Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

Snow falls in Andalucia, Spain as Storm Leslie brings drop in temperatures

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Storm Leslie has brought a temperature drop throughout Andalucia as snow falls in some areas.

We're barely into autumn and Andalucia has already seen snow, with the Sierra Nevada mountains seeing their first smattering this week.

However, they might not be the only ones as Storm Leslie continues on her unforgiving path.

So far, the storm has brought rain, strong winds and a drop in temperatures to the region.

The Spanish Weather Agency (Aemet) still has rain warnings active in Cordoba, Huelva, Jaen, Malaga and Sevilla this Wednesday.


Snowflake

Foot of early snowfall at Jay Peak ski resort in Vermont

The top of the Flyer Express Quad at Jay Peak.
© Brian Irwin/The Boston GlobeThe top of the Flyer Express Quad at Jay Peak.
Skiers and riders could hardly contain their excitement on Wednesday after Jay Peak in Vermont reported a foot of snow.

The ski area, named the best ski resort in Vermont by Boston.com readers earlier this year, posted photos on social media of snowy trails amid foliage, writing, "Well today was certainly a treat, no tricks, thanks to a foot of snow near the summit and cover down to the base since this storm cycle started Monday. Gotta love the blending seasons and the foliage doing its best to hang on as winter takes over the top for now."

Thousands of followers promptly liked the Facebook post and hundreds commented on it.


Tsunami

Massive flooding in Tamarite de Litera, Spain

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Massive flooding due to heavy rainstorm in Tamarite de Litera in the province of Huesca, Spain (15.10.2024)


Cloud Precipitation

Large hailstones, flooding, landslides as storm smashes town in Victoria, Australia

The main street of Casterton, a rural town on the Glenelg River.
© Casterton NewsThe main street of Casterton, a rural town on the Glenelg River.
A hailstorm described by locals as the worst in living memory has smashed a Victorian town, damaging cars and homes and forcing businesses to shut.

Giant hail and torrential rain from a severe thunderstorm pummelled Casterton, a historic town in western Victoria, on Wednesday afternoon.

The Severe Weather Victoria Facebook page described "unreal scenes" as the supercell caused flooding, landslides, ice-covered roads and destruction of homes and vehicles.

"Never seen anything like," it wrote.

Higgins Storm Chasing said damaging to destructive winds tore roofs off some houses.

There was "plenty of damage" with "hail up to tennis ball size" smashing windows and car windscreens.

Residents also reported house fires breaking out due to the damage.


Doberman

Stray dog attack leaves 11-year-old boy dead in Chitradurga, India

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A tragic incident occurred in Rampura village, Molakalmur taluk, where an 11-year-old boy was fatally attacked by stray dogs. The boy, identified as Mithun, was walking to his tuition classes when he was bitten on his head, cheeks, and other parts of his body.

A local auto-rickshaw driver, Rajappa, intervened and rescued the boy from the attack. Mithun was immediately rushed to Rampura Hospital but unfortunately succumbed to his injuries while being transported to VIMS in Ballari for further treatment.

Rampura Police have registered a case and are investigating the incident.

Cloud Precipitation

Heavy rainfall lashes Oman causing flash floods

Heavy flooding in the town of Al Ashkhara in Oman on Tuesday.
Heavy flooding in the town of Al Ashkhara in Oman on Tuesday.
Several people were rescued in Oman after torrential rain caused by a tropical storm left many parts of the country inundated.

Four members of a family were rescued in Sur after floodwaters trapped them inside their house, the Omani Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority said on social media.

In separate incidents, three more people were rescued after their vehicles were swept away by flood waters.

Oman closed schools on Tuesday and issued a safety alert in response to storms sweeping across the country.

Authorities announced distance learning for pupils in response to the severe weather and urged the public to remain indoors and monitor government channels for weather updates.


Black Cat

Woman killed by leopard in Junnar, India - 7th such incident in the area since March

A 40-year-old woman was killed in a leopard attack in Pendhar village in Junnar on Wednesday. (
A 40-year-old woman was killed in a leopard attack in Pendhar village in Junnar on Wednesday. (
A 40-year-old woman was killed in a leopard attack in Pendhar village in Junnar on Wednesday.

This incident marked the seventh death in the Junnar forest division due to leopard attacks since March.

"It is expected that more leopard attacks might take place by the end of the year. It is a worrisome situation for the forest department as well as the concerned authorities and the locals," said Kumar Ankit, senior research fellow at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), who has been working on the leopard project in Junnar since 2019, under the guidance of Bilal Habib, a senior scientist at WII.

Sharing insights from the data observations, Ankit said, that in places like Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand and others, including Junnar in Maharashtra, where humans and carnivorous animals coexist, we have seen a certain trend in such conflict incidents.

Comment: An earlier report from the area: Woman killed by leopard in Pune, India - 5th such incident for district in 5 months


Arrow Down

It's an emergency! Green plants spreading at alarming rate in Antarctica

Lesson #457 in how to lie with science

File this lesson away in the Decline and Fall of Enlightenment Science. Nature, formerly known as the esteemed science journal, is now achieving everything a captured tabloid industry sales mag could hope for. They've squeezed a disaster out of a tiny change in a short record, and from a good news story. Let's not forget, for the last 100,000 years most humans would have been happy that a bit of Antarctica was greening.

"Lush"? The only people who call this lush are penguins:
Antarctica Greening
© joannenova.com.au
To appreciate the Black Belt level of naked exaggeration going on here, consider the opening hyperbole:
A fast-warming region of Antarctica is getting greener with shocking speed. Satellite imagery of the region reveals that the area covered by plants increased by almost 14 times over 35 years — a trend that will spur rapid change of Antarctic ecosystems.

"It's the beginning of dramatic transformation," says Olly Bartlett, a remote-sensing specialist at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, UK, and an author of the study1, published today in Nature Geoscience, that reports these results.
All this shock and drama arise from an area of "less than a square kilometer" expanding all the way up to "nearly 12 square kilometers". These numbers "shocked us" say the PR team, I mean, the scientists, who continue on in their best Agony-Aunt impression: "It's simply that rate of change in an extremely isolated, extremely vulnerable area that causes the alarm." Sob sob, and Boo hoo too. It's a lonely peninsula. Can we find it a friend?

Everything about this shows the pathetic decay of Western Science. We're talking about 12 square kilometers of more habitable land on a continent with 14 million square kilometers of ice. The horrible affliction of unexpected tundra now covers 0.00009% of Antarctica.

Volcano

Japan: Sakurajima volcano spews ash 1,400 meters high

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In a display of natural power, Japan's Sakurajima volcano erupted explosively on October 13 at 12:42 local time, sending a towering ash plume 1400 meters above its crater.

This event marks the 32nd explosive eruption of Sakurajima in 2024, continuing its active phase that has captivated and concerned residents and scientists alike.

The eruption, while not unexpected given the volcano's frequent activity, serves as a stark reminder of the geological forces at play beneath the Earth's surface.

Sakurajima, located on the southernmost tip of Kyushu Island, is one of Japan's most active volcanoes, known for its almost continuous minor eruptions and periodic explosive events.


Tornado2

Rare waterspout spotted over Qinghai Lake in China

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On October 9, 2024, a spectacular natural phenomenon was captured over Qinghai Lake in Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, located in northwestern China's Qinghai Province.

In the video, a thick layer of clouds hung in the sky while a massive column of water shot straight from the lake's surface toward the clouds. This rare event, known as a waterspout, resembled a giant dragon playing in the water, as if connecting the lake to the sky.

Waterspouts are a form of tornado over water, featuring a rapidly rotating funnel of wind with intense low pressure. The breathtaking scene left Chinese onlookers in awe of the power and beauty of nature.