© YouTube/Chave weather (screen capture)
Earth Changes
RT special report explores mysterious giant craters in Siberia: Sinkholes or underground explosions?
© Sputnik / Servicio de prensa del gobernador del Distrito autónomo de Yamalia-Nenetsia
One of the strange holes dotting the Yamal Pennisula in Siberia
One of the strange holes dotting the Yamal Pennisula in Siberia
Giant round craters seemingly appear out of nowhere in the remote areas of Western Siberia, mesmerizing and, sometimes, scaring nomadic reindeer herders and scientists alike.
One such crater opened up just last year, while more than a dozen others took several decades to form, researchers say. Some remain vast cavities, going as deep as 30 meters (98.5 feet). Others become lakes.
An anthropologist who studies the culture of the local Nenets people says she had witnessed a spontaneous formation of one such lake in the tundra. "There was no lake, but larch trees. One night, after loud bangs, it was like an upside-down saucer, with the trees on the bottom and the roots on the surface," she says, adding that several days later a lake was formed, which is now considered sacred by locals.
Watch the full documentary here:
Comment: Further reading:
- New 50-metre deep 'crater' found blasted open on Yamal peninsular, Siberia
- Methane outgassing discovered in Siberia's Yamal peninsula crater hole say scientists
- Enormous mounds of methane found off the coast of the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia
- SOTT EXCLUSIVE: Sinkhole, meteor crater, or something else? Giant hole spotted in remote Yamal Peninsula, northern Siberia
Deadly avalanche in Greppon Blanc on 20 March 2021
The average annual number of people caught in avalanches over the last 20 years is 177. This winter 296 people were affected, a 67% rise. 215 (73%) of the avalanches this season were triggered by people, compared to an average of 113 over the last 20 seasons.
Over the same 20-year timespan an average of 18 lives were lost in avalanche accidents per ski season. Up until the end of March 2021, 27 people had died in avalanches this winter season, 50% more than an average season.
Police are continuing to investigate a horrific fatal attack by two dogs on a woman in her 80s in a shocking Good Friday tragedy.
The pensioner was mauled to death in the back garden of her Black Country home yesterday (Friday) afternoon.
A man has been arrested and is continuing to be questioned by police today.
Here is everything we know so far:
© CC BY 2.0 / Flickr / Rob Oo
A 6.6-magnitude earthquake has struck east of the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The earthquake's epicentre was more than 1,810 kilometres from King Edward Point, a research station on South Georgia Island and is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, according to the Indian National Centre for Seismology.There have been no reports of injuries or damage as a result of the earthquake, as no people live on the South Sandwich Islands. No tsunami alert has been declared, the US National Tsunami Warning Centre stated.
© Pexels
The study examined agricultural production in 28 European countries (including the UK) from 1961 to 2018 and compared it with the prevalence of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, heat waves and cold snaps alike, all four of which increased in frequency over the study period.
The researchers found crop losses of 2.2% of total crop yield between 1964 and 1990, which surged to some 7.3% in the period between 1991 and 2015.
To make matters worse, droughts were found to be intensifying and occurring more frequently, a phenomenon which previous studies have identified as a result of shifts in the jet stream.
Comment: Since 2015 Europe suffering worst droughts in two thousand years
Crop and cattle losses are on the rise everywhere, whether it is due to extensive drought, massive hail, epic flooding, huge dust storms, unexpected frosts, and even epidemics. See also:
- Economists forecast trouble: Rising food prices globally mean it's more and more expensive to eat
- A good way to invest your money: Store large amounts of food, like now
The damage caused by these frosts is severe, according to producers and agricultural organizations, not only because of the flowers that have been lost, but also because of the impact they could have on the quality of the fruit. Although there is still a long way to go before the harvest and more unforeseen weather events could be recorded, the volumes expected after this event could come close to last year's -when they were down by about 30%-, or fall even more.
© BNPB
Floods in Grobogan, Indonesia, 31 March 2021
Floods in Grobogan, Indonesia, 31 March 2021
The Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) reported severe flooding in Klambu District, Grobogan Regency, Central Java, on 31 March 2021.
Flooding affected the villages of Klambu and Penganten. According to BNPB, 1,900 houses, 3 government offices, 5 schools and 14 places of worship were submerged in water up to 2 metres deep in Klambu Village. Meanwhile around 500 homes were flooded in Penganten Village. Around 20 homes have been severely damaged.
The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) reports that over 52,000 people were affected by floods in northern parts of Medan City, capital of Indonesia's North Sumatra province on 30 March 2021.
The flooding mostly affected areas of Medan Belawan sub-district and was blamed on a combination of heavy rain, high tide and blocked drainage channels. Around 12,335 homes were inundated.
Flash floods and landslides were reported in other parts of the island over the last week.
© NSIDC
"Insane depth of cold" to blast Britain.
An "insane depth of cold" is set to strike the UK over the Easter weekend, warns the Weather Outlook's Brian Gaze.
Freezing temperatures and frosts will arrive in Scotland on Thursday, April 1, with "polar spring" conditions engulfing the majority of the country by Good Friday.
Looking further ahead, the mercury is expected to sink even lower during the following week, as a violent kink in the jet stream (associated with the historically low solar activity we continue to experience) delivers Arctic air to the lower-latitudes.
Thermometers could sink to -10C (14F) in northern parts, which would topple all-time daily cold records.
The UK's lowest-ever recorded temperature for April 5, for example, is the -9C (15.8F) set in 1990, while 1935's -8.9C (16F) for April 7 could also tumble. In fact, most of the daily benchmarks between early-to-mid April are under threat, including some that have stood for more than a century.
Comment: Guatemala's Pacaya volcano continues erupting after 50 days