Kosovo on alert - Bosnian villages isolated.
The death toll from the wave of freezing weather across Serbia over recent days has risen to six. The body of a man was found near to his home in Topola, south of Belgrade. Before then, another five had died across the country as temperatures sank to a record -36 degrees in the southern highlands of Pesterska. In the city of Sjenica, thermometers stood at -29, while in Belgrade the temperature at 7am today was -12. A state of emergency has been declared in around fifteen areas. Dozens have been admitted to hospital with broken bones following falls on the ice. The coldest temperature ever recorded in the southern highlands of Pesterska was -39.4 degrees in 1986.
The cold has also caused emergency conditions in Kosovo, where temperatures dropped to -22 degrees last night. Snow and ice are causing traffic problems in some parts of the country although the main routes are free. Low temperatures led to electricity blackouts in some areas, although no deaths have been reported.
Earth Changes
© Associated Press
The woman looks through an icy window on a bus in Kiev, Ukraine.
The woman looks through an icy window on a bus in Kiev, Ukraine.
Temperatures have plunged to minus 27 C (minus 17 F) in some areas. At least 58 people have died overall in the past week, while hundreds have sought medical help for hypothermia and frostbite. Snow and ice have disrupted traffic and power in some parts.
© Richard H. Hahn
Richard H. Hahn snapped this stunning picture of a lenticular cloud over Rocky Mountain National Park just after sunset on Jan. 5, 2012.
Richard H. Hahn snapped this stunning picture of a lenticular cloud over Rocky Mountain National Park just after sunset on Jan. 5, 2012.
This spectacular, multi-hued formation of lenticular clouds was observed soon after the sun set over Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, Colo., on Jan. 5.
Professional photographer Richard H. Hahn was on the south side of the park's Deer Mountain when he noticed the unique cloud formation in the dusk sky. He rushed to find a shooting angle that would place the colorful clouds in the context of the valley and mountains, and he snapped the magnificent view at 5:02 p.m. MST (7:02 EST).
"The great colors lasted only a few minutes, so it was a lucky observation," Hahn told OurAmazingPlanet. "I felt very grateful to be in a high-enough elevation with a favorable shooting angle to capture this scene with perspective."
Lenticular clouds are characterized by their smooth, symmetrical oval or round shapes, and because of this, they are often referred to as "flying saucer" or "UFO" clouds. They can appear near the lee side of a mountain ridge, which is the portion of the mountain sheltered from winds.
"I have seen quite a few interesting lenticulars during my nine years in Colorado, but never one quite like this," Hahn said. "The significance of this particular atmospheric event was the dramatic shape and color of the cloud. It really did look like the mothership UFO."
"We are getting some 'real' winter this week," meteorologist says
Kiev, Ukraine - A severe and snowy cold snap has killed at least 48 people across central and eastern Europe.
Officials have responded with measures ranging from opening shelters to dispensing hot tea, with particular concern for the homeless and elderly.
Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday that the number of people who died of hypothermia in recent days reached 30.
The Emergency Situations Ministry said on its website that most of the victims were found frozen on the streets. On Monday, officials had put the death toll at 18 people.
Temperatures plunged to minus 23 C (minus 10 F) in the capital Kiev and elsewhere in Ukraine as schools and kindergartens closed and authorities set up hundreds of heated tents for the homeless.
Officials have appealed to people to stay indoors.
Kiev, Ukraine - A severe and snowy cold snap has killed at least 48 people across central and eastern Europe.
Officials have responded with measures ranging from opening shelters to dispensing hot tea, with particular concern for the homeless and elderly.
© Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP/Getty Images
An official gives out hot tea to an elderly man at a newly opened shelter in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Monday. Temperatures have plunged to as low as minus 23 C (minus 10 F) in the country.
An official gives out hot tea to an elderly man at a newly opened shelter in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Monday. Temperatures have plunged to as low as minus 23 C (minus 10 F) in the country.
The Emergency Situations Ministry said on its website that most of the victims were found frozen on the streets. On Monday, officials had put the death toll at 18 people.
Temperatures plunged to minus 23 C (minus 10 F) in the capital Kiev and elsewhere in Ukraine as schools and kindergartens closed and authorities set up hundreds of heated tents for the homeless.
Officials have appealed to people to stay indoors.
© The Associated Press/National Park Service/Lori Oberhofer
A Burmese python is wrapped around an American alligator in Everglades National Park, Fla.
A Burmese python is wrapped around an American alligator in Everglades National Park, Fla.
The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that sightings of medium-size mammals are down dramatically - as much as 99 percent, in some cases - in areas where pythons and other large, non-native constrictor snakes are known to be lurking.
Scientists fear the pythons could disrupt the food chain and upset the Everglades' environmental balance in ways difficult to predict.
"The effects of declining mammal populations on the overall Everglades ecosystem, which extends well beyond the national park boundaries, are likely profound," said John Willson, a research scientist at Virginia Tech University and co-author of the study.
Tens of thousands of Burmese pythons, which are native to Southeast Asia, are believed to be living in the Everglades, where they thrive in the warm, humid climate. While many were apparently released by their owners, others may have escaped from pet shops during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and have been reproducing ever since.
© The Associated Press/The Canadian Press/Selcan Hacaoglu
A couple walks on a snow covered road near the Lake of Eymir, Ankara, Turkey, on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Winter temperatures and recent snowfall has partially paralyzed life in Turkey.
A couple walks on a snow covered road near the Lake of Eymir, Ankara, Turkey, on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Winter temperatures and recent snowfall has partially paralyzed life in Turkey.
This part of Europe is not unused to cold, but the current freeze, which spread to most of the region last week, came after a period of relatively mild weather. Many were shocked when temperatures in some parts plunged Monday to minus 20 Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit).
"Just as we thought we could get away with a spring-like winter ..." lamented Jelena Savic, 43, from the Serbian capital of Belgrade, her head wrapped in a shawl with only eyes uncovered. "I'm freezing. It's hard to get used to it so suddenly."
Officials have appealed to people to stay indoors and be careful. Police searched for the homeless to make sure they didn't freeze to death. In some places, heaters will be set up at bus stations.
© unknown
Elchin Khalilov
Elchin Khalilov
We have analyzed records of these sounds and found that most of their spectrum lies within the infrasound range, i.e. is not audible to humans. What people hear is only a small fraction of the actual power of these sounds. They are low-frequency acoustic emissions in the range between 20 and 100 Hz modulated by ultra-low infrasonic waves from 0.1 to 15 Hz. In geophysics, they are called acoustic-gravity waves; they are formed in the upper atmosphere, at the atmosphere-ionosphere boundary in particular. There can be quite a lot of causes why those waves are generated: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, storms, tsunamis, etc. However, the scale of the observed humming sound in terms of both the area covered and its power far exceeds those that can be generated by the above-mentioned phenomena.
Comment: For further information on "strange sounds from the sky" watch the latest Sott report: Strange Noises in the Sky: Trumpets of the Apocalypse?
Even if it has been warmer than usual in much of the United States, there's no denying Alaska is seeing a real winter, even by its standards.
Anchorage is shivering through one of its coldest January's on record, while in Fairbanks, folks preparing for a sled dog race were being tested by temperatures nearly 50 degrees below zero. Farther inland, Fort Yukon has ranged from minus 50 to minus 62 degrees over the last three days, getting close to its record of minus 78.
Anchorage's average temperature for January has been 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, the Alaska Daily News reported. That's well below its average of 15 degrees, and only three other years (1947, 1925 and 1920) have been colder, National Weather Service data show.
It's so cold for Anchorage, the Daily News reported, that:
Fort Yukon, for its part, dipped to 62 degrees below zero on Saturday, then hit 59 below on Sunday, the National Weather Service reported.
The deep freeze is in addition to the record snow and blizzard conditions seen earlier this month in towns like Cordova and Valdez. Even Anchorage is on track to see a record snow season, having received more than twice its average amount so far.
Anchorage is shivering through one of its coldest January's on record, while in Fairbanks, folks preparing for a sled dog race were being tested by temperatures nearly 50 degrees below zero. Farther inland, Fort Yukon has ranged from minus 50 to minus 62 degrees over the last three days, getting close to its record of minus 78.
© Dan Joling/AP
Downtown Anchorage, Alaska, has seen a snowy and icy winter, including this scene from Jan. 18.
Downtown Anchorage, Alaska, has seen a snowy and icy winter, including this scene from Jan. 18.
It's so cold for Anchorage, the Daily News reported, that:
- Cross country ski practices by the Junior Nordic League have been canceled due to temps dipping below the official cut-off of minus 4 degrees.
- Tow trucks are so busy helping folks with dead car batteries that it can take up to four hours to get service.
- Some schools have had only a handful of outdoor recess days this month.
Fort Yukon, for its part, dipped to 62 degrees below zero on Saturday, then hit 59 below on Sunday, the National Weather Service reported.
The deep freeze is in addition to the record snow and blizzard conditions seen earlier this month in towns like Cordova and Valdez. Even Anchorage is on track to see a record snow season, having received more than twice its average amount so far.
The International Geodynamic Monitoring System, a part of GNFE (London, UK), has registered on November 15, 2011 a powerful energy release emanating from the Earth's core. The intense three-dimensional gravitational anomaly was almost simultaneously recorded by all ATROPATENA geophysical stations separated by vast distances from each other in the following cities: Istanbul (Turkey), Kiev (Ukraine), Baku (Azerbaijan), Islamabad (Pakistan) and Yogyakarta (Indonesia).
According to GNFE President Professor Elchin Khalilov, the detailed analysis of ATROPATENA station records indicates a powerful energy release emanating from the Earth's core. According to the scientist, this fact may herald intensification of geodynamic processes in our planet and as a result, a higher number of strong earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.
As GNFE President Professor Elchin Khalilov told WOSCO news agency, ATROPATENA earthquake forecasting stations record particular three-dimensional gravitational anomalies that occur, on average, 3-7 days before strong earthquakes. These anomalies are generated by the passingof tectonic waves (stress waves) under the stations; they are emitted by the focuses of imminent large earthquakes at the moment when the stresses in them reach critical values.
© Unknown
As GNFE President Professor Elchin Khalilov told WOSCO news agency, ATROPATENA earthquake forecasting stations record particular three-dimensional gravitational anomalies that occur, on average, 3-7 days before strong earthquakes. These anomalies are generated by the passingof tectonic waves (stress waves) under the stations; they are emitted by the focuses of imminent large earthquakes at the moment when the stresses in them reach critical values.
© AP Photo
Al Gore's campaign to 'decarbonize the economy' is facing mounting opposition
Al Gore's campaign to 'decarbonize the economy' is facing mounting opposition
WSJ Editor's Note: The following has been signed by the 16 scientists listed at the end of the article:
A candidate for public office in any contemporary democracy may have to consider what, if anything, to do about "global warming." Candidates should understand that the oft-repeated claim that nearly all scientists demand that something dramatic be done to stop global warming is not true. In fact, a large and growing number of distinguished scientists and engineers do not agree that drastic actions on global warming are needed.
In September, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Ivar Giaever, a supporter of President Obama in the last election, publicly resigned from the American Physical Society (APS) with a letter that begins: "I did not renew [my membership] because I cannot live with the [APS policy] statement: 'The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is occurring. If no mitigating actions are taken, significant disruptions in the Earth's physical and ecological systems, social systems, security and human health are likely to occur. We must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases beginning now.' In the APS it is OK to discuss whether the mass of the proton changes over time and how a multi-universe behaves, but the evidence of global warming is incontrovertible?"
In spite of a multidecade international campaign to enforce the message that increasing amounts of the "pollutant" carbon dioxide will destroy civilization, large numbers of scientists, many very prominent, share the opinions of Dr. Giaever. And the number of scientific "heretics" is growing with each passing year. The reason is a collection of stubborn scientific facts.
Comment: Major dips in temperatures are happening elsewhere as well: Deep freeze grips much of Alaska