Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills 2 farmers in Kushtia, Bangladesh

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Two farmers died and another sustained injuries after being struck by lightning at Krisnapur village in Sadar upazila of Kushtia on Saturday.

The deceased--Jahur Ali, 50, son of Karim Sawdargar and Salim Uddin, 37, son of Mahir Uddin, were from the Krisnapur village and the injured Rezaul, 37, is also from the same village.

Quoting locals, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sadhan Kumar Biswas said the farmers took shelter under the shade of a tin-shed tea-stall at the village when the lightning amid a heavy downfall started at noon.

Suddenly, the lightning struck on the tin-shed of the stall leaving the duo dead on the spot and another critically injured, he said.

The injured was rushed to Kushtia General Hospital where he is now out of danger, said the hospital's residential medical officer Taposh Kumar Sarkar.

Comment: On the same day 3 individuals were also fatally struck in separate incidents in Uttar Pradesh, India.


Cloud Precipitation

Cars washed away as floods wreak havoc after a foot of rain in Hunan, China on June 30

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Intense rains lashed a scenic area in China's southern Hunan province on Friday, unleashing flooding that swept away cars, engulfed farmland and prompted evacuations and rescues of stranded people.

China has recently been beset by a combination of heavy rainfall and sizzling hot temperatures that have taken a toll on its agriculture and power consumption.

Rains have pounded the Xiangxi area in Hunan since Thursday, with 314.5 mm of precipitation soaking Baojing County by 2 p.m., shattering a local record, state-backed media reported.


Attention

Strong earthquake swarm at Katla volcano in Iceland - 58 quakes and counting

katla volcano
© Icelandic Met OfficeOngoing earthquake activity in Katla volcano.
During the night of 30. June 2023 an earthquake swarm started in Katla volcano. At the writing of this article the largest verified earthquake had a magnitude of Mw3,3.

This earthquake swarm is ongoing at the writing of this article. Currently an eruption has not started, if that is going to change is something that just has to show it self in next few hours if this earthquake activity continues to increase. All that can be done for now is to monitor this situation.

Comment: One reader writes:
The swarm is situated in a fairly unusual spot, compared to earlier unrest. We have been used to seeing EQ activity closer to the northern rim of the caldera (closer to AUS station), not often in the center of it. This could evolve into a new, interesting chapter for Katla.
More interesting details from youtuber Oppenheimer Ranch:

See also: 'One day it will just go off': are Naples' volcanic craters at Campi Flegrei about to blow?


Boat

Californian lakes bounce back after record-breaking snowpack

Mono Lake
© Jeff SullivanMono Lake
The 2022-2023 snowfall season was historic for the western United States, and as a result, the Californian snowpack was very much above average across the entire state. The crazy amounts of water in the Californian mountains provided relief to many areas that were previously very dry due to droughts. California is now approximately 92% free of drought, following the record-breaking season, but all that water has to go somewhere as the summer heat sets in.

As the snow continues to thaw, many of California's most important and largest lakes are beginning to bounce back from historically low water levels, and the consequences have differed in unexpected ways.

East of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, sits a salty body of water called Mono Lake. The lake is known as the most protected salt lake in the American West and even has its own committee intended to protect the lake and regulate water flow. The committee celebrated its first victory in court in 1983 when it successfully regulated the amount of water that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was able to have access to. Following this, in 1990 a target elevation for the lake was set at 6,392 feet above sea level, representing the ideal minimum water level the lake should ever be at. Before the snow began melting in early 2023, the lake's water level was measured at 6,380 feet above sea level, 12 feet below the mark.


Arrow Down

Photographer left in awe as humongous hanging Alpine glacier collapses in Switzerland (June 17)

Screenshot from the video of the glacier collapsing.
Screenshot from the video of the glacier collapsing.
Photographer Juergen Merz captured the moment of a lifetime last week in Switzerland.

Check out Merz's footage of a huge section of the Tschierva Glacier violently collapsing to the valley floor below:


Cloud Precipitation

Flood-like situation in many low-lying areas after heavy rain in Bihar, India

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Torrential rain and waterlogging on Friday triggered a flood-like situation in several low-lying areas of Bihar, officials said.

Many places in Araria, Purnea, Madhepura, Saharsa, Jamui, Katihar and Banka districts witnessed water accumulation following heavy rainfall, they said.

State capital Patna received 53.45 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours till 8.30 am, while Raniganj recorded 90.8 mm, Purnea (77.5 mm), Madhepura (75 mm), Sharsha (68.8 mm), Jamui (67.3 mm), Purnea (67 mm), Katihar (64.5 mm) and Banka (56 mm), according to Met Department data.


Cloud Precipitation

Hailstones the size of baseballs damage windows, cars on Colorado's Eastern Plains

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© Kim Rose
Hail that fell in Fort Morgan, Akron, Iliff and other northern sections of Colorado's Eastern Plains damaged cars and windows overnight. It's rare to get significant hailstorms at night in Colorado.

The National Weather Service said on Twitter that measurements of hailstones that were 4 inches wide were recorded after the storm.

Kim Rose in Morgan County shared a photo that showed a smooth hailstone that was bigger than her palm.

Some thunderstorms Thursday afternoon and/or evening could be severe and also bring more damaging hail.


Cloud Lightning

Golfer killed by lightning strike in Kanata, Ontario

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One of two men struck by lightning on a west Ottawa golf course during a severe thunderstorm earlier this week has died, CBC News has learned.

The Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario (OCC) and family members confirmed Jesse Hawkins of Ottawa was killed while golfing at the Loch March Golf & Country Club in Kanata.

Hawkins was one of two golfers struck by lightning on the course located on Old Carp Road just off Huntmar Drive.

Ottawa paramedics said they responded to the call at about 5:48 p.m. Monday.

Snowflake

Falls Creek, Australia, has bumper weekly snow dump of nearly 3 feet

A great start into the school holidays at Falls Creek, Australia.
© Falls Creek Facebook PageA great start into the school holidays at Falls Creek, Australia.
Falls Creek, Australia, has seen a whopping 90cm (35 inches) of snow fall in the last seven days.

After a slow start to the season, which saw Falls Creek unable to open for snowsports on Opening Weekend, the weather gods have made up for it, taking the average depth at the Victorian ski resort to 97cm (38 inches).

The area saw a nice top up of 23 cm (9 inches) in the last 24 hours.


Snowflake Cold

Heavy snowfall in the Eastern Cape and very cold temperatures across South Africa

Snow falls in Barkly East, Eastern Cape on 29 June, 2023.
© Brenda MollentzeSnow falls in Barkly East, Eastern Cape on 29 June, 2023.
There are no road closures currently but roads in the north-eastern Cape are slippery because of snowfalls, includinig the Barkly Pass.

Some road network and mountain passes connecting communities on the southern Drakensberg in the Eastern Cape could be closed on Thursday, following the potential disruptive snow on the roads and railways, especially during the morning hours.

Areas of potential impacts include Molteno, Barkley East, Lady Grey and Matatitele and there could be isolated loss of livestock in this northern region. Counterparts of the South African Weather Service in Lesotho have issued a forecast for bitterly cold temperatures with heavy snowfall over Lesotho and these conditions may spill over to QwaQwa in the north-eastern Free State.