Earth ChangesS


Seismograph

Magnitude 7.4 earthquake hits off Indonesia, killing one - numerous aftershocks including a magnitude 6.2


BBC
Thu, 02 Apr 2026 09:05 UTC
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A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck in the Molucca Sea off Indonesia's Ternate island early Thursday, killing at least one person.

The quake, which struck at 06:48 local time (22:48 GMT) at a depth of 35km, sparked tsunami warnings which have since been withdrawn.

A 70-year-old woman in North Sulawesi died after being crushed by building debris, and another person broke their leg after jumping off a building, Indonesia's national news agency Antara reported.

While the region experiences high levels of seismic activity, some residents told the BBC this was one of the strongest earthquakes they have felt in at least the past six years.

Comment: Earthquake Track reports a 6.2 aftershock about 5 hours after the main event.

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Windsock

1,000-mile Saharan dust storm across northwestern Africa, from the sky and from the ground

Jesse Ferrell
UPI
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:49 UTC
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A massive dust storm, or haboob, swept across the Sahara Desert from western Algeria into Mauritania, Morocco, Western Sahara and the Canary Islands on Monday. The dust stretched for more than 1,000 miles.

As meteorologists observed the dust storm from space via weather satellites, social media users captured the incoming dust storm on camera. One video shows a thick wall of dust and sand moving toward a resident of the town of Tindouf, near the Mauritanian, Western Saharan and Moroccan borders.

While this storm didn't make it too far off the coast, significant amounts of dust can drift westward from Africa across the Atlantic beginning in May. This can inhibit tropical storm formation, or the strengthening of an existing system, because the dusty air has about 50 less moisture than the typical tropical atmosphere.

Strong winds in the dust layer can also substantially increase the vertical wind shear in and around the storm environment, potentially disrupting any storm that forms.


Source: AccuWeather
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Snowflake

Snow nearly 6 feet deep leaves tourists stranded in Poland's Tatra Mountains

Stanisław Kaleta
tvpworld.com
Wed, 01 Apr 2026 19:31 UTC
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The live feed from the Vally of Five Lakes shows what visibility is like.
Heavy snowfall has trapped around a dozen people in a remote shelter high in Poland's Tatra Mountains.

Following a deterioration in weather and a heightened risk of avalanches, authorities at the Tatra National Park in southern Poland said on Tuesday that all 275 kilometers of trails would be shut until further notice.

The extreme winter weather has left around a dozen tourists and staff stranded at a mountain hut in the famous Valley of Five Lakes, the hut's owner, Marta Krzeptowska told the Polish state-owned news agency, PAP.

With snow cover in some places reaching up to 180 cm (71 inches) on Tuesday, Krzeptowska said guests would have to remain in the shelter until conditions improved and trails reopened. But she emphasized that the situation is under control.


Comment: A related report from 4 days prior: Snow blankets crocuses in Poland's Tatra Mountains, raising concerns for spring display

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Seismograph

6.0-magnitude earthquake strikes northern Peru


breakingthenews.net
Wed, 01 Apr 2026 19:03 UTC
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An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 struck northern Peru on Wednesday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The quake was recorded at a depth of 108.8 kilometers at 6:20 am local time. Its epicenter was registered 27 kilometers east-southeast of Peru's town of Picota and 227 kilometers west-northwest of the Peruvian city of Pucallpa, which has 310,000 inhabitants.

There were no initial reports of material damage or casualties following the earthquake.
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Doberman

Toddler killed in dog attack in Pulaski County, Arkansas

Rafael Escalera Montoto
Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 10:58 UTC
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A 2-year-old girl was killed in a dog attack in Pulaski County on Saturday, a news release from the sheriff's office says.

Around 6:25 p.m., deputies responded to the 6000 block of Norman Road regarding an animal attack involving the girl, the release says. The girl was pronounced dead at the scene, the release says.

The sheriff's office, working with the Pulaski County Animal Control Division, found and is holding the dog believed to be involved in the attack, pending DNA testing, the release says. The DNA testing aims to determine whether the dog in custody is the one responsible, said Kristin Knox, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office.

The sheriff's office has not identified an owner and has not ruled out the possibility of the dog being a stray, Knox said. If the dog is determined to have an owner, the owner could be liable for the death, she added.

The attack remains under investigation, the release says.

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Snowflake Cold

Winter temperatures, spring snow on the island of Sardinia, Italy


unionesarda.it
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:47 UTC
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Winter arrives in Sardinia in the early days of spring, once again blanketing the peaks of the Gennargentu mountains after a weekend of freezing temperatures and a few sprinklings of snow above 1,000 meters.

Holy Week begins with subzero temperatures in the mountainous areas of the island, where this morning temperatures reached -2.1 degrees Celsius in Su Separadorgiu, just below the peak of Bruncispina, 1,440 meters above sea level.

Winter temperatures, below zero, were recorded throughout the Nuoro area and in Alta Gallura.

Further rainfall is expected for much of Holy Week, then the Azores anticyclone will reach the Mediterranean, bringing sunshine and temperatures above 20 degrees on Easter Monday.

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Wolf

Wolf bites woman in shock German attack in Hamburg shopping street

Bethany Bell
BBC
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:26 UTC
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© Getty Images(File pic) Several sightings of the wolf were reported to police before the woman was bitten
A woman has been bitten by a wolf in a major shopping street in Hamburg, according to German authorities.

The highly unusual attack took place in the bustling Grosse Bergstrasse in Hamburg Altona, near an inner-city Ikea store on Monday evening.

The woman appears to have tried to lead the disoriented animal away from the shopping street. The wolf then bit the woman's face, according to local reports and then ran off.

The woman was taken to hospital but has since been discharged.

It's believed to be the first time a person has been attacked by a wolf since the animals began to reestablish themselves in Germany decades ago.
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Attention

2 more dead gray whales spotted in San Francisco Bay - 4 in 2 weeks

Scott Budman
nbcbayarea.com
Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:11 UTC
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Two more dead gray whales were spotted in San Francisco Bay over the weekend, doubling the number that have washed up in the area so far this year, according to The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC).

On Saturday, a dead gray whale was seen floating off Tiburon near the Larkspur Ferry Terminal, TMMC said. The adult female was spotted again on Sunday being pulled out toward the Golden Gate Bridge by strong tidal patterns. Experts determined the whale's skin was in good condition with overall minimal body decomposition.

Another dead gray whale was spotted Sunday off Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor, according to TMMC. Additional information about the animal wasn't immediately available.

TMMC hopes to perform necropsies on the whales to determine how they died.

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Attention

55 pilot whales stranded, 21 dead in Rote, Indonesia on March 9

Leony
ugm.ac.id
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:56 UTC
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Dozens of pilot whales were found stranded along the coast of Mbadokai Beach, Deranitan Village, and Fuafuni Village in Southwest Rote, Rote Ndao, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Monday (March 9), shocking local residents. Of the total 55 stranded pilot whales, 21, comprising 4 calves and 17 adults, were found dead, while the remaining 34 were successfully herded back to the sea.

A lecturer at the UGM Faculty of Biology (Biology UGM), Akbar Reza, expressed concern over the deaths of the stranded pilot whales. Pilot whales are a species under full conservation protection. Moreover, Akbar noted that globally, according to data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there is no comprehensive global population data available.

"Based on IUCN data, we do not have global population figures, so we do not know whether their population is increasing, decreasing, stable, or otherwise," he said on Tuesday (March 31).

He also highlighted that this incident serves as an alarm about ecological disturbances in the surrounding waters, especially since such events are not the first.

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Volcano

Semeru volcano erupts explosively in Indonesia— 3 camera angles capture the March 29, 2026 eruption

afarTV
YouTube
Mon, 30 Mar 2026 20:19 UTC
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This video shows an explosive eruption of Semeru Volcano on March 29, 2026, captured from three different camera angles. The multi-angle view reveals the force of the eruption and gives a broader look at the activity at one of Indonesia's most closely watched volcanoes.

According to Indonesia's official MAGMA/PVMBG volcanic activity reporting for Sunday, March 29, 2026, Semeru was at Level III (Siaga / Alert). In the official activity report for the 00:00 - 06:00 WIB period, observers noted that the volcano was clearly visible, with clear weather and light winds to the west.

Semeru has remained active through late March 2026. Weekly reporting compiled from PVMBG stated that during March 22 - 29, 2026, daily eruptive events produced ash plumes rising about 0.2 to 1.8 km above the summit, mainly drifting north, northwest, and west, while the alert level remained at 3.

This footage captures one of those eruptive moments from multiple perspectives, offering a rare and dramatic view of Semeru's continuing activity.

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