Earth ChangesS

Alarm Clock

Snow falls on Baghdad for first time in memory

Snow fell on Baghdad on Friday for the first time in memory, and delighted residents declared it an omen of peace.

Cloud Lightning

Thousands flee Zambezi flooding

Some 45,000 people in Mozambique have been displaced by flooding along the Zambezi valley, authorities say.

They say between 150,000 and 200,000 people could be affected over the coming weeks if forecast rains fall in upper reaches of the valley.

Bug

Evolutionists at war over altruism's origins

An intellectual war of words has broken out between two of the world's leading evolutionists. Oxford University's Richard Dawkins and Harvard's Edward Wilson have gone head to head over the evolution of altruism in the animal kingdom, and whether it can have come about as a result of something called group selection.

Better Earth

2 children among 5 deaths blamed on weird weather

Indiana, USA -- Flooded rivers began receding Wednesday across a swath of northern Indiana where three people drowned as melting snow and heavy rain swelled rivers during an unusual January warm streak.

Two of the victims were young children whose mother wasn't able to get them out of an SUV submerged in floodwaters.

Five deaths were blamed on flooding and tornadoes across the Midwest on Tuesday, the second day of severe weather fueled by unseasonable temperatures.

Better Earth

Gales cause roadblocks, power cuts and travel chaos



A driver had a lucky escape in Broughshane, County Antrim when a tree fell on his vehicle as high winds swept across Northern Ireland. Photograph: Paul Faith/PA

Roads have been blocked by falling trees, ferries cancelled, bridges closed and thousands of people left without power as winds of almost 80mph buffeted Scotland and Northern Ireland today.

Umbrella

Deadly blizzards bring Asia chaos

Heavy snow and bitterly cold weather have caused scores of deaths and major disruption in parts of Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and Pakistan.

Some areas have seen snow for the first time in years, with people struggling to keep warm in sub-zero temperatures amid power shortages.

In Iran, heavy snow over recent days has seen eight people frozen to death after being trapped in their cars.

Tens of thousands of other motorists were rescued from their vehicles.

Some desert areas in Iran reported snowfalls for the first time in living memory.

Alarm Clock

Ecuador's Tungurahua Volcano May Erupt

Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano is poised for a major eruption, a volcanologist said Wednesday. Authorities last week evacuated 10 villages from its western slopes as a precaution.

©AP Photo
Ecuador's Tungurahua Volcano

Bizarro Earth

Magnitude 6.4 quake off Oregon coast

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the central Oregon coast at 8:37 p.m. EST tonight, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

Bizarro Earth

Strong quake hits Canada : US Geological Survey

A strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked southwest Canada Wednesday, shaking the Queen Charlotte Island region of British Colombia, the US Geological Survey said.

Bizarro Earth

Strange Winter-Tornadoes Tear Through Midwest, Kill One



ยฉMark Schiefelbein/AP
Lightning flashes through the sky as neighbors look through the wreckage of a home destroyed by a tornado near Niangua, Missouri, on Monday, January 7, 2008.


A freak cluster of tornadoes raked across an unseasonably warm U.S. Midwest, demolishing houses, knocking railroad cars off their tracks, and even temporarily halting justice in one courthouse.

Record temperatures were reported across much of the country Monday, and storms continued to pummel the nation's midsection as darkness fell. More warmth and storms were in store for Tuesday.