Storms, strong winds and heavy rain have battered Turkey for the past two days, disrupting daily life everywhere from Istanbul to Mersin, where two people were killed in floods

A harsh winter has arrived in full force across Turkey this week with no improvements to the bad weather expected until at least Friday in most regions.

A mix of storms, strong winds, rain and snow took its toll on daily life from the western to the southern regions. In the Mediterranean province of Mersin, two people were killed in floods and landslides.

Yesterday, Jan. 6th, something unexpected happened in the soil of northern Norway. "Electrical currents started flowing," reports Rob Stammes, who monitors ground currents at the Polarlightcenter geophysical observatory in Lofoten. This chart recording shows the sudden surge around 1930 UT:

"It seemed to be some kind of shockwave," says Stammes. "My instruments detected a sudden, strong variation in both ground currents and our local magnetic field. It really was a surprise."

Greenland sets its lowest temperature ever recorded for any month or any year EVER! The global drop in temperatures registered by UAH leaves 2019 in 3rd place behind 1999 and 2016. This reflects the disconnect in 102 climate models which are running 0.3C warmer than reality. More spending pullbacks globally this time in the Swiss Watch Sector and gold up.


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Over 10 million hectares of Australia have burned, including much crop and ranch land. "The wildfires will get worse, and they will make believers out of you climate deniers!" The establishment is keeping Jerry Brown's promise, burning over 10 million hectares of Australia, and screaming "Global warming!" ... while dealing a massive blow to global food production and the world's #3 beef exporter.


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Shishaldin Volcano had an eruption Friday morning that produced an ash cloud approximately 24,000 feet and volcanic lightning.

Matt Haney, a geophysicist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory, said the volcano - located about 58 miles southwest of Cold Bay - has been active since July.

"Shishaldin has been in an eruptive state for the past few months," said Haney. "It's been having lava flows that have been spreading out on the north side of the volcano. But interspersed with those lava flows have been these periods of explosive eruptive activity."

Haney said the main hazard from an eruption at Shishaldin is to aviation, but no flights had been impacted, and no ash fall was expected in communities last week.

The Boerboel had never shown signs of aggression but bit his owner to death. He was later shot in order for police and a doctor to enter the premises to attend to the victim.

An elderly Northern Cape farmer was killed by his pet boerboel on Saturday afternoon, reports Vaal Weekblad.

80-year-old Piet Lategan died in his house, after his fiancé managed to drag him inside after the attack.

According to local publication FiND iT, Lategan's daughter Betsie Swanepoel said that when it began to rain and hail this past weekend, Piet wanted to get a blanket to cover one side of his car, to protect it from the hail.

"My father and his fiancé, Santa Venter, 64, went outside to cover the car when their pet Boerboel bit her dress. She grabbed her dress from the dog's grip.

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the southern coast of Puerto Rico early Monday, cracking homes and triggering landslides after a flurry of smaller quakes rattled the region over the past two weeks.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.

It was the largest of a flurry of temblors that first began the night of Dec. 28, with quakes ranging in magnitude from 4.7 to 5.1. The lesser quakes had already left some homes damaged.

After the 5.8-magnitude quake hit the region, a string of smaller temblors, including a magnitude 5 quake, shook power lines and frightened residents into the streets.

Pictures of the damage showed cars crushed under a collapsed house, caved-in roofs and other homes standing lopsided after partially collapsing.

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake was registered on 7 January southwest of Indonesia's Aceh province, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) said.

The epicentre was located at a depth of 20 km, 16 km SSW of Sinabang, Indonesia.

There have been no immediate reports about damage or casualties due to the earthquake.

Several towns and cities in Cordoba, Argentina were battered by a sudden and violent dust storm which ripped roofs from houses, felled trees and blocked out the sun.

Shortly before 7pm local time on Sunday, locals noticed a rather foreboding cloud heading straight for the city of Rio Cuarto. Temperatures fell dramatically, and darkness descended as residents fled the sudden downpour of hail and debris.

The violent dust storm enveloped the city in minutes, bringing with it downpours of up to 37mm of rain in some areas, as well as hail. Nearby communities in Serrano and Buchardo experienced rainfall measuring 40mm.

The 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP25, was held last month in Madrid, Spain. But not even Greta and her truant school friends could stop the climate chaos around the world last month.

After an unusually chilly start to the summer, Australia is experiencing record breaking bushfires that caused devastating damage in December 2019. The fires have torched towns, displaced thousands and caused the deaths of a billion or so animals so far.

Also last month, at least 150 houses were destroyed by fast-moving woodland fires in the Chilean city of Valparaíso. Again! That city has now been hit with wildfires three times in the last 5 years. Residential areas were still burning on Christmas Day.

Last month, there was snow cover across nearly half of the lower 48 states of the US - 46.2 percent of the country's landmass - the largest area for early December since snow cover records began in 2003. The snow cover reached as far south as Mexico's northern regions.

Iceland also recorded record snow cover of 30 FEET in December, while 8,000 vehicles were stranded in Kashmir as a result of 3 feet of snow.

Atlantic storms Elsa and Fabien wreaked havoc in western and central Europe, killing 9 people and causing widespread damage. Fabien also caused severe flooding in Venice where a sudden downpour of 3 inches combined with high tides to inundate the medieval city.

Heavy rain, floods and landslides caused severe damage to homes and livelihoods around the world last month: 150 people were killed in Kenya; 4 died in Khuzestan Province, Iran; thousands were affected in Nariño and 8 missing in Tolima, Colombia; Beirut city was paralyzed and 50 houses were under water in Sigi, Indonesia.

A 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit southern Philippines, killing at least one person and causing several injuries. Roads and buildings, including the local government office, were damaged.

All that and more in this month's SOTT Earth Changes Summary...