Earth ChangesS


Snowflake Cold

May snowfall and frost damages crops across Europe

Farmers in Grisons, Switzerland protecting their vineyards from frost on April 27 with thousands of fire lights.
© Meteo EuropeFarmers in Grisons, Switzerland protecting their vineyards from frost on April 27 with thousands of fire lights.
In several European countries - such as Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Germany, Slovenia, France and Belgium - apples, pears, cherries and grapes were frozen early last week. The snowfall also created challenges with the roofing systems, and occasionally the snow completely ruined things. Snow and cold temperatures are predicted for some places in the coming nights again. NFO, the Dutch fruit growers association, summarised the results per country as follows:

Austria

In the cultivation area in the state of Styria the words 'complete catastrophe' have been used. About 80 per cent of the fruit harvest would be destroyed (see photo left of the news report in which firefighters remove snow from hail nets in Gleisdorf, the link is at the bottom of this article and external). During the night from Monday to Tuesday the small fruits had to endure temperatures of 2 to 6 degrees below freezing according to the Landwirtschaftskammer. Initial estimates concerning approximately 2,000 Styrian cultivators indicate €100 million Euro in damages for the fruit sector (without grapes) alone. Councillor Hans Seitinger: "This is truly a unique situation, which has not occurred in the last 50 years."

Whether financial support will be given to the affected growers has to be further examined. Austrian growers have broad weather insurance, but because of the high premiums not a lot of growers use it. Damages have also been reported from Burgenland, slightly more to the east, where temperatures were recorded at 3 to 4 degrees below freezing. Austria produces about 170 million kilograms of apples annually. Golden Delicious and Gala are the largest strains.

Frost damage

Fire

45 wildfires raging across 77 regions of Russia; covering 5,900 hectares

Russia wildfires
© Yuri Smityuk/TASS

The biggest wildfires are reported in the Far Eastern Amur regions (3,900 hectares) and in the Siberian republic of Buryatia (1,400 hectares)


As many as 45 wildfires on an overall area of 5,900 hectares are reported across Russia, with the wildfire season starting in 77 Russian regions, the press service of the Federal Forest Protection Service said on Thursday.

The biggest wildfires are reported in the Far Eastern Amur regions (3,900 hectares) and in the Siberian republic of Buryatia (1,400 hectares).

Wildfires are also reported in the Transbaikal and Krasnoyarsk Territories, in the republic of Tuva, in the Tomsk, Sverdlovsk, and Vologda regions.

Comment: A study last year showed that wildfire seasons are more destructive and lasting longer almost everywhere on Earth.


Fire

Fort McMurray wildfire update: State of emergency declared after 88,000 residents flee; 1,600 homes destroyed, airport threatened by raging blaze

Fort McMurray wildfire
© APSome 1,600 structures have been destroyed
Canada's western Alberta province declared a state of emergency as a massive fire in Fort McMurray forced 88,000 residents to flee, with two deaths reported due to an accident during evacuation. Hundreds of homes have already been consumed by the blaze.

The latest update from Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee revealed that the fire is raging in residential areas, while crews face very challenging and volatile conditions.

The blaze has now spread to 10,000 hectares.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said that around 1,600 homes have been destroyed in Fort McMurray so far. A boil-water advisory has also been issued for the region due to the possibility of contamination and all flights in and out of Fort McMurray airport have been suspended.

The mass exodus caused by the fire has been described as the largest evacuation in Alberta's history, with one fatal traffic accident reported that killed two people on secondary highway 881, which has been designated for evacuees.


Comment: Out-of-control wildfire rages in Alberta, forcing the largest evacuation in the history of the Canadian province


Bizarro Earth

California: San Andreas fault 'locked, loaded and ready to roll' with big earthquake, expert says

San Andreas fault
© SCECThis simulation by the Southern California Earthquake Center shows the shaking that could be felt by Los Angeles during a possible magnitude 8 earthquake on the San Andreas fault.
Southern California's section of the San Andreas fault is "locked, loaded and ready to roll," a leading earthquake scientist said Wednesday at the National Earthquake Conference in Long Beach.

The San Andreas fault is one of California's most dangerous, and is the state's longest fault. Yet for Southern California, the last big earthquake to strike the southern San Andreas was in 1857, when a magnitude 7.9 earthquake ruptured an astonishing 185 miles between Monterey County and the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles.

It has been quiet since then — too quiet, said Thomas Jordan, director of the Southern California Earthquake Center.

Attention

Signs and Portents: Two-headed calf born in India

The two-headed cow has been hailed a miracle by villagers in India
© Cover Asia PressThe two-headed cow has been hailed a miracle by villagers in India
The animal has defied the odds to survive a full week, but it is reportedly struggling to feed and showing signs of deteriorating

Visitors have been flocking to a farm in India after one of its cows gave birth to a TWO-HEADED calf that many believe is a miracle.

The bizarre looking animal, which has two heads and one body, was born last week in Pannuganj village, in Uttar Pradesh, northern India.

And it's attracting an awful lot of attention.

Shocked farmer Dharam Veer Singh, 47, said: "We have heard of two-headed cows born in the past but this is the first time we've seen one.


Cloud Precipitation

Thunderstorms unleash tennis-ball-sized hail in the D.C. area

Hail in Rockville, May 2.
© Brett LefflerHail in Rockville, May 2.
Severe thunderstorms slammed the D.C. area Monday evening, unleashing some of the largest hailstones in memory.

Tennis-ball-sized hail, 2.5 inches in diameter, came crashing down in Rockville, Md. — probably the largest on record in Montgomery County.

A separate thunderstorm in Prince William County dropped golf-ball-sized hail, one to two inches in diameter, around Manassas, Dale City and Woodbridge. The National Weather Service received a report of an astonishing 2.75-inch hailstone, the approximate size of a baseball, in Charles County, from this same thunderstorm.

A third intense thunderstorm, which tore through eastern Fairfax County, the District and northern Prince George's County, between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m., produced quarter- to golf-ball-sized hail and scattered wind damage.

Attention

Dead humpback whale examined by authorities in Santa Cruz, California

Dead whale
Dead whale spotted off Santa Cruz coast
A dead 40-foot humpback whale caught the attention of residents and authorities off West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz late Monday and early Tuesday.

Leaders from Long Marine Lab launched a kayak on Tuesday to get a closer look at the whale, which was about a quarter mile off Woodrow Avenue and Columbia Street in a kelp bed.

Jim Milbury, a spokesman for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Tuesday afternoon that a decision had not yet been made whether to move the animal further offshore or to another location. Dead whales often attract sharks, and some residents expressed concern that sharks could endanger surfers at nearby Steamer Lane.

Don Kinnamon, senior deputy harbormaster of the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor, said authorities typically don't intervene with dead whales off beaches.

Attention

Pig attacks husband and wife on farm in Townsend, Massachusetts

  Scene from Townsend, Massachusetts farm where, police say, a pig attacked the husband and wife who own the farm, seriously injuring the man, on May 4, 2016
© CBS Boston

Scene from Townsend, Massachusetts farm where, police say, a pig attacked the husband and wife who own the farm, seriously injuring the man, on May 4, 2016
A pig attacked and seriously injured a man less than two hours after the same animal attacked his wife at their Massachusetts farm, reports CBS Boston.

Townsend Police Chief Robert M. Eaton Jr. said his department was investigating "two very unfortunate farm incidents" in the town about 50 miles northwest of Boston.

Police and emergency responders were called to the farm Tuesday evening for a report of an injured woman. When they arrived, they found a 38-year-old woman with severe lacerations on her body from an apparent pig attack. She was taken to a hospital for further treatment.

Less than two hours later, rescuers were called to the same location for a report of a man who had received more serious injuries from the same animal soon after returning from the hospital where he'd gone with his injured wife.

Arrow Up

Turrialba volcano in Costa Rica explodes 31 times in 10 hours

Turrialba volcano eruption
© OVSICORI-UNA
The Turrialba volcano situated in Costa Rica exploded 31 times in 10 hours on May 1, 2016. Now that's insane! Communities within 5 kilometers of the volcanic peak have been evacuated. Ash is covering everything!

According to reports from OVSICORI, this strong volcanic event occurred from 6:43 am to 4 pm on Sunday, May 1, 2016.

This eruption swarm sent a column of ash 2 kilometers above the crater.

This eruptive phase is the most important in recent months.

Early 2015 the area around Mount Turrialba was closed for more than three months due to another powerful eruptive period (expulsions of ash from the main crater and break of one of the walls).

The wind has spilled ash to the south of the area where the volcano is located.

Comment: Seismic activity in the country has also increased recently:

73 earthquakes in 12 hours hit between two volcanoes in Costa Rica


Fire

Out-of-control wildfire rages in Alberta, forcing the largest evacuation in the history of the Canadian province

Alberta wildfire
© CBC News / ReutersWildfire is worsening along highway 63 Fort McMurray, Alberta Canada May 3, 2016.
The entire population of Fort McMurray in northern Alberta, Canada has been ordered to abandon their homes after a wildfire ravaging a nearby forest moved into the area. The fire has already destroyed homes in several neighborhoods.

Fort McMurray is an urban service area with a population of about 80,000 people.

A mandatory evacuation notice was issued for the whole city on Tuesday after the wildfire began spreading uncontrollably.

Local authorities have advised residents to evacuate to the Noralta Lodge north of the city because outgoing Highway 36 has been partially blocked due to the fire.

The fire first was detected on Sunday to the southwest of the residential area. It is believed to have covered more than 2,656 hectares (6,540 acres) as of late Monday. Although, more than 90 firefighters have been deployed to battle the fire, the situation on Tuesday has worsened due to strong winds. On Tuesday afternoon the fire breached Highway 63, the main road out of the city.

Several homes in Beacon Hill and the Centennial Trailer Park have been destroyed in the fire, CBC reported.


Comment: This is the largest evacuation in the history of the Canadian province of Alberta.

Last year the wildfire season was a record breaker in the United States and Canada. The Amazon jungle was going up in smoke with tens of thousands of wildfires, while in Indonesia wildfires caused a toxic haze which threatened millions in southeast Asia. There have been devastating wildfires in Australia already this year and officials have warned of 'potentially significant wildfires' in some US states.

A study showed that wildfire seasons are more destructive and lasting longer almost everywhere on Earth.

Could a significant factor in the escalation of these events be that they are fueled from outgassing, then possibly 'sparked' by an increase in atmospheric electric discharge events, such as lightning strikes and other 'cosmic' ignition sources?