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Tue, 19 Oct 2021
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Ice Cube

Rising seas could displace 150 million people by the end of this century, says climate report

Iceburg
© Alister Doyle / Reuters
A view of icebergs remaining after a break-up of Wilkins ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula, January 19, 2009.
Lands inhabited by more than 150 million people could be submerged in water by the end of this century. That's according to the latest projections from a group of US researchers.

A new study published in the journal Earth's Future used the latest information from the Antarctic ice sheet and combined it with existing models on the expected rise in sea levels.

The academics behind the report found that if levels of greenhouse gas emission remain high, the median global average sea-level rise could be 4ft 9ins (1.5 meters) by 2100. Astonishingly, this is double the estimate of 2ft 5ins (736cm) projected by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2014.

The team, made up of researchers from the top universities in the US, believes the IPCC report did not account for the collapse of large parts of the Antarctic Ice Sheet - something a slew of scientific papers have since found is very likely to happen. In the event of such a sea level rise, some 153 million will be displaced, a population equivalent to half the size of the US.

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Ice Cube

Earliest ice formation in 71 years on the Han River, South Korea

Seoul’s Han River Sees Earliest Ice Formation in 71 Years
© Yonhap
Seoul’s Han River sees earliest ice formation in 71 years
Kim In-sik, head of the Seoul Weather Station, stood on the Han River Bridge and looked down on the river for about two and a half hours since 5 a.m. He slapped his lap. At the dawn's light, it was definitely ice on the shining surface of the river. After two nights amid severe cold weather, the day set a record for the earliest ice formation on the Han River since 1946.

A five-day cold spell has led to ice formation on the Han River one month earlier than expected. The Korea Meteorological Administration said that the earliest ice formation of this winter was observed at the Han River Bridge at the dawn of Friday. The ice was formed between second and fourth piers on the Noryangjin side. This has been the first ice formation on the Han River before December 15 in 71 years since December 12, 1946.

Cloud Precipitation

Mudslide fuelled by heavy rains buries village in southern Chile; 5 people killed with 15 more missing

Rain caused a river to overflow and the side of a hill to collapse, burying 20 of the 200 houses in Villa Santa Lucia in the Los Lagos region

Rain caused a river to overflow and the side of a hill to collapse, burying 20 of the 200 houses in Villa Santa Lucia in the Los Lagos region
A mudslide fuelled by heavy rains has swept over a village in southern Chile, leaving at least five people dead and 15 missing, officials said.

Rain caused a river to overflow and the side of a hill to collapse, burying 20 of the 200 houses in Villa Santa Lucia in the Los Lagos region, located 790 miles south of Chile's capital, Santiago.

President Michelle Bachelet declared the region a catastrophe zone and confirmed the number of dead and missing.

She met with her team of ministers to coordinate rescue and assistance efforts.

Earlier on Saturday, deputy secretary of the interior Madmud Aleuy said there were three people dead, including an unidentified tourist, and 15 others missing.


Camcorder

Hiker captures incredible footage from inside erupting Mount Agung, Indonesia

The man appears to be standing right above the heart of Mount Agung as the volcanic lava threatens to explode from its fiery depths

The man appears to be standing right above the heart of Mount Agung as the volcanic lava threatens to explode from its fiery depths
A hiker has captured incredible footage by risking life and limb to film inside an erupting volcano.

Bali resident Ikomang Giri scaled the active volcano Mount Agung on Wednesday in order to record from its peak.

The video, later uploaded to Facebook, shows thick clouds of ash streaming from the volcano during an eruption.

The film has since gone viral on the social network, being viewed almost 900,000 times.


Snowflake Cold

Coldest summer for 100 years in Queensland, Australia

Coldest summer in 100 years in Queensland Australia as
© Jack Vonhoff
Mount Isa had its lowest overnight December temperate ever on record last night at 12 C, which was 11C below average.
While sweat and Queensland summer go hand-in-hard, people in the state's west are reaching for cardigans as overnight December temperatures break record lows.

From Birdsville to the Gulf of Carpentaria, temperatures dropped to 11 degrees Celsius below average - a phenomenon forecasters describe as "very unusual".
"I've been forecasting for a few decades now and I can't really remember anything quite this spectacular as far as dry and cool at this time of year," said Bureau of Meteorology forecaster David Bernard.
"It's the sort of thing we often see in winter which usually leads to really cold winter nights, but we don't often see it in December."

Snowflake

With nearly 83 inches, Redfield is New York's snowiest place with winter yet to officially start

Snow in upstate New York

Snow in upstate New York
Winter has yet to officially start, but snow is already piling up in some parts of upstate New York.

According to the National Weather Service, the areas with the most snow are in Oswego and Lewis counties — which get clobbered each year with snow drifting across the eastern edge of Lake Ontario.

And it's the usual places: the tiny town of Redfield in Oswego County is leading the state with 82.6 inches of snow as of Friday.

So at this rate, Redfield is on pace for its second straight national recognition: Last year it won the USA Today Network's first annual Golden Snowdrift Award after getting 350.5 inches of snow -- which equals more than 29 feet.


Cloud Precipitation

Deadly Tropical Storm Urduja (Kai-Tak) dumps over 1000 mm of rain on Philippines

Philippines flooding
© AFP
Villagers wade through a flooded street in Brgy Calingatngan, in Borongan, easterm Samar, central Philippines, Dec. 16, 2017.
Tropical Storm Urduja will continue to unleash life-threatening flooding rain and mudslides as it crosses the Philippines into Monday.

Urduja, known globally as Kai-tak, will fail to strengthen into a typhoon. However, lives and property remain in peril as the tropical storm is unleashing a catastrophic amount of rainfall.

More than 1067 mm (42 inches) of rain has inundated Guiuan on the island of Samar in the Eastern Visayas since midweek. In 24 hours alone, 780 mm (nearly 31 inches) poured down.

To the north, Borongan City Airport has recorded 813 mm (32 inches) since Urduja began lashing the Philippines.

There are unconfirmed reports of 3 deaths due to Urduja, including a child, according to GMA News Online.

As of Dec. 16, The Philippine National Disaster Risk Reducation and Management Council (NDRRMC) reports that a total of 4,327 families have been evacuated from portions of Samar Island. In total, 8,832 families are being served at evacuation centers.


Seismograph

Huge 6.5 magnitude earthquake hits Indonesian island sparking fears of a tsunami (UPDATE, VIDEOS)

The earthquake has struck the Indonesian island

The earthquake has struck the Indonesian island
The massive earthquake has hit Java in Indonesia, where people were woken as their homes shook

A huge 6.5 magnitude earthquake has struck a holiday island sparking fears of a tsunami.

The massive earthquake has hit Java in Indonesia, where people were woken as their homes shook.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicentre of the quake was at a depth of 92 kms, about 52 kms southwest of Tasikmalaya, a city in West Java.

Describing the quake to CSEM EMSC, one witness wrote that tremors lasted for about a minute.

Comment: From theThe Guardian:
A powerful earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Java has killed at least three people and caused damage to hundreds of buildings.

People ran into the street in panic in many areas and Indonesian television showed heavy traffic on roads as people fled coastal areas. There were also reports that buildings had collapsed in the city of Tasikmalaya in West Java.

A 62-year-old man in Ciamis and an 80-year-old woman in Pekalongan city were killed when the buildings they were in collapsed, a national disaster mitigation agency spokesman said. A 34-year-old woman from the city of Yogyakarta died when she fell while running out of her house.

People inspect the ruins of a house in Tasikmalaya in West Java after an earthquake
© Daeng/EPA
People inspect the ruins of a house in Tasikmalaya in West Java after an earthquake
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Cloud Precipitation

Thunderstorm hits areas of United Arab Emirates, hail blankets ground (VIDEOS)

Hail cover
Weather is playing spoilsport this weekend as many residents are putting off their outing plans as storm and rain alert looms.

The National Center of Meteorology (NCM) has predicted unstable weather across the UAE, with chances of rain and thunderstorms, between December 15 and 18.

Many families said they are heeding to the forecast, and called off picnics and off road adventures.

"My family is on visit from India and we were planning to go for a desert drive on Saturday. We cancelled it thinking the weather will be too dangerous to venture out," said Abdul Rahman, an Abu Dhabi resident.

Question

Mysterious explosion heard on the coast of West Bengal, India

A mysterious explosion was heard in West Bengal’s coastal town Digha on Thursday afternoon, triggering panic among tourists and residents, police said.
© Reuters
A mysterious explosion was heard in West Bengal’s coastal town Digha on Thursday afternoon, triggering panic among tourists and residents, police said. (Representative Image)
A mysterious explosion was heard in West Bengal's coastal town Digha on Thursday afternoon, triggering panic among tourists and residents, police said. However, till late in the night, the source of the sound was yet to be identified.

Police said the sound was heard in some parts of the coastal town in East Midnapore district and was much lesser in intensity than the twin explosion sounds off the coast in August this year.

"An explosion like sound was heard at some parts of Digha at around 2 p.m. on Thursday. However, no injury or damage to property has been reported till now. We are looking for the source of the sound," a senior officer from Digha police station told IANS.