Earth Changes
"The probability of a repeat of the 2016 drought is increasing daily" Jannie de Villiers, the chief executive officer of Grain SA, said in an emailed statement Thursday. "Some of the scenarios we are facing look even grimmer than the previous drought. The financial position of most farming units in the production area are far worse than it was in 2016. The current grain prices are not high enough and thus do not favor nor encourage farmers to take a similar risk by planting beyond the optimum window, as they did in 2016."

The Anak Krakatau volcano continues to throw out hot ash in a photograph taken from an Indonesian naval patrol boat on 28 December.
Scientists said Anak Krakatau now has a volume of 40-70 cubic metres, having lost up to 180m cubic metres of volume since the eruption on 22 December.
The analysis from Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation demonstrates the power of the tsunami that crashed into 186 miles of coastline in Sumatra and Java.
More than 420 people died in the waves that reached up to 2m in height, and 40,000 were displaced.
The centre said the crater peak was 110m high on Friday, compared to 338m in September.
Experts have largely relied on satellite radar images to work out what happened to the volcano. Cloud cover, continuing eruptions and high seas have hampered inspections. The centre said it would get more precise results from further visual inspections.

A local resident plows snow piled on a street in the city of Yokote in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Akita on Dec. 27, 2018.
Heavy snowfall hit extensive areas in northern and central Japan along the Sea of Japan coast on Dec. 29, affecting holidaymakers going back to their hometowns to spend the year-end and New Year's vacation.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned of heavy snowfalls and blizzards in Hokkaido as well as areas along the Sea of Japan coast in northeastern and central Japan among other areas.
According to Central Japan Railway Co., bullet trains were being forced to travel at reduced speeds on the Nagoya-Kyoto section of the Tokaido Shinkansen Line because of snowfall in central and western Japan. As a result, bullet trains on the line have been delayed by up to 65 minutes.

John Woodrum, shovels his car on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2018, in Roanoke, Va. A massive storm brought snow, sleet, and freezing rain across a wide swath of the South on Sunday — causing dangerously icy roads, immobilizing snowfalls and power losses to hundreds of thousands of people.
Sources

The rise of bread price along with loss of a large part of Sudan’s resources and other issues over the years have triggered protests in the African country.
Sudan experiencing bread shortages as the economy collapses, so this in my opinion is a dry run for governments across the world to see how citizens will react to food shortages, American style!
Sources

A man shovels snow in the city of Yokote, Akita Prefecture, northern Japan, on Dec. 27, 2018.
Sources

A man rides his bicycle in front of the India Gate shrouded in smog in New Delhi, India, December 26, 2018.
Senior government officials said the main reasons for the surge in the amount of toxic smog trapped over New Delhi were unusually cold air, including fog, and slow wind speeds.
Click here for an interactive Reuters graphic on the link between Delhi's pollution and falling temperatures and wind speeds.
The World Health Organization said this year India was home to the world's 14 most polluted cities. New Delhi was ranked the sixth most polluted.

A new sinkhole has appeared on property near Seawatch Lane, in close proximity to other sinkholes that have formed previously, including one in September.
The new sinkhole is located on vacant property, owned by developer Concordia, on the 6600 block of Seawatch Lane and measures approximately six metres (20 feet) wide with a cavernous interior and a depth of approximately six metres.
An excavator was on scene the morning of Dec. 27 to fill in the hole with rocks. The road remains open.
First responders have been made aware of the sinkhole, according to Rob Michael, interim emergency program coordinator for the Sunshine Coast. He was notified on Boxing Day. "At this point in time, first responders have been pre-notified in case the situation worsens," he said.
Comment: The area also experienced another large sinkhole in 2015, see: Family abandons home after sinkhole appears in Sechelt, Canada
View also this recent video from October 2018:
The center of the earthquake was recorded near Governor Generoso in Davao Oriental on Saturday (December 29) triggering a tsunami alert but was immediately lifted by the agency.
According to DOST Undersecretary Renato Solidum, a series of aftershocks can still be expected though of lower intensity in the coming days.
He also noted a slight rise in sea level which reached 0.08 meters based on the data recorded from the level sensor located in Mati area.
Comment: For further details of the major quake referred to above, see: Tsunami alert lifted after undersea M7.1 earthquake off Philippines

The tornado swept through a village in Cirebon at around at around 3.30pm local time on Dec 30, 2018.
The powerful winds have reportedly damaged 165 houses in the area.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on his Twitter account that "the puting beliung" (tornado), which took place at around 3.30pm local time, had caused blackouts in most parts of the area.
The tornado also caused considerable damage to two Muslim prayer rooms.
Comment: Indonesia really is being battered at the moment with volcanoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, landslides and brutal storms:
- Eerie liquefaction and lateral slide phenomena captured on film during deadly Sulawesi earthquake
- Indonesia 'volcano tsunami': Grim search for survivors continues as death toll reaches 430, almost 22,000 displaced after Krakatoa erupts - UPDATE
- Bali's Mount Agung volcano erupts, spews ash over wide area
- Volcano erupts on Indonesia's Sulawesi days after fatal earthquake & tsunami







Comment: Meanwhile the number of injured in the volcano-triggered tsunami in Indonesia jumped significantly to 14,059 from 7,202 say reports, as search and rescue operations continue. See also:
Indonesia 'volcano tsunami': Grim search for survivors continues as death toll reaches 430, almost 22,000 displaced after Krakatoa erupts - UPDATE