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46,000 livestock animals killed by severe winter in Mongolia

Mirva Helenius
IFRC
Thu, 16 Feb 2017 19:11 UTC
Mongolian herder Munkhbat Bazarragchaa dragging two recently perished sheeps to a pile of dead animals behind his Ger in northern Mongolia. Mr. Bazarragchaa has already lost ten of his animals due to starvation and cold.
© Mirva Helenius/IFRC
Mongolian herder Munkhbat Bazarragchaa dragging two recently perished sheeps to a pile of dead animals behind his Ger in northern Mongolia. Mr. Bazarragchaa has already lost ten of his animals due to starvation and cold.
Severe winter conditions in Mongolia, known as Dzud, are threatening the livelihoods of thousands of Mongolian herders in eastern and northern parts of the country. Dzud is caused by the twin impacts of drought in the summer, resulting in insufficient grass in pastures and low production of hay, and harsh conditions in the winter, including heavy snowfall and extremely low temperatures.

More than 157,000 people are affected across 17 of Mongolia's 21 provinces. Livestock deaths have risen in recent weeks and according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), by 7 February over 46,000 animals had perished from starvation and cold.

Today the IFRC launched an International Emergency Appeal to support the Mongolian Red Cross who are responding to the crisis in four of the worst-affected provinces - Uvs, Zavkhan, Khuvsgul and Selenge. The IFRC appeal aims to raise 655,500 Swiss francs (Euros 614,000 Euros, USD 654,000) to target assistance at more than 11,000 people considered to be most at risk.

Herder Uranchimeg Terbish, from Khuvsgul province has already lost dozens of her animals due to starvation and cold.
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Attention

Second time in 3 months dead whale found on beach in Odisha, India


The Hindustan Times
Thu, 16 Feb 2017 19:03 UTC
Dead whale
The carcass of a whale was found washed ashore on a Puri beach on Thursday.

The whale, which was found at Balukhanda beach of Puri, was measured to be more than 40-foot-long. Forest officials reached the spot and recovered the body of the sea mammal.

"It seems the whale has been dead since the past several days. Stale smell is emanating from the whale. We will conduct post-mortem to ascertain the reason behind the death," said Puri divisional forest officer Chitaranjan Mishra.

In December, a 42-foot-long and 28-foot-wide carcass of a whale was found at Baidhara Pentha beach in Puri.
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Black Cat

Leopard kills 4 people over 10 days in Rajasthan, India


The Times of India
Thu, 16 Feb 2017 18:45 UTC
Leopard

Leopard
Fear is still lurking in the villages around the Sariska Tiger Reserve as the police and the forest guards are still searching for the elusive leopard which claimed four human lives in a span of 10 days.

About 120 Police, forest guards with the help of drone are searching for the leopard in shifts which has unleashed terror in the area. At three places, they have put up cages with live animal baits.

The leopard attack has however derailed the animal census scheduled at Sariska from February 13. With the officials and guards on the trail of the man eater leopard, the Census programme has taken a back seat.

Sariska DFO Balaji Kari said, the animal Census at Sariska was scheduled to be held from February 13-20 have been suspended for now. Under Census, both the carnivorous and herbivorous had to be counted separately. The first four days had been earmarked for carnivorous and the remaining four days for counting herbivorous animals. The Census was based on transit system. He said there were around 100 beasts at Sariska. But the Census has been put on hold till a solution to the leopard menace is found.
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Butterfly

Study: Britain's urban butterfly population decreases 69% in 20 years


RT
Thu, 16 Feb 2017 15:07 UTC
Small copper

Small copper
Butterflies are disappearing more rapidly from British towns and cities than from the countryside, according to a new study taken over the last 20 years. The research blames a multitude of factors for the decline, including climate change.

The study, published in the May 2017 issue of journal Ecological Indicators, found that the number of urban butterflies fell by 69 percent over a 20 year period beginning in 1995, compared to a 45 percent decline in rural areas.

The study compared trends for 28 species in urban and countryside environments and found that 25 of those species had declined by more in city environments.

In particular, the research found that the Small Copper and Small Heath species suffered the biggest city declines.

The Small Heath's population fell by 78 percent in urban areas, compared to just 17 percent in the countryside. Small Copper numbers dropped by 75 percent in urban areas, compared to 23 percent in non-urban environments.

Comment: See also: Record low number of UK butterflies a 'shock and a mystery'

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Snowflake

Heavy snowfall buries southern Maine; 15,400 left without power

Gillian Graham
Portland Press Herald.
Thu, 16 Feb 2017 15:56 UTC
Wet snow coats a stop sign in Kennebunk Thursday morning. Stop is what many Mainers may be thinking as they wake up to yet another day of digging themselves out.
© Gregory Rec
Wet snow coats a stop sign in Kennebunk Thursday morning. Stop is what many Mainers may be thinking as they wake up to yet another day of digging themselves out.
The most snow fell in York County, where the National Weather Service reported 18 inches in Sanford and nearly 17 in Limington

It's time to dig out. Again.

A winter storm that blew into Maine Wednesday delivered another foot of snow on some areas that were buried under nearly 2 feet of snow on Monday. The heavy snow downed tree limbs and power lines overnight, knocking out electricity to thousands of homes.

The storm brought heavy rain to Portland and coastal communities for most of the day Wednesday while burying inland areas under a blanket of wet, heavy snow. The most snow fell in York County, where the National Weather Service reported 18 inches in Sanford and nearly 17 inches in Limington. Coastal areas saw far less snow, including in Scarborough where 3.4 inches of snow fell once the rain turned to snow overnight.

The National Weather Service said Mainers should expect slippery roads during the morning commute before snow ends by mid-morning.
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Seismograph

Two earthquakes hit the province of Aceh, Indonesia in quick succession


Channel News Asia
Thu, 16 Feb 2017 15:41 UTC
GRAPH
Two earthquakes hit the Indonesian province of Aceh on Thursday (Feb 16) in an area that was struck by an earthquake in December.

The quakes measured at magnitude 5.1 and 5.6 by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) hit in quick succession not long after 3am on Thursday, reported AP.

The Indonesian Red Cross said two houses collapsed in Pidie Jaya near the epicenter and at least nine people were injured in Trianggadeng district, while power was knocked out in several areas.

The Dec 7 earthquake killed more than 100 people and destroyed or damaged more than 11,000 buildings, mostly homes.

Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics agency said there was no potential for a tsunami from Thursday's quakes.
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Cloud Precipitation

Tropical Cyclone Dineo leaves 4 dead in Mozambique

Ed Hill
Floodlist
Thu, 16 Feb 2017 14:49 UTC
Tropical Cyclone Dineo
© NASA Goddard
At 6:15 a.m. EST (1115 UTC) on Feb. 15, NASA’s Aqua satellite showed the center of Tropical Cyclone Dineo just off the coast of Mozambique.
Tropical Storm Dineo (TC 05S), which formed in the Mozambique Channel between southeast Africa and Madagascar earlier this week, was upgraded to Tropical Cyclone status just before it made landfall near Inhambane in southern Mozambique on Wednesday evening 15 February 2017.

The equivalent of a category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, Dineo is the first tropical cyclone to hit the province of Inhambane since Favio in February 2007, according to WMO.

Its landfall was accompanied by winds of approximately 130km/h (70 knots), breaking and uprooting trees and ripping roofs off a number of buildings, as well as disrupting power supplies.

The UN in Mozambique reported that hundreds of thousands could be affected. In a report from earlier today the UN Resident Coordinator for Mozambique said "Although it is too premature to indicate the population to be affected, the estimations done by provincial authorities in Inhambane indicates that about 750,000 people might be affected by cyclone. These figure is based on the total population living in the risk area and will be updated in the next days."
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Cloud Precipitation

Evacuations in the south of France as rivers overflow

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 14:32 UTC
Flood in France
© Météo Languedoc
Flood in France
Heavy rain, up to 200 mm in some areas, caused flooding in parts of the Occitanie Region in southern France yesterday, 14 February.

Météo-France issued an orange level alert for flooding rain for the Aude, Hérault and Tarn departments on 14 February. Levels of the Aude River increased dramatically, causing the river to overflow in several areas during the afternoon of 14 February.

Local media report that around 150 people were evacuated and several houses flooded in Aude department. Flooded areas include Saint-Marcel, Marcorignan, Coursan, Conques-sur-Orbiel Cuxac, Sallèles-d'Aude and Peyriac-Minervois. River levels have since started to fall.
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Fire

Raging New Zealand wildfires leave 1 dead, force hundreds to evacuate


RT
Wed, 15 Feb 2017 14:05 UTC
New Zealand wildfires
© talman / Instagram
The fire is concentrated on the Port Hills area near Christchurch
One person has been killed and hundreds evacuated from their homes in Christchurch, New Zealand as firefighters battle an enormous fire burning across a 1,655 hectare area (4,090 acres) of Port Hills.

Up to 400 people have been evacuated from their homes by emergency services with many more choosing to leave. The Civil Defence initially reported that 40 homes had been destroyed but later revised that number down to two or three.

Helicopters and planes, which were helping to tackle the blaze, have been stood down for the night, but fire crews on the ground continue their efforts to bring the inferno under control.

Douglas Marshall, Principal Rural Fire Officer from the district of Selwyn, told the New Zealand Herald that the fire is no longer contained.

He said authorities are looking at a national coordination effort to bring in more firefighting resources: "We're really struggling at the moment without the helicopters - it's too dangerous at night for those, we are trying to do any structure protection we can but that's got to be balanced between lives."


Comment: In the Australian state of New South Wales firefighters are battling over 80 out of control bushfires amid a catastrophic heatwave in the region.

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Ice Cube

Pine Glacier sheds another block of ice, a glacial 'aftershock'


RT
Wed, 15 Feb 2017 20:22 UTC
Pine Glacier
© NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen
Pine Glacier shows cracks in the ice shelf.
Antarctica's fastest melting glacier, the large ice stream Pine Island Glacier, has shed another block of ice into Antarctic waters. The glacier, responsible for about 25% of Antarctica's ice loss, spawned an iceberg after "a kilometre or two" of ice broke off from the shelf's front. While the loss was miniscule compared to previous giant ice losses, it presents further evidence of the ice shelf's fragility, according to NASA.

The break was about ten times smaller than an event in July 2015 which saw a 30-kilometer-long (20-mile) rift develop below the ice surface before breaking through and calving an iceberg spanning 583 square kilometers (225 square miles).

"I think this event is the calving equivalent of an 'aftershock' following the much bigger event," Ian Howat, a glaciologist at Ohio State University, said. "Apparently, there are weaknesses in the ice shelf—just inland of the rift that caused the 2015 calving—that are resulting in these smaller breaks."

Comment: See also:

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