Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Food prices set to rise in UK as floods ruin crops, planting delayed

Zoe Wood
The Guardian
Fri, 15 Nov 2019 18:20 UTC
potatoes
© Andrew Paterson/AlamyFILE PHOTO: A ruined crop of potatoes. Experts say supermarkets may have to rely on imports from as far afield as Egypt, pushing up environmental impact.
The price of crisps and chips are expected to rise in the new year as the flooding in northern England hits the supply of winter vegetables such as potatoes, cauliflowers and cabbages.

Official data released on Friday revealed a "great deal of uncertainty" around the fate of a 10th of the country's potato crop as farmers count the cost of the deluge that has overwhelmed parts of South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the Midlands.

"There are increasing reports of crops being abandoned or farmers halting lifting but remaining hopeful that they might salvage something in the spring," said analysts at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) in their weekly update. With some potatoes rotting in standing water, the report adds: "There remains a great deal of uncertainty over the fate of the crop area yet to be lifted. An estimated 2-3% of the area is expected to have to be completely written off."

Comment: Extreme weather of all kinds are wreaking havoc on food production all over the planet, and, as noted in the article, this has become a recurrent problem:


Read More...
Question

Mystery surrounds why hundreds of dead seabirds have washed up on Sydney's beaches

Charlie Moore
Daily Mail
Mon, 18 Nov 2019 12:44 UTC
Hundreds of dead birds are washing up on Sydney's iconic beaches. Pictured: The corpses of short-tailed shearwaters on an Australian beach in October
Hundreds of dead birds are washing up on Sydney's iconic beaches. Pictured: The corpses of short-tailed shearwaters on an Australian beach in October
Hundreds of dead birds are washing up on Sydney's iconic beaches.

The corpses of short-tailed shearwaters have been spotted at several shorelines including Bondi, Manly and Cronulla.

The birds are migrating back to southern Australia to breed after spending the summer in Alaska.

But, according to experts, a higher number than usual are dying on the way due to a lack of food.

Comment: For some time now these types of events have also been occurring widely across the world, see these similar reports from recent years:

Read More...
Attention

Indonesia's Mount Merapi spews 1,000-metre high ash columns


The Star (Malaysia)
Sun, 17 Nov 2019 12:25 UTC
A screen grab from Indonesia's National Disaster
A screen grab from Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency Twitter feed showing the eruption.
Indonesia's volatile Mount Merapi volcano erupted on Sunday (Nov 17) morning, spewing ash columns up to 1000m into the sky, an official says.

The volcano's eruption occurred at 10:46 am (0346 GMT) Sunday and lasted for 155 seconds, Agus Wibowo, a spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said in a statement.

The ash cloud from the eruption was blown west, sprinkling a thin layer of ash on some parts of the village of Banyubiru Dukun, located on the side of the mountain, Wibowo said.

Read More...
Tornado2

Large waterspout filmed off Canterbury, New Zealand


News Now
Mon, 18 Nov 2019 11:54 UTC
Footage of the tornado hitting the roof was posted on Twitter.
Footage of the tornado hitting the roof was posted on Twitter.
A large waterspout has been spotted off the Canterbury coast as an intense thunderstorm cell moves offshore.

The footage was taken at Pines Beach North Canterbury this afternoon shortly after a tornado ripped through Sydenham in Christchurch leaving two people hospitalised.

1 NEWS meteorologist Dan Corbett explained the conditions leading up to the wild weather this afternoon.

"Conditions were perfect for making a thunderstorm with very cold air in the atmosphere, then the southerly winds down low went up and met the cold air above.

Read More...
Windsock

Record-setting wave recorded in the Adriatic Sea, Croatia


Croatia Week
Wed, 13 Nov 2019 07:56 UTC
Record wave in Adriatic sea
© HHI
The Croatian Hydrographic Institute has reported this morning that record high waves have been measured in the Adriatic. The record wave was recorded on Tuesday at around 4 pm near the small island of Sveti Andrija near Dubrovnik.

"The maximum wave height (Hmax) was 10.87m, whilst the significant wave height (SWH or Hs) = 4.75m (sea state 6) and period T = 10s. The wave came from the direction = 167.1°," the Institute said.

The Civil Protection Directorate announced on Wednesday morning that the storms had affected almost the entire coast from Dubrovnik to Istria and fortunately there were no injuries.

Flooding was recorded in Split, Rovinj, Porec and many other places along the coast. The storm hit the county yesterday morning, tearing down pine trees in National Park Mljet NP, and there were landslides also reported. Power poles and trees in several settlements collapsed.


Comment: The same weather system also badly affected Venice. See also:

Two reported dead as Venice flooded by highest tide in 50 years - 85% of city under water


Comment: Extreme winter storms and wave heights have been increasing over the last 70 years in the Western Europe

Read More...
Arrow Down

Avalanche engulfs the Italian town of Martell


Yahoo! News
Sun, 17 Nov 2019 18:26 UTC
avalanche
Large snowdrifts and debris partially engulfed the Italian town of Martell on November 17.

Christian Gurschler, a resident of the town, recorded this video and told Storyful: "We got evacuated because its possible that there will arrive some more. All the streets in our valley are closed now."

A South Tyrol-based meteorologist, Dieter Peterlin, warned on Twitter, of a high risk of avalanches in the area. Martell is located in South Tyrol.

Read More...
Music

'It's like gigantic wind-chimes': Strange sky sounds heard in Norwood, Ohio


Sott.net
Wed, 30 Oct 2019 17:57 UTC
Strange sounds (stock)
On October 30, 2019, YouTuber 'Jeff Stockman' shared footage of strange sounds he heard in the skies of Norwood, Ohio. He attributes the sound to a 'natural phenomenon', but something on the 'creepy side':

Read More...
Snowflake

Heavy snowfall hits Morocco earlier than usual

Safaa Kasraoui
Morocco World News
Sun, 17 Nov 2019 13:18 UTC
Mount Pueblan
© MohamMed HamMoukiMount Pueblan
With an alpine style architecture and Middle Atlas Mountains, Ifrane is celebrating its first snow drops during this year's winter season.

The inhabitants of the city woke up on Saturday, November 16 to find their city covered with snow.

Morocco's weather office had issued a statement earlier this week announcing a cold wave with snowfall in several cities, including Ifrane.

Drop in temperatures led to the first snowfall in the Moroccan town, covering its roads and poplar trees.

Read More...
Snowflake

A foot of snow blankets Tehran, Iran in rare event for time of year locally


Albawaba
Sun, 17 Nov 2019 11:14 UTC
People walk under heavy snow in the Iranian capital Tehran on November 16, 2019.
© Atta Kenare/AFPPeople walk under heavy snow in the Iranian capital Tehran on November 16, 2019.
Heavy snowfall has caught residents of the Iranian capital Tehran off guard, bringing the city to a standstill and closing schools in the northern districts of the metropolis.

It all began with tiny hailstones hitting northern part of Tehran during Saturday morning rush hour but it soon grew into a full force snowfall and blanketed the streets.

The snow resulted in heavy traffic in many streets as it covered the city with a blanket of 30 centimeters.

Hamid Mousavi, mayor of Tehran's first district, told the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) that the backed-up traffic prevented the use of snowploughs and forced the municipal workers to clear roads and pavements by hand.

Snowing is a rare occurrence in Tehran during the fall. It came following days of windless weather that pushed air pollution dangerously high.

Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 4 family members in Zambia


Diggers
Fri, 15 Nov 2019 10:54 UTC
lightning
Four members of the same family have died after lightning struck their home around 17:00 hours on November 16 in Kawambwa.

In a statement, Sunday, Police spokesperson Esther Mwaata Katongo stated that the deceased were all of Musundu Village.

"On 16th November, 2019 around 19:00 hrs, Police in Kawambwa received a report of Sudden and Unnatural Death in which four family members were struck by Lightning whilst inside the house during a heavy rain.
Read More...