Earth ChangesS


Arrow Up

Volcano erupts on French island of Réunion forming one mile crack

Joey Millar
The Express
Tue, 03 Apr 2018 17:49 UTC
Piton de la Fournaise volcano on Reunion Island has erupted
© Institut de Physique du Globe de ParisPiton de la Fournaise volcano on Reunion Island has erupted
The Piton de la Fournaise volcano on Reunion Island, one of the most active in the world, began erupting this morning for the first time since July 2017.

One scientist warned of a "seismic crisis" after the eruption caused a crack in the crater stretching one mile across the French island, which is located in the Indian Ocean

The eruption was so strong its effected could be seen by satellite, which experts warning it is continuing to "intensity".

And the eruption also caused landslides and fumaroles - openings through which toxic gas escapes.

The Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), a French governmental research institution, said: "The volcanic tremor continues to intensify."

And IPGP seismologist Lucile Bruhat said on Twitter: "Volcanic eruption in progress in Reunion Island at Piton de la Fournaise. Seismic crisis this morning leading to dike (~1km long) opening."

IPGP flew a helicopter over the volcano and said they're local OVPF team had seen "lava fountains" erupting through the crust of the crater.

They said: "Following a reconnaissance made by a team of the OVPF at the ramparts of the Enclos, the eruptive activity could be confirmed.
Read More...
Attention

Argentina's worst drought in years undermining economy


Financial Tribune
Tue, 03 Apr 2018 20:23 UTC
Argentina’s Worst Drought Undermining Economy
Argentina’s Worst Drought Undermining Economy

Jorge Josifovich is silent and downcast as he walks under the pounding sun in one of Argentina's most fertile agricultural regions, staring at soy crops parched by the country's worst drought in years.

The drought, which began in November, has caused big losses, reduced expectations of economic growth and raised concerns among farmers, government officials and experts in the world's third-largest exporter of soybean and corn, AP reported.

"It's dramatic," said Josifovich, a farmer and agricultural engineer who provides advice to growers. He picked up soy seeds from a plant that stands at about half its normal height. "Not only is there the physical loss of grain yield, but there's also the loss of quality, which lowers the product's final price."

That's a blow to Argentina, where farming is the economy's main engine, and high or low prices for soy and other commodities can either help sustain or bust government investment plans.

President Mauricio Macri was counting on a near-record soy crop this year to boost economic growth to 3.5% in 2018. Instead, what is expected to be the poorest harvest in at least a decade has already cut growth forecasts by up to a percentage point.

While Macri struggles to reduce the country's high fiscal deficit and tame inflation, Argentines continue to lose purchasing power and many are growing increasingly frustrated with rises in fuel and transportation costs.

The value of grain exports this year could be cut by up to $3.4 billion as a result of the drought, according to recent estimates by the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange. But the impact could be even more bruising if related industries are taken into account.

Comment: We're seeing crop failures all over the world as the seasons become more erratic with brutal winters dragging on into Spring, record frosts and more hailstorms, floods and droughts. The world is seeing a rapid upsurge in extreme weather according to a recent report, so as more crops fail the likelihood of food price rises invariably increases. See also:

Read More...
Attention

Bear mauls 3 men to death in Orissa, India

Sanjay Pandey
Mirror (UK)
Tue, 03 Apr 2018 20:31 UTC
The brutal attack took place in India
© Newslions / SWNS.comThe brutal attack took place in India
Distressing footage shows the moment a villager who was out collecting flowers was mauled to death by a bear .

Nabakishore Nayak was killed while picking a special flower used to make liquor.

But when two other men tried to come to his rescue they were also killed by the creature.

The 54-year-old's distraught sons - who witnessed the attack - said the bear pounced from behind.

They said their father was not carrying a weapon to defend himself in the attack.

Upsetting footage shows him attempting to fight off the animal, in Khadiadhia in the Keonjhar district in Orissa in India.

Read More...
Attention

Elephant tramples man to death in Kerala, India

Jessica Green
Daily Mail
Tue, 03 Apr 2018 20:22 UTC
Suddenly the creature stomps forward and crushes the man's body under his giant feet
Suddenly the creature stomps forward and crushes the man's body under his giant feet
This is the horrifying moment a man is trampled to death by a raging elephant as terrified onlookers run for their lives.

Graphic footage captured the animal's deadly rampage in Kerala, a southern state of India.

At the start of the video the group of men that surround the elephant, in what appears to be a temple of some sort, can be heard shouting towards it.

Read More...
Snowflake

Asir region of Saudi Arabia gets covered in snow


Khaleej Times
Tue, 03 Apr 2018 19:20 UTC
The region experienced rain and snow for six hours.
The region experienced rain and snow for six hours.
The Asir region of Saudi Arabia was covered with snow as the weather witnessed a change in temperature, Saudi news Agency SPA reported on Tuesday.

For six hours, the region experienced rain and snow, which covered the mountains and roads in white including the Al Hussein and Al Omar valleys.

Read More...
Snowflake Cold

Depth of snow in the Alps hits 7 metres, Swiss ski resort gets 5 feet of snowfall in 7 days

Patrick Thorne
Inthesnow
Mon, 02 Apr 2018 18:18 UTC
Alps
Snow depths in the Alps have passed the 7m mark for what is believed to be the first time in many years.

Engelberg in Switzerland, which has reported the deepest base in the world for much of winter 17-18, somewhere above 6m/20 feet, reported 145cm (just under five feet) of snowfall in the past 7 days, again the biggest total for the Alps this week, and now reports its upper slope base at 7.4m - nearly 25 feet.

The resort is open for snow sports to mid-May.
Read More...
Attention

Baby boy snatched by monkey found dead in Odisha, India

Binita Jaiswal
The Times of India
Sun, 01 Apr 2018 12:55 UTC
The baby’s father, Ramakrushna Nayak lies prostrate before God, praying for safety of his child in Talabasta village of Odisha’s Cuttack district.
© SambadThe baby’s father, Ramakrushna Nayak lies prostrate before God, praying for safety of his child in Talabasta village of Odisha’s Cuttack district.
The body of a 16-day-old boy, who snatched by a monkey from his home in Odisha's Cuttack district, was recovered from a well in the backyard of the house on Sunday morning.

The incident occured in Talabasta village in Banki on Saturday at the residence of Rama Krushna Nayak, boy's father.

The body was sent to Banki Hospital for postmortem to know the exact cause of the death. Police said a woman had gone to the well to fetch water when she spotted baby's body floating in it. She immediately informed other family members after which the body was fished out from the well.
Read More...
Bug

Locusts swarm in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions, Western Australia

Michelle Stanley
abc.net.au
Sun, 01 Apr 2018 12:12 UTC
Locusts swarming through Western Australia's Pilbara and Kimberley regions
© cms.ausgeo.bauer-media.net.au.Locusts swarming through Western Australia's Pilbara and Kimberley regions
Locusts swarming through Western Australia's Pilbara and Kimberley regions are costing pastoralists thousands of dollars in lost pasture and control efforts.

The warm and wet summer in the north provided a perfect breeding ground for the yellow-winged locust.

Pastoralists believed locust numbers had not been so high for decades.

Bettini Beef Pastoral Group general manager Mark Bettini said in his 30 years in the Pilbara, the worst locust plague he had seen was in 1998 at De Grey Station, 100 kilometres east of Port Hedland.

"You could not see the tin on the roof for grasshoppers," Mr Bettini said.
Read More...
Windsock

Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Strange winds in the Arctic, early Pacific super typhoon and Antarctic sea ice returns


Adapt 2030
Mon, 02 Apr 2018 06:59 UTC
Super Typhoon Jelawat
© NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP/VIIRSSuper Typhoon Jelawat on March 30, 2018.
Winds are noticeably changing in the Northern Hemisphere due to the continued weakening of the magnetosphere as we descend further into the grand solar minimum. Zonal winds @65N and above had a dramatic reduction, but in the Pacific a super typhoon forms in March. Antarctic sea ice makes a massive recovery nearly breaking above the 1981-2010 average. The shift to a colder polar climate in beginning to show, now add in unstable global winds and I feel the result will be crop yield reductions.


Comment: Jelawat rapidly intensified into the first super typhoon of 2018

Read More...
Snowflake

UK: Snow, rain and floods make bank holiday travels a trial


BBC News
Mon, 02 Apr 2018 20:50 UTC
snow, cars
Drivers in Nenthead, Cumbria faced treacherous conditions as up to 4in (10cm) of snow fell in the north of the UK.
Travellers returning from bank holiday trips faced delays as heavy rain and snow closed roads.

Up to 4in (10cm) of snow covered parts of Scotland, northern England and north Wales, while torrential rain fell in southern England.

Flood warnings and alerts are in force in England, Scotland and Wales.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings as the AA warns that motorists faced one of the busiest bank holidays on the roads in recent years.

As of 21:00 BST the Environment Agency had issued 41 flood warnings and 217 flood alerts in England, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency issued one flood warning for people in Scotland.

Natural Resources Wales had one flood warning and 19 flood alerts in place for Wales.

Comment: Ice age on the way: Gulf Stream is slowing down faster than ever, scientists say

Read More...