Earth Changes
There were 1,000 "extreme rain events" in the first 12 days of August, according to data collated by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) from the India Meteorological Department. IMD describes "extremely heavy rain events" to be more than 20cm rain in a day and "very heavy rainfall events" to be more than 12cm rain in a day.
CSE head Sunita Narain red-flagged the rise in extreme weather events and how they are going to exacerbate land degradation in future at a media briefing on desertification.
Calling on the attention of leaders gathered at the 14th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) being hosted by India between September 2 and 12, Narain said, "We are seeing extremely heavy rain in very few number of days. There were 1,000 extremely heavy rain events in the first 12 days of August and data shows rain has been as extreme as up to 3,000% more rain in a day. There were droughts and floods in the same state this monsoon. We have documented unusually high spikes in rainfall for several states. Nature's revenge is on us."
She gave the example of Maharashtra and Kerala, which have experienced both floods and drought this monsoon. "Not climate change alone, our mismanagement of resources is exacerbating impacts. Let's not let leaders blame the extreme events on the inevitable," she said.
A 75-year-old woman in the central town of Boryeong was killed after strong winds from Typhoon Lingling blew her off her feet and crashed her into a wall 30 metres away, South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety said. In the western city of Incheon a 39-year-old was killed after being crushed by a collapsed wall at a hospital car park. And a 61-year-old Chinese national died in the border town of Paju after being hit by a blown-off roof tile.
The South Korean government said at least 10 people were being treated for injuries, including an elderly couple from Boryeong who were injured after steel scaffolding collapsed over their home.
The storm knocked out power to more than 127,000 homes across the country, including on the southern island of Jeju, which was lashed by the typhoon overnight, the ministry said.
Researchers discovered STEVE, short for the Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, in 2016. To the casual eye, it appears as a narrow pink or mauve streak in the sky. To scientists, what makes it strange is that its light comes from across the spectrum, without the peaks in particular wavelengths that characterize regular auroras.
"The big thing is we can clearly say now, 'It's not regular aurora,'" University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher Don Hampton, who recently analyzed a STEVE event from 2018, said in a statement. "It's a new phenomenon — that's pretty exciting""
Pretty in pink
In 2016, skywatchers and astronomers alike noticed and photographed odd pink bands that didn't look like usual aurora lights, according to NASA. Further analysis showed that the color wasn't the only unexpected feature of these lights.
The tragedy took place in Naseerpur area of Raunahi police circle on Thursday evening when Riya Varma (7) went out to play with her brother, Raunak, and other kids from the neighbourhood. They were walking towards the canal in the village when dogs attacked them.
The clip, posted to Facebook by Melinda Taylor Findell, shows the ominous gray mass moving quickly across a lake, propelled by the wind.
"That's big enough that would tear something up," someone can be heard saying in the video.
The town of Emerald Isle confirmed on its website that a water spout, or a tornado that forms of water, touched down in the area shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday. Boardwalk RV park suffered the most severe damage, and no injuries were reported, the town confirmed.
Comment: Other videos:
Aftermath:
As showers and thunderstorms move across the southwest, the crew aboard a Western Finland Coast Guard surveillance aircraft spotted a high-speed waterspout touching down in the Finnish Archipelago on Friday morning.
The team managed to film the meteorological spectacle, which took place near the island municipality of Pargas.

Almost 5,000 dolphins, porpoises and whales have been found washed up dead on shores around the United Kingdom in a single seven-year period. Pictured, a mass stranding of long-finned pilot whales on a b
The number of whales, dolphins and harbour porpoises washed up on UK shores has risen to just under 5,000 in the last decade, a study has found.
A total of 4,896 were were reported to have washed up on beaches between January 1 2011 and December 31 2017, the Government said.
It marks an increase in strandings of 15 per cent on the previous seven-year period, according to the research.
Of the 4,896 incidents, 4,311 were dead strandings, 186 were dead at sea including 21 entangled at sea, and 399 live strandings, only 132 of which were returned alive to the sea.

An international relief operation is picking up momentum after Hurricane Dorian flattened communities in the Bahamas
Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said the death toll was expected to rise as storm rescue workers scour islands.
The Bahamian government sent hundreds of police and marines into the stricken islands, along with doctors, nurses and other health care workers. The U.S. Coast Guard, Britain's Royal Navy and relief organizations, including the United Nations and the Red Cross, joined the growing effort to rush food and medicine to survivors and lift the most desperate people to safety by helicopter.
"We are seeing bravery and fortitude of Bahamians who endured hours and days of horror," Minnis said. "Our urgent task will be to provide food, water, shelter and safety and security."
Comment:
Update: On 7th Sept. Sky News reports:
The hurricane is now making its way up to eastern Canada after hitting the Bahamas.
Forty-three people have been killed in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian swept through, as the storm moves up toward eastern Canada.
Hundreds of people are still missing in the Bahamas, where search and rescue teams have yet to reach some communities.
Sky correspondent Amanda Walker is one of the first journalists to make it to High Rock, in the Bahamas.
The aftermath of Hurricane Dorian is still a great unknown. Officials and aid are only just starting to reach some of the worst affected areas nearly a week after the category 5 storm hit .
We managed to reach High Rock - one of the worst hit towns on eastern Grand Bahama and hometown of Dan Kemp who's returning for the first time since the storm.
Downed power lines snake across the road - which is only just passable. During Hurricane Dorian it was an ocean.
He said: "I've been through hurricanes but not like this. I've never seen anything like this.
"It's total devastation."
Dan knows practically everyone we pass or meet along the way. He stops to check his friends are okay, offering them much needed water. He can barely believe his eyes when he sees his brother in law's home.
"Wow - it's just gone," he says.
It is a staggering sight. We reach what was the town's administrative centre. The police station has been smashed wide open. The medical centre across the street - bulldozed. Not by machines - but by nature at its most powerful. 500 people lived in High Rock. Locals told us 40 stayed during Dorian - 17 of them are now missing. The hurricane left only 4 days ago - parking here at peak force for 48 hours.
People look stunned. Kenneth Rolle sits listless outside his shattered home. He shows us inside - the roof has gone - his sofa is stuck in the rafters. He appears to be in total shock as he shows us his brothers wheelchair. 'He's missing. He's dead'. The terror people must have felt in their final moments is unimaginable. Pastor Cecil Kemp saved his neighbor who was up in a tree - clinging for dear life as the water rose. 'I cannot let someone die like that.'
People are picking through debris to patch up homes - raking rubble off foundations with no roofs. There's a need to do something but what they're desperate for is heavy machinery to take away their ruins. This town can only really start again.
We meet Dan Kemp's daughter - returning to what was her grandparents home. There's nothing left - no doors, windows, roof - only the foundations she's walking around in disbelief. Her family is safe but some salvaged ornaments and photos are now they have all they have. 'We have nothing now - no clothes - no home. Nothing.'
Residents say a huge wave came from the north and destroyed everything in its path. It was so powerful that cars were swept into piles of debris along with toilets, TVs cosmetics, watches - the contents of an entire town spewed out by the surge that swallowed their community.
Fearful looking dogs limp around the ruins - how they survived is baffling. People are dazed by trauma - in desperate need of food and shelter. Pick up trucks deliver much needed bottles of water. In this tight community they're doing what they can for each other but its nowhere near enough.
Dan will return with as many supplies as he can. He says his obliterated town can recover but it will take years.















Comment: Watch SOTT's monthly Earth Changes weather roundup to understand the alarming and extreme weather events that are occurring worldwide these days.