Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

August snow at higher elevations in Montana

Fresh snowfall is seen on the summit of Big Mountain at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024
Fresh snowfall is seen on the summit of Big Mountain at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024
We're not out of August yet, but Mother Nature isn't letting that stop her from giving us a preview of wintry conditions.

Several higher-elevation areas of Montana currently have a dusting (or more) of snow, thanks to a cold front that cruised through on Tuesday night into Wednesday.

Glacier National Park reports that part of Going-to-the-Sun Road has been closed due to wintry weather.

The road is closed between Avalanche Creek and Jackson Glacier Outlook due to snow and icy conditions.

There is no word at this point on how long the famed road will be closed.


Snowflake

Early snowfall hits Kashmir, India

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While plains of Kashmir witnessed rain, higher reaches in Sonamarg received season's first snowfall, officials said. The snowfall followed several days of overcast skies and rain, bringing a noticeable drop in temperatures in the Ganderbal district.

The season's first snowfall was recorded at Sonamarg's famous trekking spots, including Vishansar and Nichnai.

The fresh snow and rain have provided relief from the recent heat, with temperatures plummeting across Jammu and Kashmir, including Srinagar. The rain began earlier in the week and continued to soak most parts of the region.

Independent weather forecaster Faizan Arif Keng predicts that more snowfall is expected in other higher reaches over the next 24 hours. The Meteorological Department has also forecasted continued cloudy skies with the possibility of more rain, likely to extend through the end of the month.


Volcano

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano eruption in Indonesia sparks evacuations

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Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano sparked evacuations from residents living nearby when it erupted in Indonesia yesterday.

Footage shows a thick grey ash column soaring 900 metres above the peak, drifting toward the northwest.

Officials said that emergency protocols have been implemented, with some 5,000 residents already relocated to temporary shelters following previous eruptions.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki is located on Flores Island, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

This region is known for its high seismic and volcanic activity due to the movement of tectonic plates.


Arrow Down

Elderly couple injured after their car falls into sinkhole in Seoul, South Korea

Sinkhole swallows car in Seoul
Sinkhole swallows car in Seoul
An elderly couple has been taken to hospital after the car they were in fell into a sinkhole in South Korea on Thursday, local media reports have said.

The 76-year-old woman suffered a cardiac arrest and was given CPR, the JoongAng Daily said.

Her pulse returned later, according to the JoongAng Ilbo.

It is not clear what injuries, if any, the 82-year-old man suffered.

The couple's white Tivoli "rolled over sideways, crashing into the sinkhole", the Korea Herald said.

Pictures and video have been published of the vehicle lying on its side in the hole, which appeared to have opened up before they drove into it on a road in the Seodaemun district in western Seoul.

The SUV was later removed.


Attention

Teen decapitated in vicious shark attack off Jamaica coast: 'He went to sea by himself'

Low angle underwater view of a Tiger shark
© Universal Images GroupA tiger shark may have been responsible for killing a teenager off the Jamaican coast Monday.
A 16-year-old boy was brutally mauled by a shark while swimming alone off the coast of Jamaica, marking an extremely rare attack for the Caribbean island, authorities said.

Divers found Jahmari Reid's decapitated body Tuesday morning, one day after he vanished during his solo spearfishing expedition near the popular tourist town of Montego Bay.

The teen's left arm was also missing and the remainder of his body was badly mutilated, witnesses told the Jamaica Observer.

"I can't believe that he went to sea by himself yesterday and that was the outcome. Sad to know. I feel so bad," Jahmari's heartbroken father, Michael Reid, told the local outlet.

Doberman

Handler dies after being attacked by Great Dane in Mumbai - Retired teacher killed by stray dogs in Karnataka, India

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A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered here against the owner of a Great Dane after the dog attacked its 22-year-old handler during training and caused his death, police said on Wednesday.

Hasrat Ali, the victim, was severely attacked by the dog at a dog training academy in suburban Vikhroli on Monday morning and died within hours, said a police official.

The FIR was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 106 (causing death by negligence) on a complaint lodged by Ali's family.

The deceased had been handling the Great Dane for eight months, the official said, adding that probe was underway.

PTI

Comment: OpIndia.com reports:
Bengaluru: Retired teacher dies after 10-12 stray dogs attack her during morning walk

On Wednesday, August 28, a 76-year-old woman was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs during a morning walk at the Jalahalli Air Force Campus in Bengaluru. The deceased was identified as Rajdulari Sinha, a retired teacher from Bihar.

According to reports, Sinha, mother-in-law of an airman had come to Bengaluru. She was out for a morning walk when 10-12 stray dogs suddenly attacked her in the playground at Air Force East 7th Residential Camp in Jalahalli around 6.30 am. She sustained multiple injuries and died on the way to the hospital.

A case of unnatural death has been registered at the Gangamma Gudi police station, according to a senior police officer.

Meanwhile, a social media user, who claimed to have witnessed the incident, took to X to narrate what transpired. "It's a tragic scene in the morning itself. Dozens of stray dogs attack a lady. I shouted, and my family joined me until a gentleman comes the dogs attacked. Jalahalli Airforce playground, Vidyaranyapura. I am guilty that I couldn't help her because of this wall."

"I was the helpless eyewitness. Due to their big wall, I couldn't save her. I shouted and called some people and they took her to hospital, but no use," he said in another post.



Cloud Precipitation

3 dead, 45 injured as Typhoon Shanshan makes devastating landfall in Japan - 34 inches of rain in 72 hours

An object blown by strong winds caused by Typhoon Shanshan is stranded on a power line in Miyazaki, southwestern Japan, August 29, 2024.
© ReutersAn object blown by strong winds caused by Typhoon Shanshan is stranded on a power line in Miyazaki, southwestern Japan, August 29, 2024.
Millions ordered to evacuate homes as typhoon lashes Japan, knocking out power, forcing major factories to close

Millions of people were ordered to evacuate their homes as Typhoon Shanshan lashed southwest Japan with strong winds and torrential rain on Thursday, knocking out power, snarling air traffic and forcing major factories to close.

At least three people have been killed so far and scores injured in what authorities have warned could be one of the strongest ever storms to hit the region.

Renowned Japanese automakers suspended operations in all domestic plants while some temporarily halted production at factories due to the storm.

Funeral parlour employee Tomoki Maeda was in a hearse when the typhoon struck in Miyazaki city in southern Kyushu, shattering windows and tearing down power lines and the walls of some buildings.

"I've never experienced such a strong wind or tornado in my 31 years of life," Maeda told Reuters.


Comment: Accuweather reports:
Typhoon Shanshan turns deadly, brings 30 inches of rain to Japan and flooding isn't over yet

More than 30 inches of rain has brought severe flooding to Japan and the story is far from over as former Typhoon Shanshan is forecast to stall over the island nation.

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Former Typhoon Shanshan, now a severe tropical storm, is moving slowly up the southern half of Japan, bringing feet of rain, triggering landslides and unleashing tornadoes. The storm is far from over, however, as flooding rain will continue to fall through early next week due to the storm's slow trek across the island nation.

Shanshan was the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale late Thursday night JST after it pushed into Kyushu, Japan, Thursday afternoon as a Category 2 equivalent. Wind gusts of 115 mph (51.5 m/s) were reported at Makurazaki early Thursday morning.

More than a quarter of a million customers on the island of Kyushu were without power as of Thursday evening JST, Kyushu Electric Power said. A rain gauge at Ebino Plateau, in the mountains of central Kyushu, measured over 34 inches (864 mm) of rain from Tuesday to Friday, while another station at Shinmon reported 32.1 inches (814.5 mm).



Tornado2

Waterspout over the ocean in Yantai, China

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On August 26, 2024, an unusual phenomenon was captured off the coast of Yantai, Shandong province, in eastern China. The ocean, under a pale blue sky, became the stage for a dramatic waterspout, commonly known as "dragon drinking water."

This waterspout, which is a type of tornado occurring over water, appeared as a massive column of water rising from the sea to meet the storm clouds above, resembling a mythical dragon sipping from the ocean.

Waterspouts are intense whirlwinds featuring a funnel-shaped cloud and are associated with high winds and low atmospheric pressure at their core. They form when a tornado moves over a body of water. Chinese netizens commented on the spectacle, advising, "Fishermen should steer clear of waterspouts at sea," due to their potential danger.


Seismograph

Strong offshore magnitude 6.1 earthquake felt in San Salvador, El Salvador

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An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 struck off the coast of El Salvador on August 28, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), with the effects felt in the capital, San Salvador, and elsewhere regionally.

The quake's epicenter was located approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) southwest of La Libertad, the USGS said.

Multiple aftershocks were registered. However, no injuries or damage were reported, Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president, said.

Storyful


Question

Large patch of the Atlantic Ocean near the equator has been cooling at record speeds — and scientists can't figure out why

Scientists are trying to decipher what drove the recent dramatic cooling of the tropical Atlantic, but so far few clues have emerged. "We are still scratching our heads as to what's actually happening," the researchers said.

Atlantic Ocean
© NASA / JSCThe Atlantic Ocean, near the Bahamas, as seen from the International Space Station in July 2024.
For a few months this summer, a large strip of Atlantic Ocean along the equator cooled at record speed. Though the cold patch is now warming its way back to normal, scientists are still baffled by what caused the dramatic cooling in the first place.

The anomalous cold patch, which is confined to a stretch of ocean spanning several degrees north and south of the equator, formed in early June following a months-long streak of the warmest surface waters in more than 40 years. While that region is known to swing between cold and warm phases every few years, the rate at which it plunged from record high to low this time is "really unprecedented," Franz Tuchen, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Miami in Florida who is tracking the event, told Live Science.

"We are still scratching our heads as to what's actually happening," Michael McPhaden, a senior scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who oversees an array of buoys in the tropics that have been gathering real-time data of the cold patch, told Live Science. "It could be some transient feature that has developed from processes that we don't quite understand."