Earth Changes
The City said in a statement that it was alerted to the 15 ton carcass found floating approximately 1.6km off Llandudno Beach on Monday morning and immediately implemented its Stranded Whale Protocol.
"This morning, the Western Cape Government's Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADP) alerted the City's Environmental Management Department to the carcass of a humpback whale which was floating approximately 1.6 km off Llandudno Beach.
It is just the second time in living memory that snow has fallen, with the last occasion being in February 1979.
The pictures were taken by amateur photographer Karim Bouchetata in the small Saharan desert town of Ain Sefra, Algeria, yesterday afternoon. He captured the amazing moment snow fell on the red sand dunes in the world's largest hot desert.
This time the snow stayed for a day in the town, which is around 1,000 metres above sea level and surrounded by the Atlas Mountains

A plume originating from Mount Curry on Zavodovski Island is drifting then dispersing to the south-southwest.
In the image of Zavodovski Island, a white plume originating from the summit crater of Mount Curry is seen drifting in a south-southwesterly direction before dispersing. It's more likely to be a gas plume although I wouldn't rule out the possibility of some slight ash content.
In the image of Saunders Island, a greyish plume originating from the summit crater of Mount Michael is seen drifting towards the northeast. A thermal anomaly was also detected on the summit area of Mount Michael. This indicates that it's likely to be an eruption occurring on Mount Michael Volcano.

Some residents in Huntington Beach and Seal Beach have been complaining about chemical-like odors. Authorities over the years have offered residents several unsubstantiated theories including offshore vessels and oilfields.
The noxious odors have induced headaches, burning of the eyes and throat, nosebleeds and vomiting, she says. Even her dog and two cats have retched during the malodorous episodes that "about knocks you on your knees," Wainwright said.
Roughly 10 miles away in coastal Seal Beach, resident Susan Perrell reports suffering similar foul odors. Perrell, an environmental adviser to an oil and gas company, also describes a petroleum-like stench that can be intense enough to "knock you over."
Their experiences are far from isolated.
Last month, air-quality regulators saw a spike in such complaints in the Huntington Beach and Seal Beach area. Over several consecutive days, the South Coast Air Quality Management District fielded dozens of calls involving "a nasty egg odor (or a) petroleum odor," said agency spokesman Sam Atwood.
Comment: Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas with the characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs; it is heavier than air, very poisonous, corrosive, flammable, and explosive. Exposure can lead to various health problems, and may be fatal. It is also being linked with psychological and neurological problems in humans.
Residents also have lodged complaints with fire officials, the gas company and others, seeking help in pinpointing the source of the smells, which many say have increased in frequency and intensity over the past two years.
But no one has identified a definitive cause or culprit.

The 6.7-magnitude earthquake that struck off Solomon Islands on Tuesday (Dec 20) is the second powerful tremor to hit the islands to Australia's north in two weeks
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) said the quake, which was centred some 120 km (70 miles) northwest of Kira Kira at a depth of s 44 km, had not triggered any tsunami threat.

Commuters brave the cold and make their way to work across the Madison Street Bridge on Monday in Chicago.
How about Mars?
Chicago is currently one of the coldest spots on the planet and is even colder than Mars. According to NASA, the current temperature on Mars is minus 2 degrees. Chicago was minus 6 degrees with a wind chill of minus 20 degrees as of 9 a.m. Monday.
The city nearly beat a record for low temperatures, but fell 1 degree shy of the 1983 record when a temperature of minus 13 was recorded at O'Hare International Airport overnight Monday, according to the Tribune.
That means that it was colder overnight in Chicago than in the South Pole, Antarctica, which was at minus 12 degrees at the local time of 3:57 a.m.
There are a few spots on Earth more chilly than Chicago. The North Pole is at minus 18 degrees, and Siberia, home of the coldest town in the world, is currently at minus 31 degrees.
A wind chill advisory will remain in effect until 10 a.m. Monday.

A 3.0 magnitude earthquake was recorded about 42 kilometres soutwest of Digby on Tuesday at 10:40 a.m.
At 10:40 a.m., a 3.0-magnitude earthquake was recorded about 42 kilometres southwest of Digby, according to Natural Resources Canada. The centre of the quake was about 18 kilometres below the earth's surface.
Brenda Small of Weymouth North felt it.
"I heard a very loud bang, just a big boom and then it was over," she said of the "shiver" she felt in her house.
"It wasn't anything to be a afraid of or think, 'Oh my, it's the end of the world,' nothing like that. It was just a big boom and then it was over."
Donna Gaudet was at her cousin's basement in Little Brook, N.S., a few kilometres from the epicentre, enjoying a coffee.
"We went flying up the stairs. If it wasn't an earthquake, we thought maybe a plane crashed. It was loud, it was louder than thunder," she said. "It wasn't really that exciting once the initial impact happened."
The country's geological institute recorded the quake off the coast of Atacames in Esmeraldas province, northwest of Quito, the capital. The quake was followed by 15 lesser-magnitude aftershocks.
President Rafael Correa was meeting with local officials in the area, which earlier this year was devastated by a 7.8-magnitude quake that killed about 670 people, displaced thousands and caused millions of dollars in damage.
News24 reports a paddler was knocked off his surf ski after a shark apparently breached and took a bite out of the lightweight vessel near the breaker line at Keurbooms Lagoon in Plettenberg Bay.
Local NSRI station commander Marc Rodgers says Ben Swart, 55, had been in the water with two friends when he felt a "hard bump" shortly after 07:00 - read the full report here.
Rodgers told Traveller24 they have spoken to a resident shark expert who is currently investigating the bite marks to determine the size and type of shark.
The victim has been identified as Motimaya Tamang (69) of Chitwan district.
The sexagenarian was attacked by the wild animal on the bank of Rapti River in Sauraha, Ratnanagar Municipality-19.
The District Police Office said she had been to the river area to quench the thirst of her cattle.
The woman had died on the spot.
Further investigation is underway.
Source: Rastriya Samachar Samiti












Comment: Unprecedented marine heatwaves could be attributed to increased quantities of CO2, methane, hydrogen sulfide outgassing and heat coming up from below, i.e. passing up through the oceans from within the planet, heating and acidifying the planet's oceans.
Such activity may be a significant contributory factor to the increasing number of bizarre, odd (perhaps even mutated species), previously unknown and mysterious creatures being discovered recently, together with increases in abnormal animal and marine behavior. All over the world such 'strange' and 'unusual' incidents are quickly becoming the norm, as are mass fish die offs.
Some related reports from the Huntington beach area in recent times include: