Earth Changes
The old cemetery at Camogli near Genoa, Italy collapsed into the sea on February 22, 2021, with at least 200 coffins now drifting in the Golfo Paradiso.
According to a report published Tuesday by 16 global conservation groups, 18,075 species of freshwater fish inhabit our oceans, accounting for over half of the world's total fish species and a quarter of all vertebrates on Earth. This biodiversity is critical to maintaining not only the health of the planet, but the economic prosperity of communities worldwide.
About 200 million people across Asia, Africa and South America rely on freshwater fishers for their main source of protein, researchers said in "The World's Forgotten Fishes" report. About one-third of those people also rely on them for their jobs and livelihoods.
Despite their importance, freshwater fishes are "undervalued and overlooked," researchers said — and now freshwater biodiversity is declining at twice the rate of that in oceans and forests.
Eighty freshwater species have already been declared extinct — 16 of them in 2020 alone.
The snow banks are also reaching heights of up to 12 feet, and stunning people who live near the mountain pass.
"I mean this weather has been pretty crazy," said Glenn Vickery. "We've actually had some really good light snow, but it's been a lot of snow and it's been unique with this pebble-like snow, so it's been a crazy year with a lot of different weather conditions. It's been pretty cool."
Silas Wild is an avid skier and drove down Snoqualmie Pass to North Bend before sunset. "Coming up you could see all the trucks were stopped to chain up and the plows were plowing and causing a little slowdown, so I'm glad I'm going down and not up," said Wild.
Since November, I-90 to Snoqualmie Pass was closed for more than 40 hours due to collisions, spinouts and avalanche control work.
Eighty-six more carcasses were found on Bazaruto Island, north of the capital Maputo, on Tuesday, after a first group was washed ashore on Sunday.
The cause of the deaths is still unknown, the country's environment ministry said, and more experts are heading to the site.
One possible experts are investigating is if a cyclone may have contributed.
Comment: This incident happened amid similar recent mass strandings of cetaceans in other regions of the world, see:
- Pod of 49 long-finned pilot whales strand on beach in New Zealand - 9 die
- 52 short-finned pilot whales die after stranding on beach in Java, Indonesia
- Beached pilot whales are a sign of the magnetic pole shift and waning magnetosphere
- New study suggests that solar storms are the cause of sperm whales beaching in North Sea

Large streams of red hot lava flow as Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, leaps into action, as seen from the village of Fornazzo
Mount Etna's latest eruption overnight petered out on Tuesday morning, according to Italy's National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology.
Rivers of lava were seen gushing from the volcano's southeast crater, with clouds of debris rising several kilometres above its summit.
The red and orange glow of the magma resulted in mesmerising photographs. Nearby Catania Airport was forced to close temporarily due to the amount of ash being spewed forth from Mount Etna.
Residents in the town of Pedara said during one day last week, it appeared as though it were raining rocks as a thick blanket of ash covered the town.
Comment: The intense activity of Sicily's Mount Etna continues. A few days ago it erupted for the fourth time in four days.
This February (to the 20th), the U.S. broke 9,075 low temperature records vs just the 982 for warmth
According to warm-mongers NOAA - who willfully ignore the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect - the month of February, 2021 has so far (to the 20th) seen 9,075 daily cold-minimum and cold-maximum temperature records fall across the United States vs just the 982 for warmth.
Of these, 693 also qualified as new monthly record lows.
And of these, a staggering 198 were also new all-time never-before-witnessed benchmarks - often in record books dating back 150+ years.
Records from the meteorological observatory in Daxing district (南郊观象台) showed that at around 4pm on February 21, temperatures reached a high of 25.6 degrees Celsius. It was the warmest temperature on record in Beijing in February since 1951.
Many That's Beijing readers took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather. Outdoor activities included rock climbing, relaxing at rooftop bars and cafes, exploring Beijing via scooter and more.
An acoustic band made up of Beijing expats wore t-shirts as they sat by the Liangma river and serenaded passers-by.
However, the "fake summer" has been somewhat short-lived as temperatures will likely return to normal soon. Reports suggest that on February 22 and 23, there will be a high of just 14 degrees Celsius.
It could be a while before the capital experiences such high temperatures again. At least some of the city's residents were able to enjoy the warm weather while it lasted.
Comment: Yet last month a cold wave froze parts of China, as vegetable prices hit record highs due to the historically cold winter.
Here is a timeline compiled by Anadolu Agency.
Jan. 2:
- Massive forest fire engulfs the picturesque Dzuko Valley located in northeastern India.
Jan. 3:
- The death toll from the landslide in the village of Ask, Norway, on Dec. 30, rises to six.
- Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra, Indonesia, erupts, spewing ash columns up to 1,000 meters high.
The number was confirmed by Chiredzi District Development Coordinator, Mr. Lovemore Chisema who warned members of the public against attempting at flooded rivers.
Chisema who is also the chairperson of the District's Civil Protection Department said more than 20 houses have been destroyed due to floods.
He said:
Both incidents occurred on the evening of February 22, 2021 in the areas of Traditional Authority Bwananyambi and Mponda.
According to Mangochi Police Deputy publicist, Amina Tepani Daudi, in the first incident, John Chicha and Tiyanjane Bakali both 23-years-old were struck by lightning at Masuku Trading Centre.
At the time, it was heavily raining and lightning struck 5 people whereby the two were pronounced dead upon arrival at Mulibwanji Community Hospital. The other three suffered serious burn wounds.
Comment: See also: