Earth ChangesS


Snowman

US Cooling for April 2008

NOAA reports that April 2008 was a full degree (F) below normal making it the 29th coldest April out of 115 years for the United States, the coldest in 11 years. Much of the western 2/3rds of the lower 48 were colder than normal. In Washington State, it was the second coldest April on record. In contrast in the east, in New York State it was the 3rd warmest.

All the monthly global data sets are updated now. The University of Alabama Hunstville (Spencer-Christy) MSU satellite derived lower tropospheric data shows an anomaly of just +0.015C. The UK Hadley Center version 3v which includes land station and some ocean reports showed an anomaly of +0.265C. Adding this month to the plot since 2002 shows the downtrend continues.

Bizarro Earth

Officials in China rush to evacuate 80,000

Chinese officials rushed Tuesday to evacuate another 80,000 people in the path of potential floodwaters building up behind a quake-spawned dam as soldiers carved a channel to try to drain away the threat.

Tangjiashan quake lake
©Xinhua
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, the Tangjiashan quake lake formed by the landslide following the May 12 earthquake near Beichuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province is seen on Monday, May 26, 2008. Chinese officials rushed Tuesday to evacuate another 80,000 people in the path of potential floodwaters building up behind a quake-spawned dam as soldiers carved a channel to try to drain away the threat.

Arrow Down

Medieval church re-emerges as Spain ships in water

santa roma church drought spain
© REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino/FilesVisitors walk amid the remains of flooded village Sant Roma as it emerges from the low waters of the Sau reservoir, north of Vic near Barcelona, April 6, 2008.
Perhaps the most striking image of Spain's drought, so severe it has forced Barcelona to ship in water, has been that of the underwater church which emerged from a drying dam.

For most of the past four decades, all that has been visible of the village of Sant Roma has been the belltower of its stone church, peeping above the water beside forested hills from a valley flooded in the 1960s to provide water for the Catalonia region.

This year, receding waters have exposed the 11th-century church completely, attracting crowds of tourists who stand gazing around it on the dusty bed of the reservoir.

Cloud Lightning

Oklahoma: Severe weather in state possible overnight

The National Weather Service has allowed tornado warnings issued earlier this evening to expire, but weather advisories remain in effect across the state.

The weather service has issued a tornado watch in 29 western Oklahoma counties effective until midnight.

The watch covers Alfalfa, Beaver, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Garfield, Grant, Greer, Harmon, Harper, Jackson, Kay, Kingfisher, Kiowa, Major, Noble, Nowata, Osage, Pawnee, Rogers, Roger Mills, Texas, Tulsa, Washington, Washita, Woods and Woodward counties.

Cloud Lightning

US: At least 3 confirmed tornadoes touch down in Texas Panhandle

Amarillo - The National Weather Services said at least three weak tornadoes touched down in the Texas Panhandle.

There have been no reports of injuries or building damage caused by Sunday's tornadoes. Meteorologist Jason Jordan said all three tornadoes touched down over open country.

Fish

Australian fishermen haul up a 225 kg giant squid

Melbourn - Australian fishermen have hauled up a six-metre-long giant squid off the country's southeastern coast.

Skipper Rangi Pene says the 225-kilogram squid was already dead when it was caught in a trawler's nets Sunday night in waters more than 500 metres deep.

Binoculars

Canada: Flood waters put region on high alert

Rain pelting southern Alberta for fifth straight day

Bragg Creek resident Gladell Adelman almost lost her dog Muffin to the torrent Saturday morning.

She'd taken Muffin out for a walk near the Elbow River, alongside her home and called the dog back from the river's edge seconds before the bank gave way to raging waters.

"She wouldn't have made it," Adelman said. "I could never have got her."

Cloud Lightning

Floods displace 15,000 in Chile, shut giant mine

SANTIAGO - Heavy rains and flooding that killed five people and displaced thousands in south-central Chile have collapsed road and rail bridges, closed the world's largest underground copper mine and left many in the capital without drinking water, the government said on Friday.

Many schools remained closed in Santiago and elsewhere after floodwaters churned up sediment at water treatment plants, while several rivers burst their banks farther south, deluging thousands of homes.

Info

Panda missing since quake caught, one still missing

BEIJING - A giant panda missing from a nature reserve since a massive earthquake hit southwestern China two weeks ago has been caught alive, state media reported Monday.

The panda, called Xixi, was captured on Monday morning in woods near the Wolong Panda Breeding Centre, Xinhua news agency reported.

It was given tranquilisers, put in a cage and transported back to the centre, Xinhua said.

Image
©AFP Teh Eng Koon
A hungry giant panda enjoys bamboo at a zoo in Beijing on May 24, 2008 after being evacuated from the famed Wolong breeding centre in southwest China's Sichuan province due to food shortages and damage caused by the May 12 earthquake. A giant panda missing from a nature reserve since a massive earthquake hit southwestern China two weeks ago has been caught alive, state media reported Monday.

This leaves one more panda still missing following the 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12, which killed three workers at the reserve, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) away from the epicentre of the quake.


Bizarro Earth

Ecuador records 125 explosions of Tungurahua volcano

QUITO -- Ecuador recorded 125 moderate explosions of the Tungurahua volcano in center of the Andes Sunday, according to the Geophysics Institute (GI) of the National Polytechnic School.

"The volcanic activities continue with a high seismic level, mainly characterized by moderate explosions," the IG reported.

There are also 32 earthquakes inside the mountain and continuous shocks for 17 times.