Earth ChangesS


Cloud Grey

Biggest ever recorded El Niño sweeping globe


New Scientist
Wed, 02 Dec 2015 00:00 UTC
Elnino
© Unknown
The current extreme El Niño is now the strongest ever recorded, smashing the previous record from 1997-8. Already wreaking havoc on weather around the world, the new figures mean those effects will probably get worse. Climate change could be to blame and is known to be making the extreme impacts of El Niño on weather more likely.

The 1997-8 El Niño killed 20,000 people and caused almost $97 billion of damage as floods, droughts, fires, cyclones and mudslides ravaged the world.

Now the current El Niño has surpassed the 1997-8 El Niño on a key measure, according to the latest figures released by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency.
Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Chennai floods: Death toll in India's fourth-most populous metropolitan area reaches 269

Nida Najar
The Telegraph
Fri, 04 Dec 2015 00:14 UTC
Chennai floods 2015
© Atul Yadav/Press Trust of India, via Associated PressFlood-ravaged Chennai, India, on Thursday after heavy rains.
Rescue operations continued on Thursday in the southern Indian city of Chennai and surrounding areas after torrential rains lashed the region on Wednesday, nearly submerging the airport and forcing thousands to evacuate their homes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to Chennai to assess the flooding on Thursday, as the death toll reached 269 in the surrounding state of Tamil Nadu, said the home minister, Rajnath Singh, in an address to Parliament.

Heavy rains began in Tamil Nadu on Nov. 12, said Laxman Singh Rathore, the director general of India's Meteorological Department, part of a monsoon season that lasts in the region until late December. Nearly 14 inches of rain fell in Chennai on Wednesday, he added.

Schools and the airport have been closed, and the state government advised private companies in Chennai and two other districts to declare a holiday on Thursday and Friday, the Press Trust of India reported.
Read More...
Attention

3.2 magnitude earthquake strikes near Julian, California


Los Angeles Times
Wed, 02 Dec 2015 19:35 UTC
EARTHQUAKE REGISTER 2
A shallow magnitude 3.2 earthquake was reported Wednesday afternoon 9 miles from Julian, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 3:27 p.m. at a depth of 3.7 miles.

According to the USGS, the epicenter was 19 miles from San Diego Country Estates, Calif.; 22 miles from Alpine, Calif.; and 24 miles from Ramona, Calif.

In the last 10 days, there has been one earthquake of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.

This information comes from the USGS Earthquake Notification Service and this post was created by an algorithm written by the author.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

God of fire awakens: Mount Etna dazzles with first eruption in two years


RT
Thu, 03 Dec 2015 19:25 UTC
Mount Etna eruption
© karmel__ / Instagram
Italy's most active volcano, Mount Etna, erupted for the first time since 2013 on Thursday, sending lava and ash into the sky in a spectacular show.

The "dirty thunderstorm" caused lightning to strike through the clouds in a sight both terrific and terrifying.


Read More...
Fire

New Mount Merapi eruption in Indonesia: Increased rumblings at 21 other volcanoes in the region


Newsday
Tue, 01 Dec 2015 19:15 UTC
Mount Merapi
Mount Merapi
Deafening explosions of hot gas rattled evacuees miles from a volcano Tuesday, the latest eruption in a deadly week. Increased rumblings were reported at 21 other active volcanoes in Indonesia, raising questions about what's causing the uptick along some of the world's most volatile fault lines.

No casualties were reported in Mount Merapi's new blast, which came as Indonesia struggles to respond to an earthquake-generated tsunami that devastated a remote chain of islands. The two disasters unfolding on opposite ends of the country have killed nearly 500 people and strained the government's emergency response network. In both events, the military has been called in to help.

Merapi has killed 38 people since it started erupting a week ago. Monitoring officials have raised alert levels at some of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, with two under watch for possible eruption within two weeks and 19 showing increased activity, an official said.

Source: AP
Read More...
Roses

4-year-old boy mauled to death by 4 pit bull terriers in Detroit


Click on Detroit
Wed, 02 Dec 2015 18:56 UTC
Pit bull dragged away
Savage: Four dogs manage to crawl under the fence of a yard in this Detroit neighborhood and maul to death a four-year-old boy walking by with his mother. Three dogs were killed by police, this one was taken into custody
A 4-year-old boy died after being mauled by multiple dogs Wednesday in the 15500 block of Baylis Street in Detroit.

The Wayne County Medical Examiner completed the autopsy Thursday, stating the cause of death to be from "multiple puncture wounds."

Xavier Strickland, 4, was walking down the street with his mother, Dolly Strickland, when the neighbor's dogs attacked. Witnesses told Local 4 the dogs dragged the toddler under a fence. They were headed to Thurgood Marshall Elementary School to volunteer.

Yolanda Samuels heard the mother's calls for help and called 911.

"The dog had grabbed the baby and pulled the baby underneath the fence," Samuels said. "When I saw them carrying her baby, all I could do was just grab my baby and say, "Oh, my God. He's lifeless."

Read More...
Tornado2

Roadside whirlwind filmed in Parkes, Australia

Ben Hooper
UPI
Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:21 UTC
Whirlwind
Whirlwind
A passenger in a car traveling down a New South Wales, Australia, road captured footage of a roadside whirlwind throwing dirt high up into the air.

Susan Mill posted a video on the Higgins Storm Chasing Facebook group showing the whirlwind -- or "willy willy" as its sometimes called in Australia -- kicking up dirt Friday at the side of a Parkes, New South Wales, road.

"I think I would like to become a storm chaser. This was extremely exciting," Mill wrote.

Mill wrote the footage was filmed near Lions Park in Parkes.

Read More...
Ice Cube

Hudson Bay already 50% covered in ice compared to 0% a year ago

Robert Felix
Ice Age Now
Wed, 02 Dec 2015 13:43 UTC
Ice, snow cover north America
© National Ice Center (NIC). Alaska-Canada snow cover (white) and sea ice (yellow) 28 November 2014 (left) and 2015 (right).
Canadian lakes, other than the 'Great Lakes', have started to ice over.

Snow cover in Europe and Asia is also much more extensive than at this time last year

Ice, snow cover Eurasia
© National Ice Center (NIC).Europe-Asia snow cover (white) and sea ice (yellow) 28 November 2014 (left) and 2015 (right).
Thanks to Deon Leroux for this link
Read More...
Snowflake Cold

Heavy snowfall covers Turkey's east


Cihan News Agency
Thu, 03 Dec 2015 13:06 UTC
Turkey snow
The Central Anatolian city of Sivas was quickly covered by heavy snow on Wednesday. There has also been snowfall in the capital, Ankara. (Photo: Cihan)
Affected by a cold front moving from the Black Sea, eastern province of Erzurum saw snowfall as of late Wednesday, paralyzing daily life on Thursday.

A number of villages were closed to traffic and temperatures dropped to -2 degree. People had difficulty in reaching the city center from nearby provinces. Municipal teams have been spreading salt on the roads and removing snow on the pavements.

According to the Meteorology Directorate, the snowfall will be ongoing for two days. the depth of snow reached 37 centimeters in higher parts of Palandöken Mountain.

Read More...
Moon

Global dearth: Study claims planet has lost 33% arable land in last 40 years


RT
Thu, 03 Dec 2015 13:00 UTC
Farm land
© Pascal Rossignol / Reuters
One third of the world's arable land has been lost to erosion or pollution over the last 40 years, according to a new report. The study's authors call for vital action, warning that the global disaster could have severe effects on world food production.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Sheffield's Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures, involved analyzing numerous pieces of research published over the past decade. The scientists concluded that nearly 33 percent of the world's adequate or high-quality food-producing land has been lost at a speed surpassing nature's ability to replace diminished soil.

"Soil is lost rapidly but replaced over millennia and this represents one of the greatest global threats for agriculture," said Duncan Cameron, professor of Plant and Soil Biology at the University of Sheffield, as quoted by Phys.org. He added that "erosion rates from ploughed fields average 10-100 times greater than rates of soil formation."

Comment: For all the talk about sustainability during this time, with psychopaths in power grabbing as much remaining arable land as they can get their hands on, and natural climate change causing widespread crop failures, the planet will soon struggle to sustain billions of people.

Read More...