Earth ChangesS


Cloud Grey

'Rare' noctilucent clouds put on sunrise show over Whitley Bay, UK


Irish Examiner
Wed, 06 Jul 2016 00:03 UTC
Whitley Bay noctilucent clouds
© Owen Humphreys/PA
Early-morning risers were treated to a rare and stunning show in the skies north of Newcastle.

Rare noctilucent clouds, which can only be seen when the sun is below the horizon, illuminated the dawn and provided the perfect opportunity for these snaps that will make you want to drop everything and drive up the A1.
Noctilucent clouds
© Owen Humphreys/PA
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Attention

Man critically injured by bear in Kashmir, India; unprecedented surge in attacks reported

Aakash Hassan
Kashmir Life
Thu, 07 Jul 2016 18:30 UTC
Himalayan Black Bear is visible in the lower reaches from spring to autumn and hibernate in winter in Kashmir.
Himalayan Black Bear is visible in the lower reaches from spring to autumn and hibernate in winter in Kashmir.
A bear severely injured a man in Pehru Mattan while he was working in his apple orchard, here in south Kashmir's Islamabad district.

The person identified as Mohideen Beigh from Pehru was shifted to district hospital Islamabad with blood drenched body.

The doctors at the Islamabad hospital after dressing his wounds referred him to Srinagar, terming his condition critical.

Meanwhile, wild life department has rushed a rescue team to the spot where the wild animal was attacked the man.

"We have sent a team there to get hold of the animal," said Wild Life warden Islamabad Mohammad Sadiq.

Pertinently, there has been an unprecedented surge in the cases of bear attacks in Mattan area from last couple of months.

Comment: See also these other recent reports from India: Bear kills man and injures another seven within an hour in India

Sloth bear mauls farmer to death in Telangana, India

Bear mauls 6 people in Odisha, India

Sloth bear kills 3 before being shot dead in India

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Arrow Down

Mysterious: Turtle eggs not hatching on Australian island

Kacey Deamer
Live Science
Thu, 07 Jul 2016 07:08 UTC
Turtle
© Oregon State University/FlickrA green turtle hatchling heads toward the sea.
There may be such a thing as too many turtles, according to scientists investigating why so few turtle eggs were hatching on Raine Island, located on the tip of Australiaꞌs Great Barrier Reef.

For more than 1,000 years, green sea turtles have nested on Raine Island, where they dig pits to lay and bury their developing eggs. Yet after a millennia of fruitful nesting seasons, the island has recently had a drop in the rate of successful hatches — now less than 30 percent, even in undisturbed nests.

With protective coral along the broad sandy beaches, and no land-based predators, scientists were stumped as to why an otherwise ideal nesting location would have so few baby turtles hatching from eggs and scuttling down to the water.

Comment: Further reading:

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 18 cows in Strobl, Austria


The Llocal at
Thu, 07 Jul 2016 09:53 UTC
18 cows killed by lightning
© Georg Buchegger18 cows killed by lightning
A cow called Lucky is the only survivor of a lightning strike that killed 18 other cows at once in alpine meadow in Austria.

Cow herder Georg Buchegger was shocked to discover all but one of his herd dead under a tree on Sunday, after they were struck by lightning while sheltering from a storm.

A photograph taken by Buchegger shows the dead cows laid strewn across the ground around the tree in the alpine meadow near the town of Strobl in Salzburg.

According to the Krone newspaper, the only cow from the 19-strong herd to survive is appropriately called 'Glück', which means Lucky.
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Sun

Siberia hit with record-breaking heatwave and flooding


Siberian Times
Mon, 04 Jul 2016 19:18 UTC
heat wave siberia russia
© @irenkolbina Siberia's coldest region - the Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia - also experienced a highly unusual heatwave.
Some regions parched, others underwater in latest meteorological surprises.

On 1 July Ulan-Ude experienced its highest ever temperature on this day - a tropical 33.8C - causing a performance of the Republic of Buryatia's first national opera to be cut almost in half because of the stifling heat.

Unprecedented high temperatures, up to 6C higher than average, have also hit Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk regions. Siberia's coldest region - the Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia - also experienced a highly unusual heatwave.
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Question

Dozens of dead birds discovered near creek in Woodhaven, Michigan

Aaron Baskerville
wxyz.com
Fri, 01 Jul 2016 16:38 UTC
Residents flooded the Woodhaven Police Department with calls Friday and Saturday after seeing as many as 50 dead ducks lining Marsh Creek. The Department of Natrual Resources came to the area and took water and soil samples.
© Nancy Chinavare Residents flooded the Woodhaven Police Department with calls Friday and Saturday after seeing as many as 50 dead ducks lining Marsh Creek. The Department of Natrual Resources came to the area and took water and soil samples.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is now investigating the mysterious deaths of nearly 50 birds along the Marsh Creek in Woodhaven.

Neighbors along Arlington Dr. have no idea why dozens and dozens of birds are dying along the creek banks.

The DNR was out there Friday, collecting the birds in large garbage bags.

Residents are now nervous to let their pets and kids near the water.

Nancy Chinavere told us, "Floating ducks, ducks on land, ducks struggling, everywhere ducks, they were dead. It's just nature. It's beautiful. But when you see something like this, its traumatic. It's very upsetting."

Those who have lived there for more than a decade say they have never seen birds dying in such large numbers.

The DNR says it could take about two weeks before they have a cause. It could range from the water, to bad feed, to even botulism, according to experts.

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Attention

Black bear attacks man near Sudbury, Ontario

Ashifa Kassam
The Guardian
Tue, 05 Jul 2016 16:26 UTC
Rick Nelson took on a black bear in the Canadian city of Sudbury.
© Daniel J Cox/Getty Images Rick Nelson took on a black bear in the Canadian city of Sudbury.
A 61-year-old man from northern Ontario said he was lucky to walk away with only scratches after facing off against a 320lb black bear with only his fists and the skills gleaned from years of featherweight boxing.

Rick Nelson was walking his dog outside the city of Sudbury on Sunday when a black bear cub poked its head out of a shrub some three feet away from him. "It was so close I could touch it. It let out a yelp, because I scared the heck out of it," he said.

As his dog barked at the cub, the former bear hunter knew he only had seconds to spare before the cub's mother would arrive to defend her cub. "I knew right away I was in trouble," he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "It's calling for mommy."
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Attention

Bear kills man and injures another seven within an hour in India


The Times of Times
Wed, 06 Jul 2016 16:11 UTC
bear
A bear killed a man and injured seven persons in Ballari district on Tuesday morning.

The animal attacked Pura Basappa, Maliyamma and Hanumanthappa between 6.30 and 7am when they were walking to their fields in Siddapura village. Their screams alerted other villagers, who threw stones and drove it away.

Within minutes, the bear appeared at Siddapura Nala, on the outskirts of the village. It bit Kasturi Naik, 56, on the neck. It attacked Kalia Naik, 50, who tried to rescue Kasturi. Kala escaped with scratches, but Kasturi succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

The angry bear then turned on Peeki Bai, 50, and Thippamma, 50, who were heading to their fields, and left them injured.

The animal then moved towards Makanadaku village, and injured Thippeswamy, 42, in his right leg, thigh and left hand. It took shelter in bushes following the multiple attacks, which happened within a span of an hour.

The injured, undergoing treatment at the Kudligi government hospital, are out of danger.
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Windsock

Category 5 Super Typhoon Nepartak heading for Taiwan

Andrew Freedman
Mashable
Wed, 06 Jul 2016 14:02 UTC
Super Typhoon Nepartak
© NOAASuper Typhoon Nepartak, seen on July 5, 2016
Super Typhoon Nepartak has taken full advantage of mild ocean waters and ideal atmospheric conditions to skyrocket in intensity, hitting 175 mile per hour sustained winds as of Wednesday morning eastern time.

This makes it a powerful Category 5 storm — the first of the season anywhere in the northern hemisphere.

The storm has a monstrous appearance of meteorological perfection, with a central core of towering thunderstorms ringing a small, calm eye in the center.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Japan Meteorological Agency and the Central Weather Bureau in Taiwan all forecast the storm will make landfall somewhere in central Taiwan on July 7 and 8.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt strikes moving vehicle on U.S. 277 near Wichita Falls, Texas

Christopher Collins
Times Record News
Wed, 06 Jul 2016 13:11 UTC
Lightning struck a moving truck Tuesday morning on U.S. 277, halting traffic both ways.
© Christoper Collins/Times Record NewsLightning struck a moving truck Tuesday morning on U.S. 277, halting traffic both ways.
Traffic came to a halt on U.S. 277 outside of Wichita Falls on Tuesday morning after lightning struck a moving pickup, according to an official at the Archer County Sheriff's Office.

The late-model Dodge truck was traveling north though a thunderstorm about 30 miles south of Wichita Falls when a lightning bolt shattered the front windshield and set the dashboard on fire, said Simon Dwyer, chief deputy at the sheriff's office.

The driver, unharmed, came to a stop and escaped before the entire truck went up in flames, sending thick plumes of oily smoke into the air.

"That's nothing I've ever seen or heard of," Dwyer said.

At about 8:30 a.m., first responders shut down traffic both ways on the highway while they fought the flames. The fire was out and traffic began moving again about 9:30 a.m.. though first responders didn't clear the scene until 11 a.m.

The Archer County Sheriff's Office, the Lake Kickapoo Fire Department, the Bowman Fire Department and the Holliday Fire Department responded to the call.
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