Earth Changes

Third 'once-a-century' drought in 15 years: Tens of thousands of wildfires so far this year as Amazon jungle goes up in smoke

teleSUR
Fri, 20 Nov 2015 19:25 UTC

The fires follow months of extreme drought in the country's southern states, which experts say is caused by climate change and deforestation.

Brazil's central Amazonas region has registered at least 906 active forest fires due to severe drought in the region, according to a new government report.

The Brazilian Institute for Space Research, known as INPE, reported Sunday that satellites had detected the fires, which account for over 59 percent of all active fires in Brazil.

The region most affected has been the northern state of Amazonas, the heart of the largest rainforest in the world. The region has already seen 11,114 forest fires since January of this year - a 47 percent rise compared to the same period last year, said INPE.

The state capital Manaus has been wreathed in smoke, causing issues for those with respiratory diseases. The smoke has failed to disperse because of the lack of rain and winds in the region lately.

Comment: This is the third 'once-in-a-century' drought the region has had in 15 years...

'Amazon rainforest hit by second 'once in a century drought' in five years'

Daily Mail, 4 February 2011

The Amazon has been hit by its second 'once in a century' drought in five years, scientists say.

A study found that last year's drought was even more severe and more widespread than the disastrous water shortages that gripped the world's largest rainforest in 2005.

The extended dry season is thought to have wiped out swathes of the Amazon, killing millions of trees, amphibians, fish, birds and mammals.

As with the explosion in wildfires in North America, the Arctic, Southeast Asia and elsewhere, we suspect that the vast majority of these fires are not man-made.

Iceland in the grip of bitter cold snap

Iceland Monitor
Fri, 20 Nov 2015 19:26 UTC

Anybody venturing outside in Iceland yesterday evening will have found that predictions of bitterly cold weather were not exaggerated.

Even the most extreme forecast minimum temperature was reached - it was exactly -20°C at the Icelandic Met Office weather station at Sandbúðir in inland South-East Iceland early this morning.

It is currently -9°C in the capital Reykjavik and temperatures will struggle to exceed -4°C at their very warmest today.

Residents of Akureyri woke up this morning to temperatures of -10°C and a blanket of white, after heavy snowfall yesterday evening. A Primera Air jet flying a charter flight from Tenerife to Akureyri was forced to divert to Keflavík (KEF) as visibility in North Iceland was so bad.

Tungurahua volcano erupts in Ecuador covering houses, fields with ash and smoke

Adam Justice
International Business Times
Fri, 20 Nov 2015 13:08 UTC

© AP/Dolores Ochoa
Tungurahua volcano spews ash and vapor, as seen seen Ojos del Volcan, Ecuador, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015.

Residents from communities near Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano faced a massive cleaning operation on Thursday (19 November) after the volcano erupted, covering houses and fields with smoke and ash. Authorities issued an orange alert as emissions reached 2,500 metres above the crater.

In nearby Queros, one of the most affected communities, officials registered 10kg of ash per square metre.
As he swept the street near his house, resident Luis Vaca said the volcanic material was damaging crops. "Ash is falling everywhere; it's strong, especially in the countryside where it's falling more heavily. It's damaging the crops. It would be good if the president came to visit us," he said.

Volcanologist Patricia Mothes confirmed that eruptions have been substantial. "These accumulations of ash that have been falling are the greatest masses of ash that we've registered in the past five years," she said.

Comment: Check out SOTT's latest Earth Changes Summary video of extreme weather and planetary upheaval.

SOTT Earth Changes Summary - October 2015: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

Indonesia's Mount Sinabung erupts again emitting ash 2,000 meters

Apriadi Gunawan
Asia One
Fri, 20 Nov 2015 15:27 UTC

© AFP
A photo taken from Tiga Serangkai village in Karo, North Sumatra, shows Mount Sinabung spewing volcanic ash in the distance on September 23, 2015.

Mount Sinabung in Karo regency, North Sumatra, erupted forcefully once again on Wednesday and may threaten the opening of the Lake Toba Festival by Tourism Minister Arief Yahya in Berastagi, also in Karo, slated for Thursday.

No casualties were reported following the eruption, but pyroclastic flows drifting to the southeast affected a number of villages that have long been abandoned by residents. "The current wind direction is directed to the southwest, but if it blows to the east the Lake Toba Festival will be disrupted as the spread of ash would reach Berastagi," Mt. Sinabung Observation Station staff member Deri Hidayat told The Jakarta Post.

Deri said the volcano discharged the clouds at 1:47 a.m. and 9:28 a.m. He added the pyroclastic clouds, which drifted as far as 3.5 kilometers, affected Bekerah and Simacem villages. He said both villages had long been left empty as they were inside a designated danger zone. Deri added that Mt. Sinabung had also emitted volcanic ash to a height of 2,000 meters toward the southwest. He said the spread of ash could disrupt the Lake Toba Festival if the wind changed direction in coming days.

He said volcanic activity could increase within the week, adding that the volcano could discharge a bigger volume of pyroclastic flows and ash. "The biggest eruption took place on Tuesday, when the volcano discharged pyroclastic clouds 13 times, compared to only twice today," said Deri. According to him, the potential for pyroclastic flows remained great due to a lava dome buildup on the southeastern section of the peak. Deri said the lava dome could collapse anytime and trigger huge pyroclastic flows.

Massive fish kill on Sanibel beach, Florida

Michael Colaianni
nbc-2.com
Thu, 19 Nov 2015 14:39 UTC

Fish kill on Sanibel Island

A massive fish kill on Sanibel Island could keep beachgoers out of the water and off of the sand.

Before walking out on the beach at Gulfside City Park Wednesday night, you could certainly smell that something fishy was going on as thousands of dead fish have washed ashore.

When Erin Neitzlt and her friend Joyce Nardo made their way to the Gulfside Beach, they were looking for a little getaway.

"I just like the sea air. It smells good out here, listening to the waves. It's a good way to relax out here and beat some stress," said Neitzlt. "To relax, hear the waves, I love it here."

They likely didn't expect to find thousands of dead fish strewn across the beach, which could likely be the result of red tide.

The latest reports released Wednesday by Florida Fish and Wildlife indicate the algae bloom, which is common in November, has made its way to Southwest Florida.

Magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes off Japan's Bonin islands

The New Indian Express
Fri, 20 Nov 2015 14:31 UTC

An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck 112 km (70 miles) southeast of Japan's Bonin islands on Friday, about 1,000 km south of the capital Tokyo, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake at a depth of 10 km (6 miles), hit at 0540 GMT.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Source: Reuters

Lightning strikes kill two women in Sri Lanka

Hiru News
Thu, 19 Nov 2015 14:15 UTC

Met. department states that many areas in the island might receive thunder showers during today afternoon.

The on duty weather forecaster Nimal Bandara Ekanayaka forecasts that lightning accidents also could occur along with the thunder showers and warns the public to be vigilant.

Meanwhile two persons have been killed by lightning.

A 50 year old person has been killed by lightning yesterday while working in a paddy field in Kanthale-Agbopura- Ginipetty Palama area.

And a woman has also been killed by lightning yesterday while working in paddy field in Anuradhapura Gomarankadawala area.

Magnitude 3.2 earthquake hits Bárðarbunga volcano, Iceland

Iceland Monitor
Fri, 20 Nov 2015 14:07 UTC

Eyes are back on Iceland's Bárðarbunga volcano following a magnitude 3.2 earthquake that hit the caldera of the volcano yesterday.

Monitoring by the Icelandic Met Office has recently revealed significantly greater seismic activity than any time since the 2014-15 eruption in the adjacent Holuhraun lava field.

Bárðarbunga is one of Iceland's most powerful volcanoes and is located under the country's famous Vatnajökull glacier.

The Met Office's Einar Hjörleifssonhas indicated that the situation is being monitored closely.

Video shows giant sinkhole in Bangladesh swallowing house with terrifying speed

Amy Willis
Metro
Thu, 19 Nov 2015 12:59 UTC

This is the terrifying moment a house was swallowed whole by a sinkhole.

Footage of the natural phenomenon shows a home cordoned off by police on a beach shoreline in Bangladesh.

As locals stand beside the property, the ground underneath the house can be seen sliding into the sea with astonishing speed.

Moments later, there is no sign the house was ever there.

No injuries were reported but local authorities are investigating what may have caused the sinkhole to form.

Comment: See the sinkholes topic section for more examples of this escalating phenomena. A few recent incidents include:

Severe thunderstorms bring gigantic hail, flooding rain and a tornado to Argentina

Jonathan Erdman
The Weather Channel
Thu, 19 Nov 2015 02:13 UTC

© Weather Underground
Infrared satellite image showing the cluster of severe thunderstorms over northern Argentina on Wednesday, November 18, 2015. The most vigorous thunderstorms are indicated by the red cloud tops near Santa Fe and Rosario, Argentina.

Severe thunderstorms tore through parts of northern Argentina and southern Brazil Wednesday into early Thursday, dumping damaging hail, flooding rain, even spawning a tornado.

Hail up to the size of tennis balls pelted parts of Córdoba and Santa Fe provinces, west and northwest of the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires on Wednesday.

Comment: Just over one week ago more apocalyptic weather pounded parts of Argentina.

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Winternights3

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slbeaudry

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sbc

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sbc

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slbeaudry

Earth Changes

Third 'once-a-century' drought in 15 years: Tens of thousands of wildfires so far this year as Amazon jungle goes up in smoke

Iceland in the grip of bitter cold snap

Tungurahua volcano erupts in Ecuador covering houses, fields with ash and smoke

Indonesia's Mount Sinabung erupts again emitting ash 2,000 meters

Massive fish kill on Sanibel beach, Florida

Magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes off Japan's Bonin islands

Lightning strikes kill two women in Sri Lanka

Magnitude 3.2 earthquake hits Bárðarbunga volcano, Iceland

Video shows giant sinkhole in Bangladesh swallowing house with terrifying speed

Severe thunderstorms bring gigantic hail, flooding rain and a tornado to Argentina

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