representative image
An elderly man died after being attacked by a buffalo at Kaippadamughal here, police said on Sunday.

The deceased was identified as Aboobacker N A (74), a resident of Vadacode, Kaippadamughal, Thrikkakara North.

According to officials at the Kalamassery police station, a buffalo that had been grazing turned violent, damaging plants and trees around 7.45 pm on Saturday.

When Aboobacker attempted to bring the buffalo under control, the animal attacked him, causing serious injuries, police said.
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Tornado2

Waterspouts and flash floods hit southern Spain

Tannur Anders
Manchester Evening News
Sat, 09 May 2026 13:32 UTC
Several marine tornadoes appeared offshore(
Several marine tornadoes appeared offshore
Footage circulating on social media has captured the dramatic moment enormous waterspouts spiralled off the coastline of a popular tourist destination.

Southern Spain has been battered by flash floods as fierce storms swept through the region ahead of the summer holidays. Torrential downpours triggered widespread flooding on roads across parts of Murcia, with cars pictured floating in deep floodwater as the deluge hammered the area.

Several marine tornadoes emerged offshore, with witnesses reporting at least three waterspouts. The towering vortexes stretched from dark, brooding storm clouds down towards the Mediterranean, according to the Sun. A waterspout is a rotating column of air that forms over water, capable of producing destructive wind gusts. In extreme cases, winds can reach speeds of up to 250km/h.

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