Earth ChangesS


Hourglass

Volcano in Russian Far East continues to spew ashy plume

Kizimen Volcano
© RIA Novosti. M. PevznerKizimen Volcano
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky -- The active Kizimen Volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula continues spewing plumes of ash at a height of up to six kilometers (3.72 miles), a representative for the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said on Thursday.

"Seismologists registered about 200 local tremors in the vicinity of the volcano over the past 24 hours," the spokesman said.

According to him, bad weather satellites cannot track the direction or the distance of the ash plume which has repeatedly caused falling ash in populated areas on the peninsula, including Petropavlovsk, where 60% of the Kamchatka Peninsula residents live.

However, the ash could affect the operations of aircraft. Particles of ash may get into the mechanisms of airliners and provoke an accident.

There are more than 150 volcanoes on Kamchatka, 29 of them active.

Snowman

Bitter cold snap grips Ontario

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© Jack Boland/QMI AgencyThe City of Toronto has issued an extreme cold weather alert.
If you're living in Ontario, hold on to your long johns. Another extreme cold weather alert is in effect for the Toronto, Niagara and London regions.

During the alert, outreach workers in Toronto will be trying to get homeless people off the streets and into emergency shelters and drop-in centres. TTC tokens will also be available for transportation to shelters.

The alert, issued Friday morning, will be in effect until at least Tuesday.

An alert is called whenever Environment Canada predicts a temperature of minus 15C or lower without wind chill, issues a wind-chill warning or predicts extreme weather conditions such as a blizzard, ice storm or sudden temperature drop.

If you're north of the city, things will be even worse: Environment Canada says parts of northern Ontario could reach lows of up to -50 C.

Bizarro Earth

State of emergency declared in remote Ontario town

Moonsoonee
© Theresa/The Weather NetworkMoosonee, Ontario, January 16, 2011
Cold dips to - 40C amidst prolonged power outage

Moonsoonee - A state of emergency has been declared in a remote northern Ontario town to deal with a prolonged power outage, as temperatures loom around -40C.

The power has been out since about 3 a.m. Saturday in Moosonee on the James Bay Coast, and officials say it is unknown when power will be restored. A state of emergency was declared at about 10 a.m.

Food, water and warmth is being provided at a college campus in town. Matters are made worse, as there is a boil water advisory for residents.

Question

India: Mysterious gas leak off Mumbai coast stumps authorities

More than 12 hours after a gas leak led to a scare in many parts of central Mumbai on Saturday morning around 8.30am, fire and civic authorities are still looking for the source of the gas leak which left many complaining of itchy eyes, coughing and nausea.

While admitting that the symptoms pointed strongly to the possibility that the leaked gas was ammonia, none of the authorities were willing to go on record saying so.

In the past seven months this is the fourth gas leak in the metropolitan region, which has thrown light on the casual attitude of authorities regarding gas leak incidents. In July 2010, there was a chlorine leak at Haji Bunder in Sewri which sent 123 people to the hospital. In the same month, a chlorine gas leak occurred in Bhivandi.

On Saturday morning, people residing in Matunga, Dadar and Mahim complained of a burning sensation in the eyes as well as sore throats. A fire brigade rushed to the spot to find the source of gas leak, but failed.

Cow Skull

10,000 Cattle Die In Vietnam

On Monday evening, the Department of Husbandry at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced that more than 10,000 cows and buffalos have perished nationwide due to harsh weather conditions.

The northern mountainous province of Cao Bang topped the list with more than 2,260 dead cattle.

Officials in Lang Son reported nearly 2,000 dead, Lao Cai more than 1,400, Son La 1,300 while Ha Giang and Bac Kan both reported 1,000 cows and buffalos dead. The brutal cold has also afflicted cattle herds in central provinces of Quang Nam, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh.

The animals had been grazed by people from ethnic groups outdoors where the harsh conditions have deprived the herds of warmth and food.

Throughout the northern region, high mountainous areas have reported deep freezes. The temperature in Sa Pa was expected to drop from the current -0.5 degrees Celsius to the record low of below -2 degrees Celsius.

Lower mountainous areas have all reported temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius.

Hourglass

Dying Birds Stir Extinction Fears

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Little penguins are dying in their hundreds, leading conservationists to fear they are starving as a result of the La Nina weather system.

Other seabirds are washing up dead on beaches, raising concerns that species could become extinct if climate change causes extreme weather events to become more frequent.

At Wellington Zoo, two starving little blue penguin chicks have been brought in this week. One died on Wednesday and the other, found at Lyall Bay, was hanging on to life yesterday.

The zoo's veterinary science manager, Lisa Argilla, said petrels were also starving around Wellington's south coast, and five shags had been brought in this month. "They're unable to find enough food. We've had a lot of starvations and a lot of mortalities."

Eye 1

Bird Death is spreading: Ducks mysteriously found dead in Norway

dead duck
© Dan Henry KlausenEvery day, they find 10 more dead birds.
Online Translation:

Port Director Odd Bernt Mevold is one of those who collect the birds. So far today we've picked up ten birds, so there is a high mortality rate now.

What happens in the harbor here is tragic, "said Mevold to NRK.

Now the door is about 10 birds a day in the area, and it is not normal, "says Mevold.

The bird behaves strange

Also NRK employee observed today eider ducks behaved very strange.

They behave quite abnormal, nervous system and their coordination ability does not work, "says Mevold.

It is also found dead crabs. .

Arrow Down

UK wild bird numbers continue to fall

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© Rex Features/BYB"At once a voice arose among/ The bleak twigs overhead/ In a full-hearted evensong/ Of joy illimited ... " - Hardy's Darkling Thrush
New figures show populations of farmland birds at record low, with woodland birds also experiencing a 24% decline

Populations of wild birds in the UK are falling dramatically with even slight recent recoveries apparently stalled, government figures showed today.

Only seabird populations remain comfortably above 1970 levels, while farmland bird numbers continue to plunge from a brief mid-1970s peak to half those of 40 years ago.

Habitat changes responsible for fewer nesting sites and food shortages were blamed last summer for sharp English farmbird losses but the reasons for the decline in woodland birds are less clear, according to the RSPB.

However research led by the British Trust for Ornithology has suggested agricultural intensification has also hit birds favouring wet grassland and moorland. Less vegetation cover and scrub, overgrazing by deer, more drainage of nearby farmland and changing winter climate may all be factors in the woodland bird decline.

Some farmland birds, such as the grey partridge, turtle dove, starling, tree sparrow, corn bunting and yellow wagtail have declined by over 70% over the period of official monitoring based on annual surveys of breeding sites and other data relating to 121 species. But wood pigeon and jackdaw populations have doubled and stock dove and greenfinch numbers risen by 50%.

Among woodland birds, huge falls have been recorded for wood warbler, willow tit, tree pipit, lesser spotted woodpecker, blackbird, dunnock, song thrush and tawny owl, among others. Yet black cap, great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, nuthatch and long-tailed tit are thriving

X

Canada: Power Outage Forces Tenants Out of Frigid Apartments

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© unknownResidents of an apartment building in Toronto's east-end were forced out of their homes after problems with the buildings electrical system caused a power outage.
About 1,000 residents have been forced to leave a freezing apartment building in east-end Toronto.

The building at 35 St. Denis Dr. has been without power since about 4 p.m. Thursday.

The building's manager says it's due to a problem with the building's internal electrical system.

But compounding the problem is that the cold weather caused a sprinkler pipe to burst in the building's underground garage.

Ambulance

Canada: 40-car pile up in Ontario; Woman Killed Getting Out of Car to Survey Damage

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© Tony Clement / The Canadian PressAn ambulance arrives at the scene of a multi-car pile-up on Highway 11 between Barrie and Orillia, Ont. on Friday, in this photo by Industry Minister Tony Clement.
A 40-car pile up in central Ontario claimed the life of a woman Friday after she got out of her damaged car in whiteout conditions and was struck by another vehicle, police said.

Several others were sent to hospital following the chain-reaction crash on Highway 11 that left two jack-knifed tractor trailers - one on each side of the highway - as well as several dented vehicles littered in the ditches.

Some 20 to 30 vehicles were scattered in the southbound lanes of the highway in Oro-Medonte Township between Barrie and Orillia in the aftermath of the collisions.

The crash happened just before noon when drivers were blinded by a major snow squall, police said.

The woman was killed after she got out of her vehicle to survey the damage, said provincial police Const. Peter Leon.

"She exited her vehicle and was struck by another vehicle that was also involved," said Leon.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.