Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Earthquake 'shook houses' in south-east England


BBC
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 12:37 UTC
Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire earthquake
The earthquake at was centred near the Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire border
An earthquake with a magnitude of 2.3 has been recorded in Oxfordshire, the British Geological Survey (BGS) has confirmed.

Residents in Chinnor and Thame as well as Princes Risborough, Aylesbury and Bledlow in Buckinghamshire reported feeling shaking late on Sunday.

The BGS said the earthquake, centred on the village of Emmington, happened at 23:11 GMT.

Seismologist Glen Ford said: "The fact it was noticed makes it a bit special."
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Cloud Precipitation

Serbia declares emergency following regional floods

Sasa Dragojlo
Balkan Insight
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 15:28 UTC
Floods near the city of Cacak as seen on a YouTube video.
Floods near the city of Cacak as seen on a YouTube video.
The authorities have declared an emergency situation in the Cacak, Lucani and Arilje municipalities in central and eastern Serbia due to heavy rain and flooding.

The Serbian Interior Ministry declared an emergency situation on Monday in the flood-affected Cacak, Lucani and Arilje municipalities.

There were also landslides caused by the deluge in the Bajina Basta municipality, where several homes were submerged and roads damaged.

In Preljine near Cacak, where about 80 millimetres of rain per square metre fell overnight, the River Cemernica broke its banks, resulting in the evacuation of 15 people, Emergency Situations Sector chief Predrag Maric said.

Matic also said that water levels were rising in major rivers elsewhere in Serbia, but that serious problems were not expected there.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 3 in Chingola, Zambia

Moffat Chazingwa
Times of Zambia
Sun, 06 Mar 2016 14:59 UTC
Lightning
Lightning has killed three people believed to be members of the same family in Chingola, two others are nursing serious burns.

The victims are believed to have had taken shelter under a mango tree when the lightning struck, killing the three on the spot.

Copperbelt Police chief Charity Katanga confirmed the tragedy, which happened on Saturday in Chabanyama area around 14:00 hours.

Ms Katanga named the deceased as Goza Banda, 82, of house number 15, Chabanyama, his grandson Mathias Banda, 14, of Twashuka Township and Suzan Njamba, 44 of Chigayo area, while those injured were Grace Nakamba, 60, and Dorcas Nanyangwe, who were both admitted to Nchanga North Hospital.

She said the victims were in the garden when the rains characterised by lightning started.
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Tornado2

Spectacular rare snow tornado filmed in Norway


Strange Sounds
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 14:31 UTC
“snownadoes”
Snow devils or "snownadoes" are extremely rare weather phenomena since they require very specific meteorological conditions to form.

Snow tornadoes are so rare that only six have ever been captured on camera and very little is known about them.

These twisting columns of snow are closely related to waterspouts since they form over either frozen lakes or snow-covered areas.

For snow devils to occur, the necessary conditions include a colder air mass passing over a relatively warmer surface heated by sunlight, and a low-level wind shear (change of wind speed or direction with height) or colliding air currents to get the rising air to spin.

A warmer surface causes the snow or ice to form fog or steam, and if there is a column of colder, low-pressure air above this fog, it will begin to rise, and the wind shear or currents will cause it to rotate and begin to pick up loose snow forming the recognizable funnel shape.

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Solar Flares

Aurora borealis makes spectacular rare appearance in UK and Ireland


RT
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 13:33 UTC
Northern lights
© @debennis11 / Instagram
The Northern Lights illuminated skies above the UK and Ireland last night, giving local photographers a rare opportunity to capture the spectacular sight of the aurora borealis.

The dazzling phenomenon was visible as far south as Oxfordshire as well as South Wales, Scotland and in parts of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The Aurora borealis occurs when electrically charged particles from the sun enter earth's atmosphere. The phenomenon is normally best observed in regions close to the North Pole.

However, cosmic conditions and clear skies combined last night to give night sky watchers in the UK and Ireland an unforgettable light show.


Comment: Aurora borealis "dazzles" in Britain's skies: Ignorant Media Ignore Implications

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Igloo

Aurora borealis "dazzles" in Britain's skies: Ignorant Media Ignore Implications


UK Telegraph
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 10:42 UTC
northern lights UK
Aurora over Scotland
Stargazers across the UK have been treated to a dazzling display of the Northern Lights.

The aurora borealis was visible as far south as Oxfordshire as skies cleared, painting the night sky with shades of green, purple and blue on Sunday evening.

The ethereal spectacle is caused by charged solar particles interacting with the Earth's magnetic field and is usually only visible in the far north of Scotland.
northern lights UK
Aurora over Scotland

Comment: Oooh! How lucky! Isn't it LOVELY! Be sure to completely ignore the implications of a phenomenon normally seen over the Arctic appearing in Southern England. Are we soon to expect trite media articles about the splendor of icebergs, complete with polar bears, floating down the Thames?! Oh look! how lovely and lucky we are to see polar bears on the Thames! Now we don't have to go to the zoo! {{triple facepalm}}

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Attention

Lagoon becomes blood red in Mexico


Strange Sounds
Sun, 06 Mar 2016 18:01 UTC
Red lagoon
Red lagoon
This lagoon situated in Huatalco, Mexico has turned blood red within the last 10 days.

The reddish water of 'La Salina' lagoon impacts residents' life and kills wildlife in the area.

After the mysterious overnight disappearance of a river near Veracruz, Mexico, it's now a lagoon that has unexpectedly turned color from green to red.

Scientists believe the color is a result of a red tide, a phenomenon in which estuarine, marine, or fresh water algae accumulate rapidly in the water column, which changes the color of the surface water.

red lagoon
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Camera

Beneath The Waves: Haunting photos from scuba divers across the world show devastating impact of ocean plastic

Latrice Harrison
onegreenplanet.org
Sat, 05 Mar 2016 17:34 UTC
wave trash
© baretnewswire.org
Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke is once quoted saying, "How inappropriate to call this planet earth when it is quite clearly Ocean." Well, perhaps if it were called ocean, people would be a lot more concerned about what is happening to our marine environments, which are in terrible trouble.

According to NOAA, the world's oceans hold more than 97 percent of the planet's water and may be home to as much as 80 percent of the world's plant and animal species. Without our oceans, life as we know it would cease to exist. These vast bodies of water help regulate weather patterns, they absorb almost one-third of the carbon dioxide we emit, provide many people with vital sources of protein, and most importantly, nearly 70 percent of the oxygen in our atmosphere is produced by marine plants. Without healthy, thriving ocean ecosystems, we would be cooked!

Comment: For more information about the serious growing problem of the Plague of Plastic contaminating the world's oceans read the following articles:

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 3 people and 42 cattle in India


Web India123
Sun, 06 Mar 2016 16:13 UTC
Lightning
© Warren Dick
As many as three people were killed, including two minors, while two others sustained severe burns and 42 cattle lost their lives after being struck by lightning in separate incidents today, police said.

Manisha Marawi (16) and Semsingh Tekam (18) were struck by lightning in this districts Chhivli village this morning. Both died on the spot.

A report from Shahdol said that a girl, identified as Sujata Rathore (16), also became the victim of natures wrath in Rampur village.

On the other hand, 42 cattle were killed as lightning struck them when the bovines took shelter under a tree in Shahdol districts Kamat village today. The incident took place when the owner of the cattle went home for lunch.
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Arrow Down

Rare 420-metre deep sinkhole discovered in China


Business Standard
Sun, 06 Mar 2016 12:51 UTC
Photo taken on March 3 shows groundwater found at a huge doline in Donglan County, Hechi City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Photo taken on March 3 shows groundwater found at a huge doline in Donglan County, Hechi City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Scientists from China and France have discovered a rare huge sinkhole, habitat to many species in south China.

The 420-metre deep doline, or sink hole, was among several discovered by scientists during an eight-day expedition that began on February 26 in Donglan county of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region.

Dolines found in Guangxi are normally around 250 metres deep, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Many species live in these dolines, including bats and snakes. Scientists also found some as-yet unidentified vertebrates and plants.

Dolines are special geological landscape formations found in karst regions, formed by repeated cave-ins of underground caves. They are common in China, Mexico and Papua New Guinea.

Photo taken on March 3 shows scientists exploring a huge doline in Donglan County, Hechi City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Photo taken on March 3 shows scientists exploring a huge doline in Donglan County, Hechi City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Source: Xinhua
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