Earth ChangesS


Tornado2

Dust tornadoes and lightning captured on camera in the United Arab Emirates

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A dust tornado has been captured on camera near a road in the United Arab Emirates.

Drivers near the town of Sharjah stopped their cars to watch the spiralling spectacle.


Seismograph

Magnitude-6.2 offshore earthquake occurs near the Kuril Islands, Russia

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A magnitude-6.2 earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean near the northern Kuril Islands at around 01:38 Oct. 24. The epicenter was about 145 km (90 miles) south of Severo-Kuril'sk.

The tremor occurred at a depth of about 49 km (30 miles), and light shaking was probably felt throughout parts of the Kuril Islands and far southern Kamchatka Peninsula.

There have been no initial reports of damage or casualties as a result of the earthquake; however, significant damage is unlikely due to the offshore nature of the quake.

It could take several hours until authorities can conduct comprehensive damage assessments, especially in remote areas. Light-to-moderate aftershocks are likely over the coming days.

The event has not prompted any tsunami advisories.

Cloud Precipitation

Rain batters Indian city of Bengaluru - 7.3 inches in a day, highest in 27 years

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Schools were shut and people worked from home in India's tech hub of Bengaluru on Wednesday after the heaviest rains in nearly three decades again brought the city to a standstill.

Bengaluru has become hostage to the monsoon rains in recent years, with flooded roads, uprooted trees and choked drains becoming an annual feature in the city of 14 million.

This year, a weather station in the northern part of the city recorded rainfall of 186 mm (7.3 inches) on Monday, the highest in a single day recorded in the city since 1997.

As of Tuesday, Bengaluru had received 211.7 mm of rain this month, nearly double the rain normally seen during this period, according to data from the India Meteorological Department.

The resulting disruption has renewed concerns about unplanned development of "India's Silicon Valley", which is home to thousands of startups and global companies from Walmart (WMT.N), to Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), Google.

"If it rains for even half an hour, flooding happens," said Saurabh Kumar, a Wipro (WIPR.NS), employee who resides in an apartment complex that uses tractors to ferry residents to and from the entrance when it rains.


Tornado2

Waterspout suddenly appeared in Binh Dinh, Vietnam

A waterspout suddenly appeared in the sea of ​​Nhon Hai commune, Quy Nhon city, Binh Dinh province
A waterspout suddenly appeared in the sea of ​​Nhon Hai commune, Quy Nhon city, Binh Dinh province
On October 22, Chairman of the People's Committee of Nhon Hai Commune (Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh) Do Cao Thang said that at around 10:7 a.m. the same day, a waterspout appeared on the sea in the locality.

According to the Chairman of the People's Committee of Nhon Hai commune, the waterspout phenomenon appeared at sea but did not affect or damage the fishing boats of local fishermen.

According to the Binh Dinh Province Hydrometeorological Station, on October 22, there will be scattered rain in Binh Dinh province, with level 10 winds and level 3 gusts in the sea.


Snowflake Cold

Heavy early snowfall hits parts of Turkey - up to 20 inches deep (UPDATE)

Temperatures have plummeted, and many cities have been covered in white
Temperatures have plummeted, and many cities have been covered in white
In many parts of Turkey, temperatures have dropped below zero. While Rize, Kastamonu, Erzurum, Kars, Bolu, and Düzce have been covered in white, the expected snowfall has also begun in Uludağ.

After the warnings from the meteorology, temperatures dropped across Turkey. Many cities experienced the first snow of the season.

With the drop in air temperatures in the Eastern Black Sea region, snow fell on the high-altitude plateaus and villages in the area. The Yukarı Kavron, Huser, and Palovit plateaus at an altitude of 2,300 meters in the Çamlıhemşin district of Rize, along with the villages in the region, were covered in white. The snow thickness, reaching between 5 and 20 centimeters in places, covered the green areas with a white blanket.


Comment: Update October 23

The Hürriyet Daily News reports:
Winter arrives early as snow blankets parts of country

Various regions of Türkiye have welcomed the relatively early arrival of winter as high-altitude regions of several provinces around the country witnessed the season's first snowfall.

Some regions of the northern province of Kastamonu experienced snow depths exceeding 50 centimeters after the recent snowfall. Teams worked diligently with graders to clear the roads in those areas.


Snowfall similarly paralyzed life in the highlands located in the Black Sea provinces of Trabzon and Giresun.

A shepherd was stranded on the snow-covered Beypınarı Plateau in the Düzköy district of Trabzon, prompting teams from the municipality to come to aid.

Similarly, the country's disaster and emergency teams rescued citizens stuck in their cars because of severe snowfall in the Alucra district of Giresun.

Heavy snowfall blanketed high regions of another Black Sea city of Rize, transforming Ayder Plateau, one of the most important tourism centers in the country's northeast, into a snowy wonderland.

Snowfall also affected the country's eastern regions, with the Digor district in the northeastern province of Kars experiencing its first snowfall on the morning of Oct. 21, blanketing high-altitude settlements in white.

In the upper reaches of Kartalkaya Ski Resort, one of the northern province of Bolu's major winter tourism destinations, the snow depth reached 15 centimeters. In the vicinity of the facilities, it came closer to 10 centimeters.

Snowfall covered high regions of Mount Erciyes, located in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri, with Erciyes Ski Resort, one of Türkiye's leading ski centers, also experiencing light flurries.

Mount Yıldız Ski Resort in the central Anatolian province of Sivas, located 58 kilometers from the city center and featuring ski and sled runs of varying lengths, also experienced its first snowfall of the season on Oct. 18 this year.



Black Cat 2

Lioness mauled a five-year-old boy to death in Gujarat, India

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A lioness mauled a five-year-old boy to death in Navi Jikadri village of Jafrabad taluka in Amreli district on Monday night. The child, who was the son of farm labourers, was playing outside his hut in a plantation area when the attack occurred.

According to the forest officials, the lioness attacked the boy and dragged him away. After an extensive search by residents and forest department personnel, the child's half-eaten body was found in the bushes.

The forest officials have set up traps to capture the wild animal.

The victim was identified as Ayush Joliya. His parents were harvesting cotton on a farm while he was playing with his brother when a lioness appeared, grabbed the child, and dragged him into the bushes in the forest area. The victim's brother started screaming, which alerted his parents and other villagers.

Amreli district has the highest number of lions moving in areas outside the protected forest. According to an estimate, there are about 150 lions in the district, and encounters with wild animals have become frequent for the villagers.

Arrow Up

Mysterious record methane surge since 2020 was not fossil fuels but '90% due to microbes'

Nobody checked the carbon-13 ratios!

Wouldn't you know it — 150 nations signed the Global Methane Pledge without even bothering to check if the methane was man-made.

Methane — the second most hated Greenhouse gas — spiked to record historic levels in the last few years, over 1,900 parts per billion. In 2019, even the WEF scientists admitted they couldn't explain the baffling rise, and then in 2020, the world of methane went into the twilight zone. We shut down the modern world due to the pandemic, and methane levels rose even faster.

It seems many have been blaming fossil fuels for the global surge in emissions, but forgot to check the C13 isotopes. Somehow we spend millions on breathalysing cows, measuring their burps, and feeding them seaweed, but didn't think to do the basic chemistry. How could that be, you might wonder... 158 nations agreed to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030, but none of them audited the science even though very strange things were happening. (The point was obviously the "pledge", the junkets, the captive industries and subsidies, anything but the science).

Methane from fossil fuels has a higher carbon-13 ratio, but even though fossil fuel use was rising, the carbon-13 levels of atmospheric methane was rolling down a hill. Indeed this new study shows it's been falling for 17 years.

It's not like this snuck up on us.... any inquiring mind should have seen this coming a decade ago. The lab has been recording C13 in methane since 1998 and gets air samples from 22 sites around the world every week or two.
Methane Outgassing
© PNAS(A) Trend of globally averaged CH4 abundance (in gray) and δ13CCH4 (purple) from the NOAA/GML GGGRN. Mean growth rates of CH4 mole fraction and δ13CCH4 are shown for the following time periods: 1983–1998, 1999–2006, 2008–2014, 2014–2020, and 2020–2022. (B) Colocated δ13CCH4 measurements at Alert (Canada), Svalbard (Norway), and Antarctica by INSTAAR, NIWA, TU/NIPR, and MPI. Each dataset is fitted with a trend in the same color.

Snowflake

Areas of northern Japan see first snowfall 12 days earlier than usual

The summit observatory of Mt. Moiwa is blanketed in snow in Minami Ward, Sapporo, at 8:49 a.m. Sunday.
© THE YOMIURI SHIMBUNThe summit observatory of Mt. Moiwa is blanketed in snow in Minami Ward, Sapporo, at 8:49 a.m. Sunday.
The first snow of the season was observed in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and some parts of Aomori Prefecture on Sunday morning as temperatures dropped in many areas of northern and eastern Japan.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency's Sapporo Regional Headquarters, Sapporo saw its first snow of the season eight days earlier than usual and 22 days earlier than last year. Obihiro, located to the east of Sapporo, observed snowfall 12 days earlier than a usual year and 25 days earlier than last year.

The summit observatory of Mt. Moiwa, which has a panoramic view of Sapporo, was covered in snow on the same day. "There were still lots of greenery when I climbed the mountain last week," said a woman in her 30s who came from Sapporo to climb it. "But I was able to enjoy the red and yellow autumn leaves as well as the snow today."


Tsunami

Evacuations under way amid heavy rain, severe flooding in the Eastern Cape, South Africa - 4 killed (UPDATE)

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Parts of Gqeberha and Kariega have experienced severe flooding following heavy rain in the Eastern Cape.

Gift of the Givers Foundation operations manager Ali Sablay said calls were pouring in for humanitarian assistance.

"Community members are being transported to school halls and churches. KwaNobuhle is without drinking water as the water plant is flooded," he said.

"We are currently in contact with the local disaster management teams who are identifying and trying to evacuate residents. Our teams will be assisting, and an urgent list has been sent to us for blankets, mattresses, personal hygiene items, and hot meals to assist flood victims, who will be accommodated in school halls and churches."


Comment: Update October 23

The Heraldlive.co.za reports:
Death toll of flood aftermath rises to four

A middle-aged man has became the latest casualty of the devastating floods which wreaked havoc in Nelson Mandela Bay this week, bringing the death toll to four.

The municipality on Wednesday confirmed that at least three people had died, though The Herald knows of four incidents.



Snowflake

Avalanche after storm dumps 2 feet of snow in San Juan Mountains in Colorado

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Two skiers managed to avoid getting caught in avalanches near Silverton on Sunday after triggering back-to-back slides following a storm that dumped up to 2 feet of snow in the San Juan Mountains.

One skier was on a north-facing ridge near Silverton Mountain when they triggered a slide, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said. Their skiing partner then triggered a second slide.

The account was detailed in the season's first incident report penned by the center, whose forecasters analyze snowpack and weather patterns to offer insight and safety resources for high country travelers navigating avalanche terrain. It also compiles detailed accounts of reported avalanches.

Both skiers skied out safely, the report said, without naming them. A previous report indicated that one of the skiers was briefly caught in the slide.