Earth Changes
There was no imminent threat of a major eruption of Taal Volcano, which authorities said remains at a low level of unrest in Batangas province south of Manila. But they said its emission of sulfur dioxide-laden steam in recent days caused skin, throat and eye irritation for at least 45 students in nearby towns.
Classes were suspended in 25 towns and cities in Batangas to keep students safely at home. Some schools resumed online classes and home learning that were in wide use at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.
The first taste of winter arrived on Sept. 20 as Apex Mountain got an early dusting of snow.
About 15 centimetres fell on the mountain, but this early on it's not likely to hang around to the start of the ski season.
"It's not anything we get insanely excited about, I mean we're excited but we're not jumping up and down because we know it doesn't last," said Apex Resort general Manager James Shalman. "A couple of years ago we did have three feet of snow fall on Sept. 27, and we lost three-quarters of that before the season."
Billene "Billi" Cameron, 65, died Thursday, Sept. 21, of complications related to surgery at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland after she was mauled the day before.
She and her husband, Dwayne Woodard, are well known business owners. They and their son, Jackson, established Woody's BullPen Bar & Grille at the former Billy's Bull Pen Tavern in Kennewick in 2018.
The Benton County Coroner's Office confirmed the attack was Wednesday. An autopsy is planned Wednesday in Thurston County.
Last week Sky News's Tom Clarke, who calls himself 'Science and Technology Editor', claimed that climate change had 'set the stage' for the Libyan floods, and that the disaster highlighted the 'injustice of climate change' which affects poorer countries most.
The floods and resulting deaths had nothing at all to do with climate change, and were instead caused by the collapse of two dams built by a Yugoslav company in the 1970s and which had had no maintenance for the last 20 years. It was a tragedy waiting to happen.
Clarke failed to provide any evidence that the heavy rainfall which triggered the dam failures was in any way unprecedented or made worse by climate change. But facts don't seem to matter any more to Sky News.
With white fluff coating the bright fall colors, we are experiencing a two-for-one on seasons today.
This is officially the first snow of the season, and it's coming a whole month earlier than last year's first recorded snowfall happening on October 22, 2022. Is this a sign predicting another historic winter? We sure hope so.

The dangers of lightning in Cambodia were once again illustrated graphically after a man died whilst sleeping in a field
According to the district police, the victim was named Won Wang Long, 23 years old, a farmer
Villagers stated that the man was asleep in a field when he was enveloped by a heavy storm and struck by a bolt of lightning, causing instant death
The body of the victim were handed over to his parents by the police to be taken to a traditional ceremony with great emotion.
Chantrea district authorities have called on all residents to be extremely careful when it rains and there is wind, thunder and lightning to make sure they go to a safe place to prevent possible accidents.
"The damages are mainly focused on the regions of Utiel-Requena and Camp de Túria, but there were also damages in Ribera Alta, Ribera Baixa, Camp de Morvedre, La Serranía, and La Costera, as far as the province of Valencia is concerned, as well as on the southern coast of the region of Plana Baixa."
"The main crop affected was citrus with 43% of the losses, followed by persimmon with 20% and wine grapes with 16%. It's worth noting that approximately one-third of the grapes expected for this season in the affected area of the municipality of Requena and its villages had already been harvested, which helped minimize the damage. Other crops affected are olive groves with 10%, ornamental crops and nurseries with 8%, and vegetables with 7%.
UTC time: Wednesday, September 20, 2023 14:45 PM
Your time: Wednesday, September 20, 2023 at 3:45 PM GMT+1
Magnitude Type: mww
USGS page: M 6.0 - central East Pacific Rise
USGS status: Reviewed by a seismologist
Reports from the public: 1 person
10 km depth
Central East Pacific Rise