Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills motorcyclist in Odisha, India

lightning
Lightning strike allegedly claimed life of a motorcyclist near Hiloi under Talcher police limits in Odisha's Angul district, today.

The deceased has been identified as Ajay Kumar Sahu (25) of Belapada village. He was working at a coal mine in Bharatpur area.

Sahu was heading towards his workplace when lightning struck around 5 am killing him on the spot, locals said. On being informed, police reached the spot, recovered the body and sent it to Talcher sub-divisional hospital for post-mortem.

The two-wheeler on which he was travelling has been seized by police and investigation is underway.

Comment: Also in India on the 26th of September a lightning bolt killed 5 people in Maharashtra.


Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills runner in Elk City State Park, Kansas

lightning
A runner was struck and killed by lightning during an event at a park in southeast Kansas on Saturday as storms were reported in the area.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said the incident took place in Elk City State Park near the town of Independence, located about 116 miles southeast of Wichita.

Elk City State Park officials confirmed to FOX23 a runner was fatally struck at the park in Montgomery County, Kan.

Tornado1

Hurricane Lorenzo, strongest storm ever to hit the northeast Atlantic, threatens Ireland & UK

A satellite image of Lorenzo taken September 26, 2019
© NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)A satellite image of Lorenzo taken September 26, 2019


Storm Lorenzo has grown to a category-5 hurricane - the first ever to be so designated this far east and north over the Atlantic.
Meteorologists are warning that the huge weather system is likely to veer into Ireland and Britain.

Based on current projections, the storm could spin north-east towards Ireland and the UK, bringing heavy wind and rains by Thursday evening, local time.

The US National Hurricane Center said on Sunday that the storm had reached category-5 strength, with sustained winds of 155 miles per hour (50 km/h). Lorenzo is expected to first come close to the Azores, an archipelago of small islands in the mid-Atlantic, before turning its sights north.


Attention

5 whales found stranded on Edisto Beach, South Carolina - at least 4 die

Four whales were found stranded on Edisto Beach around 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning, according to Chief George Brothers of Edisto Police
© WCIVFour whales were found stranded on Edisto Beach around 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning, according to Chief George Brothers of Edisto Police
Four whales were found stranded on Edisto Beach around 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning, according to Chief George Brothers of Edisto Police.

The whales were discovered near beach access 36.

According to wildlife officials, the four pilot whales have all died. Authorities said one of the whales was dead before crews arrived, and that some of the animals needed to be euthanized because they were all believed to be sick or injured.

Officials said attempting to return the living whales back to the water would likely have prolonged their suffering.

Comment: Also in this same past week: Mass stranding of 134 melon-headed whales on Cape Verde's Boa Vista island


Seismograph

Magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes off southern Philippines, felt in central Indonesia

Philippines earthquake
© USGSAccording to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the earthquake struck off Davao Occidental province in the southern Philippines at 10.02am local time on Sunday (Sept 29).
A revised 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Davao Occidental province in the southern Philippines on Sunday morning (Sept 29) and was felt in North Sulawesi province in central Indonesia.

The quake hit near the border of the two countries, said Mr Widyatmoko, an official in charge at the Indonesian meteorology and geophysics agency told the Xinhua news agency.

"The quake (was) centred in the Philippine territory but it is situated near the border of Indonesia and the Philippines," he said.

There was no potential for a tsunami, Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics agency said after the quake.

The agency had initially put the quake's magnitude at 6.7.

Indonesia is vulnerable to earthquakes, as it lies on a quake-impacted zone called the "Pacific Ring of Fire."

Last Thursday, Indonesia's eastern province of Ambon was hit by a 6.5-magnitude quake, leaving at least 30 people dead, 156 others wounded and massive infrastructure damage, according to the national disaster management agency.

Doberman

Pit bulls suspected as dead man with wounds to his face found in Port Elizabeth, South Africa

PIT BULL ATTACK
The body of a 48-year-old man was found with multiple dog bites in Port Elizabeth on Friday morning.

Police spokesperson Capt Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the man was found in Armstrong Street, Malabar, around 7am.

"At this stage circumstances surrounding the attack and subsequent death is unclear. However, while police were still processing the crime scene, they followed up on information of a woman washing dogs in Malabar, not far from the crime scene."

She said police called in the animal anti-cruelty league to remove three pitbulls pending the investigation.

A postmortem will be conducted to confirm the cause of death.

Red Flag

Hiding the hottest month on record

climate cartoon
NASA temperature records used to show March, 1878 as the hottest month on record around the world. There was a global heatwave and drought which killed fifty million people that year. NASA has since made the heat of 1878 disappear, and removed all of the hot weather prior to 1880. And the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has done even worse.


Cloud Precipitation

Pune, India: At least 56 people dead after 'unprecedented' monsoon rains

monsoon damage
© Reuters / Jignesh MistryDamaged vehicles are seen following heavy rains in Pune, India, September 26, 2019.
At least 59 people have been killed this week alone after an "unprecedented" level of monsoon downpours in northern India, according to an official.

Most of the fatalities were caused by house collapses, lightning strikes and by drowning in heavy floods in the state of Uttar Pradesh. At least five people were killed by snake bites in flooded areas, said Sandhaya Kureel, a spokeswoman of the Disaster Management and Relief Department.

The temple city of Varanasi was battered by 19 centimeters (seven inches) of rain on Thursday and Friday. While nearly 3,000 people were moved to higher ground due to flooding in Pune city and neighboring areas in what the Maharashtra state chief minister called an "unprecedented storm".

Sun

Sundog phenomena seen in the skies of Malta

Sundog over Malta
© Victoria Massalha
Anyone looking up at the sky on Tuesday, just before sunset, would have seen something strange - two suns.

In a rare phenomenon, that seems to have gone unnoticed by many, Malta experienced what is known as a sundog, or mock sun. Victoria Massalha was one of the lucky ones who spotted it while driving home in the Mizieb area.

"I was looking up at the sky on my way home and thought: look, there's a rainbow in the sun," she said.

Ms Massalha managed to take photos and a video of the rare sight and shared them with our readers for all to enjoy.

Blue Planet

Ocean Stupidification

ocean
There has been a tremendous burst of propaganda this week about the oceans during the UN climate meeting. Yesterday I discussed the fake claims about sea level, and in this video I discuss the fake claims about ocean acidification.