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Wed, 27 Oct 2021
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Attention

New explosion of ash at Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica

Turrialba Volcano
© RSN/UCR
An ash explosion at Turrialba Volcano lasted for about 10 minutes, the University of Costa Rica’s National Seismological Network reported.
Costa Rica's Turrialba Volcano, located 50 kilometers east of San José, erupted at 1:12 p.m. on Monday and launched ash and vapor into the air for about 10 minutes, experts with the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and the National University (UNA) reported.

This is the second event this month after another 10-minute explosion recorded on Dec. 7. also spewed ash and gases into the air.

Experts from UNA's Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI) reported the explosion reached just under 400 meters in height.

UCR's Mauricio Mora at 2:30 reported there were no more explosions. Mora was conducting an inspection in the volcano's surrounding areas and said experts are evaluating whether the explosion was an isolated event or is part of an eruptive process.

OVSICORI on its website reported that current wind conditions likely would take the ash west, and residents northeast of the capital - such as in Coronado and Sabanilla - could experience ash falling on their roofs and properties.

Turrialba Volcano has seen constant activity that in the past five years has prompted several evacuations of residents and farm animals.

Comment: Volcanic activity increasing. See: 18 active volcanos worldwide; new activity, unrest at 5 more


Bizarro Earth

Storm Desmond brings highest waterfall in England back to life after hundreds of years

malham cove
Storm Desmond has brought a waterfall back to life at a famous beauty spot for the first time in living memory.

While they last, the falls at Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales are believed to be the highest in England, thundering off a cliff 260ft (80m high).

Local residents and tourists gathered on Sunday to see the phenomenon, which is believed to be the first time the falls have flowed in hundreds of years.

Stu Gledhill, who filmed the scene, wrote on YouTube: "Talking to two neighbours who are both around 80 and have both lived in Malhamdale all their lives.

"They have never seen this happen before, and some suggestions are that it could be nearly 200 years since it was last recorded."

Comment: One person killed as Storm Desmond causes chaos across UK


Cloud Precipitation

Hour-long hail storm ravages bananas, teak trees in Thailand

Phrae hail storm damage
© Bangkok Post photo
Samarn Jaiyasarn surveys the damage to his banana plantation the morning after the hail storm on Thursday night.
A strong hail storm that swept through the province on Thursday night caused damage to farms and crops, particularly banana and teak trees, and some houses.

The storm lasted almost an hour, starting around 9.30pm.

Samarn Jaiyasarn, chief of tambon Pak Kang of Long district, said most banana trees on his plantation were damaged by the hail.

More than 100 teak trees, aged 15-20 years, were also knocked over in the area, he said, falling onto about 15 houses in Ban Had Sak Kham, Moo 9.

In Ban Na Tum of Moo 3, eight houses slightly damaged by falling teak trees.

Arrow Down

Huge landslide filmed on Manali-Chandigarh highway, India

Landslide India
Several tourists on had a narrow escape when a part of a mountain near Chandigarh-Manali highway collapsed. The 31-second video, recorded by a mobile phone camera, shows tourists running for their lives.


Initially, it was said that the landslide was caused due to an earthquake today in the region, but later it was clarified that the incident has no connection with the earthquake.

A strong 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Tajikistan in Central Asia on Monday with tremors being felt in North India. Tremors were also felt in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

At the same time, tremors were felt in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

As per the US Geological Survey the epicentre of the quake was 111 km (65 miles) southwest of Karakul at a depth of 28.7 km.

Red Flag

Red alert! Beijing issues highest possible smog warning for the very first time

Beijing smog
© Jason Lee / Reuters
A man adjusts his protective mask amid the heavy smog in Beijing, China December 7, 2015
Beijing has issued a red pollution alert, its most severe smog warning, for the very first time. The government has warned that the Chinese capital could come under a heavy haze from Tuesday until Thursday.

The warning, which was upgraded from the previous orange alert on Monday, will be effective from 7am December 8 until noon on December 10, according to a statement on the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau's official Weibo account.

The bureau said it issued the alert to "protect public health and reduce levels of heavy air pollution." It ordered certain industrial companies to stop or limit production, and outdoor construction work to be banned. Primary schools and kindergartens have been urged to cancel classes.

People have been advised to avoid outdoor activity, and to use public transportation if they must travel. Traffic restrictions have been placed on certain types of vehicles, and cars have been limited to driving every other day, depending on the last number of their license plate.

Comment: For more information on this week's air pollution in Beijing, see Press TV's youtube video published 1st Dec 2015:




Bizarro Earth

Magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits Tajikistan, felt as far away as India, Pakistan and Afghanistan

Tajikistan earthquake map
© US Geological Survey

There were no immediate reports on casualties and destruction caused


A magnitude 7.2 earthquake has hit Tajikistan, according to the US Geological Survey.

It struck at 7.50am today with an epicentre in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, around 70 miles west of the city of Murghob, seismologists said.

Tremors were felt in Delhi, as well as in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and across northern India. Hundreds of people ran out of shaking buildings and stayed out on the streets fearing aftershocks, NDTV reported.

A spokesman for Tajikistan's Emergencies Committee said it had no information so far on any casualties or damage from the quake, while Russia's defence ministry said its bases in the country were unaffected.

Camera

Rare deep-sea squid caught on camera in Pacific Ocean

Rare whiplash squid
© NOAA
The majestic creature, which is around one to two meters long, is called Taningia Danae or whiplash squid. Experts said the sighting in September was a one in a million event as the whiplash squid is rarely seen alive.
This is the magical moment that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists captured footage of a rare deep sea squid.

The majestic sea creature, which is around one to two meters long, is called 'Taningia Danae' or 'whiplash squid.'

As it descended to the sea floor of the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii on September 19, 2015 a remotely operated underwater vehicle caught it on camera.

Showing off a bright hue of pink as it swam through the deep blue ocean, scientists said it can emit a bright light. This, they believe, is used to blind prey, measure distance or signal courtship.

Experts said that the sighting in September was a one in a million event as the whiplash squid is rarely seen alive.

Scott France, Co-Science lead points out that the 'funnel on the lower side of the squid which looks like red lips is actually where water is taken in.'

Comment: As the number of volcanoes erupting right now is greater than the 20th century's YEARLY average, a comparable escalation in activity of their underwater counterparts seems logical. There has been a dramatic increase recently in seismic and volcanic activity, particularly around the Pacific Ring of Fire region.

It is estimated there are up to one million submarine volcanoes on our planet. Effects from this volcanic activity, combined with increased methane outgassing, radiation from the Fukushima disaster are probably also causing the ongoing devastation of marine life, mass fish die offs and strange migratory behaviour of rare fish we are currently witnessing.


Ice Cube

Rare 'light pillars' photographed over North Vernon, Indiana

Light Pillars Indiana
© Travis Branum
Travis Branum from North Vernon shared these beautiful, but eerie photos of giant vertical beams of colored light that appeared over North Vernon Indiana early this morning.

So what is it?

These are called "light pillars" and are pretty rare around these parts.
Light pillars Indiana
© Travis Branum
What caused it?

Light pillars are created through the reflection of light off of numerous tiny ice crystals .

According to Wikipedia:
"The crystals responsible for light pillars usually consist of flat, hexagonal plates, which tend to orient themselves more or less horizontally as they fall through the air. Their collective surfaces act as a giant mirror, which reflects the light source upwards and/or downwards into a virtual image. As the crystals are disturbed by turbulence the angle of their surfaces deviates some degrees from the horizontal orientation, causing the reflection (i.e. the light pillar) to become elongated into a column. The larger the crystals, the more pronounced this effect becomes. More rarely, column-shaped crystals can cause light pillars as well"

Magnify

New genus of plant bug, plus four new species from Australia

Restiophylus lyginiae
© Entomological Society of America
This is Restiophylus lyginiae, one of four new species of plant bugs found in Australia.
A new genus of plant bug and four new species have been discovered in Australia.

The newly discovered insects, which belong to the family Miridae and the subfamily Phylinae, are described in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America.

Stephanie Leon and Christiane Weirauch, two entomologists from the University of California, Riverside, examined 761 specimens from museum collections and determined that some were mislabeled and were actually species that were not yet known to science.

The new genus is called Restiophylus. "Restio" comes from the host-plant association of most of its members with the plant family Restionaceae, and "phylus" indicates that it is classified in the subfamily Phylinae.

Attention

Youth killed by bear in Kashmir, India

Bear print
A youth was killed in South Kashmir's Anantnag district after he was attacked by a wild bear.

A police official said 20 year-old Showkat Ahmad Gorsi of Avil Gujjar Basti in Damhal Hanjipora area of the district was critically injured after a wild bear attacked him.

The official said the youth was rushed to hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.