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Massive Solar Flare 'Could Paralyse Earth in 2013'


Daily Mail Online, UK
Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:36 UTC
Solar Flare_1
© Associated Press
A massive solar flare is caught on camera on September 8th. Scientists fear that the Sun's activity could cause havoc on Earth in 2013

A massive solar flare could cause global chaos in 2013, causing blackouts and wrecking satellite communications, a conference heard yesterday.

Nasa has warned that a peak in the sun's magnetic energy cycle and the number of sun spots or flares around 2013 could generate huge radiation levels.

The resulting solar storm could cause a geomagnetic storm on Earth, knocking out electricity grids around the world for hours, days, or even months, bringing much of normal life grinding to a halt.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox, who delivered the keynote address at an international conference on the vulnerability of electricity grids around the world, warned that modern societies' dependence on technology leaves them vulnerable to such events.
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Attention

Scientists to Drill 13,000 Feet Into Active Volcano in Test That Could Cause Earthquake

Nick Squires
The Telegraph, UK
Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:38 UTC
Image
© Alamy
Campi Flegrei last erupted in 1538, and recent seismic activity in the area has raised fears that it could be ready to blow again
Scientists are planning to drill 13,000ft into the heart of an active volcano in Italy in an attempt to protect the nearby city of Naples by gauging when it is likely to erupt.

But experts have warned that the project could trigger an explosion of red hot magma or even an earthquake.

The team of scientists wants to insert a borehole inside Campi Flegrei, a huge volcanic formation outside Naples, in the hope of gauging how active it is.

Also known as the Phlegraean Fields, Campi Flegrei is an eight-mile-wide caldera lying west of Naples.

It comprises 24 volcanic fissures and craters - one of which was believed by the ancient Romans to be the home of Vulcan, the god of fire - although much of it lies under water as it extends into the Bay of Naples.
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Magic Wand

Ozone layer 'is no longer disappearing and will return to full strength by 2048', says UN report

Niall Firth
UK Daily Mail
Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:12 UTC
The ozone layer is no longer disappearing and could be back to full strength by the middle of this century, UN scientists have confirmed.

The phasing out of nearly 100 substances once used in products like refrigerators and aerosols has stopped the ozone layer being depleted further, although it is not yet increasing, according to a new United Nations report released last week.

Comment: This was the forerunner to man-made global warming. They tried to convince us that the ozone layer was disappearing because of people's fridges. Now that the ozone layer has replenished itself, they can tell us that their measures to control our choices were successful and thus play the same game with 'global warming' aka man-made climate change.

Temperatures are plummeting in time for them to congratulate themselves on successfully "reducing carbon emissions." This self-styled "success" will spur them on to increase the draconian measures until millions, if not billions more, are starving and freezing to death.

The models used to produce these results are entirely self-referencing; very little empirical measurements taken from the real world are actually used in the production of these reports, which are thinly disguised policy documents masquerading as scientific discovery.

And it claimed that international efforts to protect the ozone layer has averted millions of cases of skin cancer worldwide.

The ozone layer outside the polar regions is projected to recover to pre-1980 levels by 2048, although the annual springtime ozone hole over the Antarctic is not expected to recover until 2073.

Ozone in the stratosphere is important because it absorbs some of the Sun's dangerous ultraviolet radiation.
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Cloud Precipitation

Torrential rains soak quake-hit area in SW China


Xinhua
Tue, 21 Sep 2010 14:24 UTC
More than 6,200 residents were relocated Tuesday as torrential rains pounded Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County in southwest China's Sichuan Province, local authorities said Tuesday.

A rain-triggered landslide has blocked the outlet of the Tangjiashan Barrier Lake formed during the catastrophic quake of 2008, threatening lives and properties, according to a statement issued by the county's government.

Some 300,000 cubic meters of debris brought by the landslide caused a dam, blocking the lake's outlet. The dam's lowest point is 10 meters higher than the present water level, the statement said. Debris still continue to come down from the hills, and if there were more rains, then the lake level would further rise, threatening the lives of people in nearby townships.

The rains had disrupted the normal life of 58,000 local residents in the county, causing huge economic losses, the statement said.
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Sun

Brazil: Drought shrinks Amazon River to lowest level in 47 years


Terra Daily
Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:01 UTC
Image
© AFP
A motorized canoe travelling between protruding sandbars due to the low water level affecting the Amazon River.
A severe drought parching northern Brazil this year has shrunk the mighty Amazon River -- the world's longest river -- to its lowest level in 47 years, officials said Wednesday.

The waterway's depth at Manaus, the main city in the Amazon region, was just 19.34 meters (63.45 feet) -- well below its average of 23.25 meters (76.28 feet), the country's Geological Service told AFP.

The last time the river was at such a low level was in 1963.

Scientists say it appears Brazil is headed for its worst drought since that year. Final data to be collected up to October were expected to confirm that.

The withering of the Amazon has produced unusual scenes of children playing football in the dried-up riverbed of a tributary, the Quarenta, that crosses Manaus.

Worse, seven remote towns upstream that rely on water traffic as their main link to civilization have been cut off as their own tributary has all but disappeared.

Comment:
Image
© EPA

UPDATE:
State of emergency declared in Brasilia due to drought
September 21, 2010

An unprecedented drought has prompted the imposition of a state of emergency in Brazil's capital Brasilia. The last time it rained in the city 117 day ago.

This is the reason why wildfires have become more frequent in the region. A fire ravaged 10,000 hectares of vegetation in the National City Park last weekend.

The water level in the artificial Lake Paranoa has dropped to the permissible minimum.The city has acquired a different look because of burnt-out lawns and flowerbeds. The nearby farmsteads expect to reap only half their usual harvest size due to the lack of water.

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Binoculars

Six Foot Long Snake Discovered in Toilet in Poland


The Telegraph, UK
Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:23 UTC
Image
© Grzegorz Hawalej/Agence France-Presse
The anaconda in quarantine at the zoo
A 73-year-old Polish pensioner was shocked to find a 6.5-foot-long anaconda peering up out of her toilet bowl on Monday in her flat in Wroclaw, south-west Poland, local police said.

"After she raised the lid of the toilet seat, the lady saw a huge snake that wanted to slither out of the toilet bowl.

"She immediately slammed down the toilet lid and called us," Pawel Petrykowski, a Wroclaw police spokesman, told AFP.

"She was certainly very frightened but managed to keep her wits about her," he said.
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Cloud Precipitation

Igor kicks up dangerous surf along US East Coast

Jason Bronis
Associated Press
Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:18 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/Gerry Broome
A man walks by the excursion boat 'Bermudian' after it broke loose and was pushed to shore by Hurricane Igor in St. George, Bermuda, Monday, Sept. 20, 2010.
Hurricane Igor kicked up dangerous surf along the eastern U.S. seaboard Monday after brushing past Bermuda and knocking out power to a large share of the population.

The storm, already blamed for sweeping three people to their deaths, clung to hurricane status with winds of 75 mph (120 kph) as it sped away from the United States on a path projected to take it close by Newfoundland, Canada, on Tuesday.

In this tiny British Atlantic territory, the storm toppled trees and utility poles as its center passed 40 miles (65 kilometers) to the west overnight. Several boats ran aground, including a ferry, The Bermudian, that is used to bring cruise ship passengers to shore. No major damage or injuries were reported.

By Monday afternoon, the hurricane's center was about 350 miles (560 kilometers) north-northeast of Bermuda and moving to the northeast at 36 mph (43 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami reported.
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Cloud Lightning

India: Flood hits Uttarakhand, death toll reaches to 63


OneIndia News
Mon, 20 Sep 2010 01:03 UTC
Following two days cloudburst, heavy rain and landslides, the death toll in Uttarakhand reached to 63 on Monday, Sep 20. According the state government source, Naintal accounted for 11 deaths, Haridwar seven and Pauri three.

Flowing two meter above the danger mark in Haridwar, river Ganga flooded several areas in the district with holy place Har-Ki-Puari completely submerged under water. Rescue operation reached to the region and one official informed that seven people were still trapped under the debris of flattened houses in cloudburst-hit villages.

State government on Sep 20, issued order to shut all the schools for three days.
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Snowman

September snow surprise in Montana

David Sherman
KRTV.com
Fri, 17 Sep 2010 21:42 UTC
snow,montana
Snow began falling in some areas of north central Montana and along the Rocky Mountain Front early on Friday, leaving some people checking their calendar to see if it is still, in fact, summer.

A rain-snow mix in and around Great Falls turned to all snow around 10 am in some areas. Up to an inch of accumulation may be possible throughout Friday, and temperatures will remain in the upper 30s to low 40s.

While snow in September is not unusual at higher elevations and in Glacier National Park, many lower elevations also received a dusting, with some areas reporting several inches of snow by mid-day on Friday.
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Cloud Precipitation

Igor nears Bermuda as Category 1 hurricane

Jason Bronis
Associated Press
Sun, 19 Sep 2010 18:48 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/Gerry Broome
Wind and rain batter the trees and boats in Mangrove Bay as Hurricane Igor moves onto Bermuda, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010.
Fierce waves pounded the breakwaters and shores of Bermuda on Sunday, straining yacht moorings and battering oceanfront hotels as Hurricane Igor lashed the wealthy British enclave.

Bermudians battened down their homes in pelting rain to wait out Igor, a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph). Some storm-seasoned islanders ventured outside to gawk at the 15-foot (5-meter) surf or to triple-tie boat moorings even as officials warned them to stay indoors.

"We are urging residents to please go home and stay in until it is all over," said government spokeswoman Beverle Lottimore.

Those who did venture outside were met with howling winds, and gusts of hurricane force were reported by midday. Flooding was reported in low-lying areas and streets in downtown Hamilton, the capital, were covered in several inches of water and littered with tree branches and other debris.
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