Earth Changes
© Xinhua/Naim-ul-karim
A man squats by a fire during a winter morning in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, Jan. 9, 2018. Bangladesh Monday recorded the lowest temperature in five decades as mercury dipped to a chilling 2.6 degrees Celsius. According to local media, as many as 12 people have so far died in three northern Bangladesh districts due to the cold spell.
A man squats by a fire during a winter morning in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, Jan. 9, 2018. Bangladesh Monday recorded the lowest temperature in five decades as mercury dipped to a chilling 2.6 degrees Celsius. According to local media, as many as 12 people have so far died in three northern Bangladesh districts due to the cold spell.
The mercury plunged to a frigid 2.6 degrees Celsius (36.7 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts of Bangladesh, well below average in the low-lying riverine nation whose 160 million citizens are used to milder winters.
"It is the lowest temperature since authorities started keeping records in 1948," Shamsuddin Ahmed, head of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told AFP. The previous low of 2.8 degrees was recorded in 1968, he added.
Ahmed said Bangladesh was in the "grip of a severe cold wave", with temperatures dipping across all northern districts over the past few days.
The coldest temperatures were recorded in the border town of Tetulia, about 400 kilometres north of the capital Dhaka.
One local broadcaster reported that at least nine people had died from exposure, including six in one of the coldest locations in the northern district of Kurigram.
Officials said they were not aware of any deaths so far.
Comment: As many as 12 people have died so far in three northern Bangladesh districts due to the cold spell reports Xinhua.
© Caters
The 22 tonne humpback whale protecting Nan Hauser from a shark.
The 22 tonne humpback whale protecting Nan Hauser from a shark.
Nan Hauser, 63, president of the Center for Cetacean Research and Conservation and a Brunswick, Maine, resident, says she uploaded footage of her encounter Monday and it quickly spread across the internet.
Hauser tells the Portland Press Herald she was in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific Ocean when she came face-to-face with a 23-tonne humpback whale, which approached her and began nudging her around the water. She says the whale also shielded her with a fin and even lifted her out of the water on one occasion.
Shiveluch Volcano
Disposal took place on Wednesday morning. The height of the volcano itself is 3283 m. The ash has spread to the northeast at a distance of 32 km.
There are no populated areas, but for aviation in the area is marked with red code. Scientists say eruptions at a height of 10 or more kilometers can happen at any moment.
Padre Island National Seashore's Tom Backof holds a rehabilitated sea turtle before releasing it
In Texas, more than 2,000 turtles were cold stunned, which breaks all state records. Many of the turtles have been brought to Texas A&M University in addition to NOAA Fisheries Galveston Laboratory Sea Turtle Hospital.
While the situation is more dramatic in Texas, the Panhandle is experiencing its second largest cold stun event. More than 850 cold-stunned turtles have been taken in for treatment at Gulf World Marine Institute after temperatures dropped in the bays.
"When the deputies got there they found a female victim that was severely injured apparently by the pit bull that was being housed at the location."
Springfield says first responders tried to stabilize the woman, but the wounds were fatal.
"She appeared to be injured, medical assistance was rendered but it was fatal."
Leopard
With these two deaths, five children have now been killed by tigers and leopards in the state in three months.
What terrifies the villagers is that the leopard struck in clear daylight. On Sunday afternoon, it killed a three year-old girl in front of her house in Mohli Mata village and made off with the corpse. About six hours later, it struck again and killed a 10-year-old boy 3km away in Jholidhana village.
The victim, Harish Tekam, was sitting outside his house when he was attacked. The leopard was so swift that no one heard a thing. When his mother came outside a little later, she saw blood splatters on the walls of her little hut and the boy missing.
Once-in-a-generation snowstorms in the Alps, some of which are expected to see up to 2m of snow fall have prompted authorities to issue repeated avalanche warnings.
The snowfall has been so intense that national forecaster Météo France, which described the conditions as 'a 30-year-event', placed the Savoie on red avalanche alert - its highest warning level - late on Monday afternoon.
Floods continued to wreak havoc in the Philippines and Indonesia, with thousands displaced, while heavy rain in Albania flooded thousands of homes and tore down roads and bridges.
California was scorched by widespread wildfires that burned up to 280,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 homes, with the Thomas Fire becoming the largest and most destructive wildfire in California's history. With an 'atmospheric river' and downpours predicted for the 1st week of January 2018, things are looking gloomy for the Sunshine State.
A high level of volcanic activity was seen around the world in December, while a deadly 6.5 earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Java.
Meteors sightings increased in December, with more and more reports of accompanying "mysterious loud booms", very likely the space rocks exploding overhead.
Atmospheric phenomena, including iridescent clouds and "strange lights in the sky," continued to impress people from Sweden to Eastern Russia, but such events are likely evidence of a distinct cooling of the atmosphere, one of many signs of the possible onset of a new ice age.
Check it out below!
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area Webcam
The National Weather Service in Reno reported Tuesday that 18 inches of snow fell on the top of Mammoth Mountain south of Yosemite National Park.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Kirkwood Mountain Resort reported 7 inches of new snow in 24 hours, while Sierra-at-Tahoe reported 4 inches and Heavenly Mountain Resort reported 2 inches.
About 5 inches of snow was recorded at Sugarbowl ski resort near Truckee, California, and 3 inches at Mount Rose Ski Tahoe near Reno.
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