Antarctica
Larger concentration of sea ice in Antarctica in Jun 2020 than Jun 1980
In case you're having a hard time reading the numbers, here they are:
Earth Changes
Antarctica
Larger concentration of sea ice in Antarctica in Jun 2020 than Jun 1980
In case you're having a hard time reading the numbers, here they are:
Representative image
A nine-year-old girl has died and her older sister is in the hospital after a lightning strike in Moultrie.
Colquitt County Coroner Verlyn Brock told ABC 27 Nicol Mateo Pedro was walking with her mom and 15-year-old sister when a storm passed through Tom White Linear Park Friday.
Brock said the three of them gathered under a wooden shelter to avoid the rain when the lightning struck a pine tree adjacent to them. Brock said the girl was transported to Colquitt Regional Medical Center, where she later died.
Her sister is recovering at a burn center in Augusta. Their mom was not hurt.
That's according to Teagasc, which forecasts that total grain output this year will "drop from the normal 2.3 million tonnes to under 1.9 million tonnes".
Teagasc says that the drought has "severely affected crops in the eastern half of the country".
Straw yields are also predicted to reduce - by nearly 25%. Teagasc says that 1.6 million fewer (straw) bales will be available in the country this year.
The drought is also affecting livestock farmers, with grass growth severely affected in these areas.
Teagasc says that many of these farmers are already feeding some of their winter forage stocks - to supplement grazed grass and concentrates. Consequently, it says, there will likely be a higher demand for forages this autumn with knock-on effects for prices for feedstocks such as straw.
© Satyabrata Tripathy/ht
Waterlogging at Andheri subway due to heavy rain in Mumbai.
Waterlogging at Andheri subway due to heavy rain in Mumbai.
The weather bureau had issued a yellow alert for Sunday but only light to moderate rain alert had been issued for Monday.
"Models have indicated heavy rain to continue on Sunday but the intensity of rain is likely to be lesser than Friday and Saturday," KS Hosalikar, deputy director general of IMD's western region, said.
On Sunday, the suburbs woke up to intense heavy rain with 95.4mm over a span of three hours from 8.30am to 11.30am, while south Mumbai recorded intermittent light showers of 9.4mm.
The Santacruz weather observatory, representative of the suburbs and Mumbai, recorded 200.8 mm rain between 8.30am on Saturday and 8.30am on Sunday, falling under the 'very heavy' rain category.
© EPA
A kangaroo (pictured) shivered through freezing conditions in Wadbiliga National Park near Nimmitabel in the NSW region of Monaro on Saturday
A kangaroo (pictured) shivered through freezing conditions in Wadbiliga National Park near Nimmitabel in the NSW region of Monaro on Saturday
It was a chilly start to the working week, with most capital cities across the nation still in the single digit temperatures at 8am on Monday.
South-east Queensland shivered through a second consecutive morning of freezing temperatures after 30 towns across the region recorded their coldest temperatures of the year on Sunday.
Residents in the state's Southern Downs region felt the the biggest brunt of the winter chill on Monday, where Applethorpe woke up to a frosty -2.1C while Warwick recorded -1.1C.
Wellcamp Airport recorded -1.4C at 5.20am, while further north the mercury dropped to 0.5C in Kingaroy.
Brisbane airport dropped to a low of 7C, while the CBD was slightly warmer at 8.1C, two degrees lower than average.
© ABC News
Shelby Klopf, 23, recounted the moments leading up to and immediately after getting struck by lightning in her home to ABC reporters.
Shelby Klopf, 23, recounted the moments leading up to and immediately after getting struck by lightning in her home to ABC reporters.
A simple on switch of a lamp nearly proved fatal for a Massachusetts woman on Wednesday when a jolt of electricity from a nearby lightning strike came through the house's wiring.
"I'm just very happy to be alive and I'm happy to be coming home to my children tonight, because it could have gone a very different way," Shelby Klopf said after returning home the night of the accident.
Sources
Flooding in Khambhaliya
All the 12 districts of Saurashtra-Kutch region received heavy rain. A farmer was killed after being struck by lightning in Surendranagar while a man transporting carcasses of domestic animals went missing after being washed away in a flooded causeway in Rajkot city.
Ranavav and Porbandar talukas in Porbandar district too reported heavy rainfall of 6 inch and 4.7 inch respectively, while Sutrapada in Gir Somnath district received 4 inches of rain till 8 pm. South Gujarat districts, including Surat, Navsari and Valsad, also received heavy downpour.
© Keshav Singh/HT file photo
On Saturday, IMD warned that intense thunderstorms and lightning are likely over south-east Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, east Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, east Vidarbha and Odisha during the following 12 hours.
On Saturday, IMD warned that intense thunderstorms and lightning are likely over south-east Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, east Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, east Vidarbha and Odisha during the following 12 hours.
There were 26 deaths on Thursday in Bihar alone from such strikes (or flashes as they are called scientifically). On Friday, 15 people were killed in lightning strikes in different districts of the state. Another 21 people lost their lives and over 40 were injured due to lightning amid heavy rain and thunderstorms in seven districts of Bihar on Saturday. And at least 253 more people have lost their lives to lightning strikes and 49 have been injured in the past one and half months with 90% of the deaths recorded in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, according to data from the National Disaster Management Authority. The injured are undergoing treatment in local hospitals. Most of the casualties are farmers and labourers who were doing agriculture-related work in fields. Chief minister Nitish Kumar has expressed grief over the loss of lives. He has announced an ex-gratia of four lakh rupees each to the next of the kin of the deceased. Kumar has ordered free treatment of injured persons.
© (AP Photo / Zaw Moe Htet)
Rescue workers use poles to carry a body shrouded in blue and red plastic sheet Thursday, July 2, 2020, in Hpakant, Kachin State, Myanmar. At least 162 people were killed Thursday in a landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar, the worst in a series of deadly accidents at such sites in recent years that critics blame on the government's failure to take action against unsafe conditions.
Rescue workers use poles to carry a body shrouded in blue and red plastic sheet Thursday, July 2, 2020, in Hpakant, Kachin State, Myanmar. At least 162 people were killed Thursday in a landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar, the worst in a series of deadly accidents at such sites in recent years that critics blame on the government's failure to take action against unsafe conditions.
A landslide caused by monsoon rains in Myanmar has killed no less than 113 people, the country's emergency services said on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the Xinhua news agency reported a death toll of 96.
The landslide came at about 8 a.m. local time (1:30 GMT) at a jade mine near the Hpakant township, located in the Kachin state.
Comment: Other news services have highlighted the fact that this landslide is one of many similar accidents at mines in Myanmar, noting that the industry is unregulated and exploits those who live in extreme poverty:
At least 162 people were killed Thursday in a landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar, the worst in a series of deadly accidents at such sites in recent years that critics blame on the government's failure to take action against unsafe conditions.Update: Elevenmyanmar.com reports on July 4:
The Myanmar Fire Service Department, which coordinates rescues and other emergency services, announced about 12 hours after the morning disaster that 162 bodies were recovered from the landslide in Hpakant, the center of the world's biggest and most lucrative jade mining industry. [..]
The most detailed estimate of Myanmar's jade industry said it generated about $31 billion in 2014. Hpakant is a rough and remote area in Kachin state, 600 miles north of Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon. [..]
The London-based environmental watchdog Global Witness said the accident "is a damning indictment of the government"s failure to curb reckless and irresponsible mining practices in Kachin state's jade mines."
Hpakant landslide death toll rises to 172
The total death toll from Hpakant landslide has reached 172, and search and rescue operations for the missing people are suspended due to the landslide risk, according to the local administrative organizations and rescue teams.
Hpakant landslide
Myo Myint, deputy head of Hpakant Township Red Cross Association said: "We have to suspend search and rescue operations due to heavy rains and the landslide risk. Today, the bodies of 11 victims were recovered. According to the residents, the number of missing people is expected to exceed 250. The missing people may be buried in the mud. Search and rescue operations will continue tomorrow if the weather is fine."
Waikhar village administrator U Kyaw Min said: "The bodies of 67 victims killed in the landslide were buried. They are not ownerless. Ward administrators are still compiling the list of missing people."
Upper House MP U Cho (aka) U Khin Maung Myint said: "The bodies of victims who have the families are cremated. We are going to search for the ownerless dead bodies by sending their photos to other jade mining sites. Plan is under way to designate a no-go area for the dangerous mining sites. It has been raining here since 10 days. The main cause of this tragic incident is linked to excessive jade mining. I would like to request the people not to come to Hpakant in the rainy season."
Kachin State government donated Ks 50 million, Northern Command, Ks 50 million, Hpakant Gem Association, Ks 50 million and the KNGPC, Ks 10 million.
The army is planning to provide rice and other relief assistance to the victims.
According to the records, many scavengers died due to the landslides since 2000. Since 2010, the death toll from the landslides have killed around 100 to 300 every year. In December, 2015, the collapse of waste piles killed 114 scavengers. In 2020, nearly 30 people died due to landslides and the collapse of mud lakes.
According to the records of Kachin State government, there were 19 landslides in Hpakant Township in 2019, resulting in 93 deaths and 14 injuries.
Hpakant Township sees around 300,000 migrant workers coming from the four corners of the country.
Comment: Meanwhile across the Atlantic this year's cold and wet spring sinks US wheat acreage to its lowest levels since USDA records began in 1919, with corn and potatoes down too.