Earth Changes
June 1st means summer, right? Oh wait - this is Sweden after all. Bring on the snow and hail! Last month in Sweden was a month of extreme weather.
The far northern parts of Norrland saw record-low temperatures, the lowest since 1968 according to preliminary figures from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI).
So surely, summer should be here by now? Well, think again - this is Sweden, after all. On June 1st, snow was falling over the small village of Kåbdalis in the northern county of Norrbotten.
"June 1st! From clear blue sky (and freezing cold) to snow storm in one minute. Yes, I do like snow. And I like winter. But maybe not in June," Kåbdalis resident Marie Nygårds wrote on Instagram.
In the arctic mining town of Kiruna, also in the Norrbotten county, residents got to experience a mix of weathers: "Hail, snow, thunder, +2 in Kiruna," Ulrica Strålind wrote on Instagram.

Drone 11 footage shows the major damage in Sealy, Texas after severe weather moved through the area on Tuesday, May 23, 2017.
Many thought that the damage was caused by a tornado but NWS says that microbursts can produce similarly strong winds, reaching up to 100 miles per hour.
Mike Fisher says he and his son are lucky to be alive - they were at home when the storm hit. Fisher said the sky turned black and that hail started to fall.
"They say an old wives' tail about a tornado sounding like a train, we didn't hear no train, all we heard was some loud hail hitting, of course all the windows blew out in got pretty rough after that," said Fisher.
No fatalities were reported. However, about a dozen people had to be treated for minor injuries.
The earthquake, which struck at 1:25 p.m. local time on Friday, was centered about 112 miles (180 kilometers) northwest of Attu Island in Alaska, or 168 miles (270 kilometers) southeast of Bering Island in Russia. It struck at a depth of about 19 miles (31 kilometers), making it a shallow earthquake.
The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center put the preliminary magnitude of the earthquake at 6.8. "Based on earthquake information and historic tsunami records, the earthquake is not expected to generate a tsunami," the center said.
Friday's earthquake is expected to have been felt across parts of the Aleutian Islands, but damage or casualties are unlikely. The closest islands - Attu Island and Bering Island - have only a small population. Attu Island is also home to Attu Station, which was closed in 2010.
The sparsely populated region of Alaska, which sits on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', is occasionally struck by powerful earthquakes. Most notably, an enormous 9.2-magnitude earthquake struck north of Prince William Sound in Alaska on March 27, 1964, unleashing a tsunami which killed at least 143 people.
Alachua County sheriff's deputies responded and were guiding morning commuters slowly through the area.
Newberry City Manager Mike New said the 3 inches of rain the city got Tuesday could have washed out soil supporting a waterline that subsequently sagged and ruptured, washing out even more soil and deepening the hole.
When deputies were called about 6:20 a.m. Wednesday, the sinkhole was about 30 feet wide and 30 feet deep near the roadway. Eventually, a portion of the road collapsed after the soil supporting it caved in.
The Dilbert cartoon begins with a climate scientist saying "human activity is warming the earth and will lead to a global catastrophe." When challenged to explain how he knows that, he says they start with basic physical principles plus observations about the climate, which they then feed into models, pick and choose some of the outputs, then feed those into economic models, and voila. When asked, what if I don't trust the economic models, the scientist retreats to an accusation of denialism.
No hazardous substances were found out in the samples taken after the mass die-off of the Caspian seals, Kazinform correspondent reports citing Kuangali Ashakhov, Chief of the Mangistau region's Forestry and Wildlife Territorial Inspection.
As reported earlier, 243 corpses of the dead seals were discovered and gathered in Tupkaragan district of Mangistau region in April. The dead animals were washed up on the shore.
The specialists of Almaty-based Research Institute of Hydrobiology and Virology took tissue samples of 6 species.
"The results of the tests are ready. No hazardous substances were found. We did not see any signs of poisoning. Water and soil samples are also normal," K.Ashakhov said
The calf was born with the eyes, nose and ears that resemble that of a human, while the lower part of its body had features of a cow.
However, the cow died within an hour of its birth yesterday, in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, northern India.
But as soon as the news spread, locals from nearby villages gathered to seek its blessing, believing it to be an avatar of Lord Vishnu, a Hindu God.
The video shows people offering flower garlands and bowing before the dead calf, which has been kept inside a glass box since it died.
The storm has brought vast amounts of sand and dust into the city, burying several homes and severely limiting visibility.
Ecosystems and natural resources in the country have been deteriorating due to climate change. Water supplies are scarce and severe droughts are common. After years of desertification, the country's rich biodiversity is under threat and drought has hindered the fight against hunger.
Experts say that without rapid intervention, parts of the African country - one of the most vulnerable in the world - could become uninhabitable as a result of climate change.
Photos and videos posted on social media resembled the beginning of winter, rather than the second day of June and the second official day of summer.
"Well, where is this global warming?" one person joked, posting a video of large hail stones. She added that she should be wearing shorts and sandals this time of year, but instead was wearing a jacket and boots.
"Just look what a beauty we had yesterday... If I hadn't seen something similar myself 10 years ago, would not have believed it," an Instagram user from the Saratov region posted.













