Earth ChangesS


Snowflake Cold

Cold snap in North Korea worse than usual; minus 16 degrees Celsius recorded


Times Daily
Wed, 20 Jan 2016 14:54 UTC
An aerial view of the frozen Taedong River in Pyongyang on Wednesday
© Associated Press Television News An aerial view of the frozen Taedong River in Pyongyang on Wednesday
The date known on traditional calendars as the day of the "Big Cold" lived up to its reputation Wednesday in North Korea.

The country has been hit by a severe cold wave sending temperatures plummeting to minus 16 degrees Celsius (3 Fahrenheit) — or about minus 24 (minus 11 F) when the wind chill is calculated.

Wednesday was the coldest day of the year so far, though forecasters said the worst may be yet to come.

Some pedestrians in the capital Pyongyang walked backward to avoid facing into the biting wind, but the cold did not stop intrepid fishermen from squatting on the frozen Taedong River in the center of the city in the hope of catching a local delicacy — a fish called sokari in Korean, golden Mandarin fish in English.

They hack holes through 40 centimeters (16 inches) of ice to send thin lines into the water below.

Pyongyang's indoor ice skating rink has also been teeming with skaters, despite the freezing temperatures inside as well as out.

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Snowflake Cold

About 80 settlements in south Ukraine remain without power following heavy snowfall


TASS
Thu, 21 Jan 2016 14:39 UTC
LIGHT IN DARK
© Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS
Seventy-two settlements in the Kherson Region, five in the Mykolaiv Region and one settlement in the Odessa Region currently remain without electricity

A total of 78 settlements in three regions in Ukraine's south remain without electricity, the press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said on Thursday.

"On Wednesday specialists from utility companies completed works on restoring electricity to settlements that were left without power as a result of complicated weather conditions - gusts of wind, snowfall and icing," the press service said.

Seventy-two settlements in the Kherson Region, five in the Mykolaiv Region and one settlement in the Odessa Region currently remain without electricity. Repair works are underway.

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Radar

Loud booms on the increase across the US - Latest in Fayette County, Pennsylvania

Ross Guidotti
Pittsburgh CBS
Wed, 20 Jan 2016 12:58 UTC
Connellsville, Fayette County
Connellsville, Fayette County
It's a mystery not only in this area, but in communities across the country.

They sound like loud explosions, except there's never any damage. So, what is really going on?

Imagine you're sitting on your front porch when out of nowhere a cataclysmic explosion goes off. You see a bright light, you feel the force, and then, it goes away. Then, when emergency responders go to investigate, they can't find a thing.

Well, it happened in Fayette County recently and it's happening around the United States.

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Snowflake Cold

Extreme 'cold wave' weather chills 90 percent of China, as temperatures drop to -30C

Jessica Haworth
Daily Mirror (UK)
Thu, 21 Jan 2016 17:41 UTC
Fishing boats frozen by sea ice in China
© RexFishing boats frozen by sea ice at the sea area in Qinhuangdao, a port city in north China's Hebei Province

An extreme 'cold wave' has hit most of north and east China, with low temperatures and frost expected to last for around a week

These amazing pictures show the astonishing effects of an extreme 'cold wave' that has hit 90 percent of China.

Parts of China suffered a bitterly cold chill this week as temperatures dropped to the lowest they've been in 30 years.

These pictures show residents in Harbin, the northernmost provincial capital in China, as they battled the elements in -30C.

One image shows a huge clump of ice frozen in mid air above a man's head as he threw water over himself.

Another man's eyebrows collected freezing icicles on them which had twisted into clumps 'growing' from his brow.

And a woman smiled through the cold as ice collected on her wooly hat and the ends of her hair while she wore a face mask in the bitter chill.


hot water freezing in air in China
© RexA man throws hot water into the air at Songhuajiang river in Harbin

Comment: See also: Very low temperatures and heavy snowfall in Mongolia; mass death of livestock

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Sun

Brown bears ditch hibernation due to unusually mild winter in Pyrenees mountains


Phys.org
Thu, 21 Jan 2016 00:00 UTC
brown bear
Brown bears normally kick off their hibernation at the end of November and only emerge at the start of April
Several brown bears in the Pyrenees mountains that separate Spain from France have ditched their usual hibernation for food as winter temperatures remain unusually clement, environment and animal experts said Thursday.

Earlier in January, workers at the Alto Pirineo Natural Park on the Spanish side of the mountain range watched open-mouthed as footage from cameras placed in a rocky area showed a bear and her three cubs rummaging for food when they should have been snug in their cave.

"It's not normal to find a sow with three cubs not hibernating in winter," Santiago Palazon, head of the biodiversity and animal protection division of Catalonia's regional government, told AFP.

"They had been outside of their cave for at least one week."
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Bell

6.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off Jalisco, Mexico


abc7.com
Thu, 21 Jan 2016 19:44 UTC
map mexico
© Usgs.govA preliminary magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck off the Mexican coast, 165 miles west southwest of Cihuatlan, Jalisco at 10:07 a.m. PT on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016.
A magnitude-6.6 earthquake struck well off the Pacific coast of Jalisco, Mexico on Thursday morning.

The quake initially registered at 6.9 in magnitude but was later downgraded to 6.6, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake struck at 10:07 a.m. PT and was centered 134 miles southwest of Tomatlan and 158 miles west of Cihuatlan, USGS said.

Jalisco's Civil Protection agency said via Twitter that it was monitoring the state's 125 municipalities to rule out any damage.

The U.S. National Weather Service's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake was not forecast to cause a tsunami.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Attention

300 turtles and a bottlenose dolphin found dead on beach in India


Catch News
Thu, 21 Jan 2016 19:20 UTC
Turtles
© Orissadiary.com
The Puri Beach in Odisha turned into a graveyard for around 300 Olive Ridley turtles and a bottlenose dolphin. The marine animals were found dead here on 20 January.

Although turtle carcasses are usually found near Pantha Niwas on the beach during winter, the sheer number of the dead animals spooked locals.

According to news reports, the forest and marine fisheries authorities have seized two trawlers for carrying out unauthorised fishing - despite a ban which was put in place due to the nesting season of the turtles.

Collector of Puri, Arabind Agarwal, told the media that a report had been sought from the concerned agencies. He said:

Comment: See also this recent report: Thousands of carcasses of Olive Ridley turtles wash ashore in Andhra Pradesh, India

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Cloud Precipitation

400 displaced and 1 dead after floods in Tanzania

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Thu, 21 Jan 2016 18:45 UTC
FLOODS
Several periods of heavy rainfall in Tanzania since 14 January 2016 have caused flooding in the regions of Mwanza and Dodoma, according to local media.

At least 400 people have been displaced in Dodoma municipality after 70 houses were destroyed or damaged after heavy rain between 17 and 18 January 2016.

In Mwanza region, a young boy died when he was swept away by flood water in the city of Mwanza, after heavy rain between 14 and 15 January.

Some minor flooding was also reported in Dar es Salaam between 20 and 21 January 2016.

Flood Warnings

Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) warned that further heavy rainfall is expected, with over 50 mm in 24 hours possible in some places, including Lindi, Mtwara and southern parts of Pwani and Morogoro regions. TMA said that due to the heavy rain from previous weeks, additional rains are very likely to cause floods.
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Alarm Clock

2.3 magnitude earthquake hits Saudi Arabia


Gulf Digital News
Thu, 21 Jan 2016 16:38 UTC
earthquake
An earthquake measuring 2.3 degrees on the Richter scale hit the area near the village of Taba, 80 kilometres away from Hail City, at 6.18 am.

According to a reort in Arabic language daily Okaz, tremors which lasted for 16 seconds sparked panic among Taba villagers, who did not allow their children to go to school.

The National Centre for Earthquakes and Volcanoes director Hani Zahran confirmed the quake and dismissed any volcanic activity in the region of Hail, urging people not to panic.
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Snowflake Cold

Very low temperatures and heavy snowfall in Mongolia; mass death of livestock


AKIpress
Wed, 20 Jan 2016 15:06 UTC
Mongolia
Yurt in snow storm
Frost-cold-winter Mongolia is experiencing very low temperatures and heavy snowfall since early-November 2015, locally named dzud (or jute, mass deaths of livestock in winter). According to the National Emergency Management Authority, snow has covered 90 percent of the total territory with conditions getting more severe, ReliefWeb reports.

Based on the latest assessment report released from the Mongolian government in early-January 2016, 50 districts in 16 provinces are currently categorized as experiencing dzud, while 120 districts in 20 provinces are on the edge of entering dzud condition.

Some local level governments have already declared dzud in their respective districts as part of the early warning and preparedness measures.

The Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment has indicated that based on the weather forecast, continuous snowfall, snowstorms and temperatures are expected to persist on average of below -25 degrees Celsius (-13°F) during daytime and -38 degrees (-36°F) during night in the coming weeks. These will further affect more than 965,000 people, especially vulnerable herders living in the affected districts.
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