On April 5, 2025, Japan's formidable Sakurajima volcano unleashed a colossal eruption, sending shockwaves through Kyushu's Kagoshima Prefecture.
The eruption propelled a massive plume of ash and smoke into the sky, turning day into night and blanketing the surrounding areas in volcanic debris. Fiery lava cascaded down the slopes, illuminating the darkened skies with an ominous glow.
The Japan Meteorological Agency swiftly raised the eruption alert to its highest level, urging residents within a 3-kilometer radius to evacuate immediately.
This explosive event serves as a stark reminder of Sakurajima's volatile power and the ever-present dance between humanity and nature's raw fury.
A four-year-old boy has died after being mauled by a stray dog at Swarna Bharathi Nagar here, a police official said on Monday.
The incident occurred on Sunday evening when the boy stepped out to play near his house. A stray dog attacked him and bit him on the neck, severely injuring his jugular vein, said the official.
"These kinds of incidents are not common in this area and the locals are generally cynophile. As a result, municipal officials are facing difficulties in relocating or sterilising stray dogs," a police official told PTI.
After the dog attacked the boy, children around there stoned the creature and chased it away. The boy was immediately rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.
A 6-year-old boy was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs while he was on his way to deliver lunch to his father and uncle in Lakhimpur Kheri district on Saturday afternoon.
The Class 2 student, Shivyanshu Shukla, suffered grievous injuries to his neck and body. He died on the way to the hospital, police said. Achal Shukla, a resident of Bilari village in Neemgaon police station area, was working in the fields with his brother when the incident occurred. "My son had left home around 12:30 pm to bring us food. The fields are about 1.5 km from our house," said the boy's father.
Former village head Vipin Kumar, who informed police of the incident, said there were several stray dogs in the village, but such an attack was unheard of. "We will speak to officials and request immediate action to catch the dogs so that this never happens again," he added.
Neemgaon SHO Ashish Srivastava said: "The body has been sent for autopsy. There were visible deep injuries on several parts of his body. We've asked the local gram panchayat to ensure the dogs are rescued and removed from the area."
At least 33 people have been confirmed dead following devastating floods in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), authorities reported on Monday.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Security Jacquemain Shabani said the torrential downpour, which occurred overnight from Friday to Saturday, has caused major damage across several districts of the capital, leaving dozens injured and destroying numerous homes, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
In response, the government has set up a crisis management unit in coordination with the armed forces, several ministries and the Kinshasa provincial government to carry out evacuations and deploy emergency teams.
The flooding has paralyzed much of the city's infrastructure, submerging major roads and triggering widespread power and water outages across the city.
Birdwatchers have been treated to multiple sightings of African Hoopoes as around 80 of the colourful, migratory birds have arrived in Ireland in the past two weeks.
African Hoopoes do not usually migrate as far north as Ireland, but it is believed that a weather phenomenon, known as Sahara Dust, has carried them here.
The previous record for sightings of the bird in Ireland in 1965, when 65 were recorded here.
Field ornithologist Ed Carty said the warm wind current would have carried the birds to Cork and Kerry, well past their usual summer spots of Portugal, France and Spain.
"There have been two influxes of the African Hoopoes to Irish shores in recent weeks," Mr Carty said.
It is currently snowing in the capital of Kosovo, Pristina.
The Kosovo Hydrometeorological Institute has announced that a rapid change is expected in the lower and middle layers of the atmosphere (troposphere) on Sunday, which will bring a significant decrease in temperatures, both in minimum and maximum values.
The Kosovo Hydrometeorological Institute has announced that a rapid change is expected in the lower and middle layers of the atmosphere (troposphere) on Sunday, which will bring a significant decrease in temperatures, both in minimum and maximum values.
According to the institute, initially there will be rain, while later the precipitation is expected to turn into snow, including many parts of low-lying areas, it reports.
"Although these precipitations will be temporary. In the highlands, only snowfalls are expected. This meteorological situation will create conditions for the appearance of frosts at the beginning of next week, which may have a negative impact on early agricultural crops, especially fruit trees. Farmers and ranchers are advised to take preventive measures to protect production and sensitive crops from the impact of these adverse weather conditions," the announcement states.
A rare April winter storm in West Texas was bringing widespread snowfall Saturday and the threat of slick, icy roads across the Panhandle-South Plains region going into early Sunday.
As snow continued to fall in blowing winds, thousands of power outages were being reported around the region, including more than 3,000 customer outages around Lubbock and smaller, scattered outages around West Texas and Eastern New Mexico.
By Saturday afternoon, the heaviest snowfall was occurring in the northern South Plains and southern Panhandle, said Jordan Salem, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lubbock.
"We're seeing kind of a bullseye in an area between Hale Center and Vigo Park (in Swisher County) where we're projecting at least 4.7 inches of accumulation," Salem said.
By shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday, snow was beginning to accumulate across the Lubbock metro area, with upwards of 3 inches expected in northern parts of the city and 1 to 1.5 inches expected to the south through the end of the day, Salem said.
Blizzards blanketed Moscow in snow on Sunday, covering Red Square in up to 10 cm (4 inches) of snow after an unusually mild winter in the Russian capital.
Weather forecasters said the entire month's average snowfall was expected over Sunday and Monday as snow buried spring flowers. Temperatures plummeted to below zero from as high as 16 degrees Celsius (60.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday.
Transport authorities in the wider Moscow area, which is home to more than 22 million people, warned drivers who had already replaced their winter tyres not to venture out onto the roads. In Russia, special snow tyres are obligatory in winter.
On April 5, 2025, Poland faced a severe weather breakdown that brought a mix of snow, strong winds, and dangerous conditions across the country. The Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) issued alerts for almost all of Poland, warning citizens of the impending chaos brought on by a cold front moving from the north. This sudden shift in weather caught many residents off guard, leading to significant disruptions and emergencies.
The storm in Olsztyn, which lasted approximately 20 minutes, featured intense snowfall accompanied by thunder and powerful winds. Residents took to social media to document the unusual sight, sharing videos that showcased the extreme conditions. The storm stretched from Klewki, on the route to Szczytno, through Olsztyn, and reached as far as Rapaty, on the route to Gietrzwałd. Fortunately, as of that day, firefighters reported no significant damage related to the weather, and road services confirmed that all routes remained passable.
Comment: The 20 cms (almost 8 inches) of snowfall was reported here:
In southern Małopolska, the landscape changed from spring to full winter on the night from Saturday to Sunday. In Zakopane and nearby towns, 20 cm of snow fell, similarly in Krynica-Zdrój and Muszyna. Nature waking up to life disappeared under a white blanket. Forecasters predict that this is not the end of the snowfall.
Winter has returned to Zakopane and the surrounding towns. In just one night, 20 cm of snow fell, and the amount of white fluff is still growing. It is white not only on lawns and roofs, but also on roads and sidewalks. Plows and sand spreaders are in use, but the snowfall is so intense that road services cannot keep up with clearing the roads of snow.
Comment: A day earlier another stray dog attack led to the death of a 6-year-old boy in the state of Uttar Pradesh: