Earth ChangesS


Volcano

Home Reef volcano emits ash plume

mmmmmmmm
An ash plume drifting northeast of Home Reef around ~1:30 AM today June 21, was detected by the HIMAWARI-9 AHI satellite, Tonga Geological Services reported.

This Volcano Watch Team monitoring the volcanic activities at Home Reef Volcano, issued Public Notice No.7 at 9:00 this morning.

"Home Reef Volcano continues to be closely monitored due to ongoing volcanic activity. Over the past 16 hours since the last Public Notice, VOLCAT has detected a total of five (5) thermal anomalies. The most recent anomaly was observed at 4:56 AM this morning (refer to Figure 1). Recent MODIS-MIROVA satellite imagery indicates a slight decrease in Volcanic Radiative Power (VRP), represented by qualitative changes in Figure 2. Additionally, the HIMAWARI-9 AHI satellite detected an ash plume drifting northeast of Home Reef around ~1:30 AM (refer to Figure 3)."


Snowflake

Best of the Web: Too much early snow delays South American ski area opening dates - 19 FEET of snowfall for the season already

Valle Nevado
Valle Nevado
Remember the 2022-2023 ski season in North America? Of course you do. The endless powder days, Mammoth Mountain's absurd late-season campaign—it's pretty impossible to forget.

Now, South America is getting its own taste of what could become a mythically deep ski season.

PowderQuest, a guiding company that operates in South America, among other locales, reported yesterday that Ski Portillo, Chile, and Las Leñas, Argentina, had both delayed their official opening dates due to excessive snowfall causing road closures and high avalanche danger.

Thanks to the snowfall earlier this month, Portillo opened earlier than usual, offering skiing and riding on a weekends-only basis throughout June. They managed to open June 1st and June 2nd with stellar conditions, but the back-to-back storms prevented the rest of the pre-season dates.


Cloud Precipitation

3 dead as Tropical Storm Alberto moves inland over northeast Mexico

Government employees work to drain a flooded overpass as Tropical Storm Alberto brings heavy rain to Monterrey, Mexico, on June 19.
© DANIEL BECERRIL/REUTERSGovernment employees work to drain a flooded overpass as Tropical Storm Alberto brings heavy rain to Monterrey, Mexico, on June 19.
Tropical Storm Alberto, the season's first named storm, rumbled ashore early Thursday and moved inland over northeast Mexico, bringing heavy rains to the parched region and leaving at least three dead.

The storm was expected to weaken rapidly over land, but carry several inches of desperately needed rain inland to Mexico's Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila states, as well as south Texas.

Alberto had spurred tropical storm warnings covering most of the western Gulf of Mexico's coastline from Texas to Veracruz. The storm made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kmh).

Schools were closed across Tamaulipas state where Alberto came ashore and would be through Friday. Shelters were prepared across the state to receive residents trying to escape high water.


Attention

Propaganda alert: BBC highlights US heatwave story but buries 'Junuary' winter storm story

june snowstorm manerica northwest 20204
© Timberline LodgeTimberline Lodge webcams, located on Mt. Hood, Oregon, capture fresh snowfall on June 16th, 2024.
The BBC has a story today about the heatwave in May and early June the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. Apparently, a report by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group has claimed that climate change made the heatwave 35 times more likely, though exactly what that means goes unexplained.
The World Weather Attribution (WWA) group studied excess heat between May and early June, when the U.S. heatwave was concentrated in south-west states including California, Nevada and Arizona.

Extreme temperatures in Mexico also claimed lives during the period.

Such attribution studies take some time to complete, so it is too soon for scientists to say how much of a role climate change is playing in the current heatwave stretching from the centre of the U.S. through to the north-east and into Canada.

In their new report, the scientists said such a heatwave was now four times more likely than it was in the year 2000, driven by planet-warming emissions.

Many extreme weather events including heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of climate change, experts say.

"The results of our study should be taken as another warning that our climate is heating to dangerous levels," said Izidine Pinto, Researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.

"Potentially deadly and record-breaking temperatures are occurring more and more frequently in the U.S., Mexico and Central America due to climate change.

"As long as humans fill the atmosphere with fossil fuel emissions, the heat will only get worse - vulnerable people will continue to die and the cost of living will continue to increase."

The WWA study focused on a region including the US south-west and Mexico, as well as Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras which also saw dangerously high temperatures.

— BBC

Comment: Wide temperature swings are one sign that base-line weather patterns forcasters have relied on for over a century are becoming deranged. This increasing chaos in the system is seen by some as the precursor to another Ice Age.


Doberman

Woman mauled to death by four pit bulls in Free State, South Africa

PIT BULL ATTACK
A 42-year-old man has been arrested after a 28-year-old woman was attacked and killed by four pit bulls in Namibia Square, Free State, on Monday.

The woman was visiting the man, who is her boyfriend, and had been left alone when the dogs attacked in the yard of the property.

In a video taken through a fence, four pit bulls can be seen mauling the woman who was lying face down on the ground. People can be heard screaming. The footage is too graphic to be published.

According to the police, he was arrested at about 9pm on Tuesday at his home under the Animal Matters Amendment Act.

Comment: See also: Woman dies after being mauled by two pit bulls in Limpopo, South Africa - 7th such fatality for the country within 7 weeks


Seismograph

Shallow magnitude 4.9 earthquake kills four, injures 120 in northeastern Iran

mmmmmmm
At least four people were killed and 120 injured Tuesday in a 4.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Iran's northeastern city of Kashmar, state media reported.

The quake struck at 1:24 pm (0954 GMT), Kashmar's governor, Hajatollah Shariatmadari, who gave the casualty toll, said on state television.

Thirty-five people were hospitalised, he said, adding the quake damaged mostly dilapidated buildings in urban and rural areas of the city.

State television aired footage of the aftermath of the quake showing first responders working in a street where all buildings were reduced to rubble.


Cloud Precipitation

Deadly landslide in Cox's Bazar refugee camps kills 10 amid heavy monsoon rains in Bangladesh

bbbbbbb
At least ten refugees were killed on Wednesday when their makeshift shelters collapsed during the most recent landslide triggered by heavy monsoon rains.

The deluge has caused widespread flash floods and landslides, severely impacting refugee camps in Cox's Bazar.

Initial reports indicate that approximately 7,794 refugees across 33 camps have been affected. An estimated 1,191 shelters have been damaged or destroyed, along with critical infrastructure such as learning centers, health facilities, mosques, latrines, water points, and bathing cubicles.

Since early morning, partners and refugee volunteers have been assisting families in relocating to safer shelters and communal facilities until the floodwaters recede.


Comment: Related: 500,000 stranded in Bangladesh after rain-triggered flooding


Doberman

Police inquiries continue after baby killed by family dog in Coventry, UK

dog attack
Police investigations are continuing into the death of a baby girl who was attacked by the family's pet dog.

The seven-month-old died after being bitten on the head by the animal in Coventry on Sunday, although its breed has yet to be confirmed by West Midlands Police.

The force said on Wednesday, however, the breed was not classed as dangerous, adding the dog had been humanely destroyed.

Police have been contacted by the BBC for an update on the inquiry.

Tsunami

Tropical Storm Alberto brings flooding rains and ocean surge to Texas

mmmmm
The first named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, Alberto, formed in the southern Gulf of Mexico late Wednesday morning as it slowly progressed toward the coast of northeast Mexico into the evening. The developing storm was pushing ashore both heavy rains and, in some coastal communities, a significant ocean surge.

The storm is expected to make landfall in northeastern Mexico on Thursday morning while its effects will be felt as far north as coastal Louisiana.

It's the United States' first taste of tropical trouble, but experts are calling for a long, busy season with many more threats on the way.

The storm's most significant impact so far has been its surge, or storm-driven rise in ocean waters above normally dry land at the coast. Social media video showed water inundating coastal communities, including Surfside Beach to the south of Galveston, flowing over roads and underneath elevated homes while overwhelming storm drains.


Comment: Also noted was a waterspout off Jamaica Beach:




Attention

Two fatal elephant attacks recorded in Namibia

mmmmmm
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT) this week expressed deep sorrow following two separate fatal elephant attacks on 17 June within the country.

The first incident involved the tragic death of Gert Van der Walt, a renowned professional hunter, during a hunting expedition.

The ministry identified the elephant involved as a problem-causing animal and issued a trophy hunting permit accordingly.

Van der Walt, known for his adherence to hunting ethics and his pivotal role in resolving human-wildlife conflicts, was highly respected within the conservation community.