Record heatwaves and wildfires, widespread and severe flooding, massive sinkholes swallowing buildings and people, mass animal deaths, an asteroid exploding over Russia, thousands more fireballs lighting up the sky throughout the year, record-breaking blizzards snowfall, the coldest northern spring in 100 years, massive landslides, 'rare' tornadoes occurring in places they shouldn't, the widest tornado ever observed, more volcanic eruptions, more major earthquakes forming new islands, the strongest tropical storm in recorded history, successive hurricanes in Europe, the coldest temperature ever recorded, snow in Cairo... these are signs of climate change, aka Earth Changes.

Welcome to the new normal.

A new catalogue of earthquake lights - mysterious glows sometimes reported before or during seismic shaking - finds that they happen most often in geological rift environments, where the ground is pulling apart. The work is the latest to tackle the enigmatic lights, which have been described by eyewitnesses for centuries but are yet to be fully explained by scientists^{1, 2, 3}.

The study, published in the January/February issue of Seismological Research Letters⁴, pulls together several strands of research to propose a mechanism by which earthquake lights form. The authors suggest that, during an earthquake, the stress of rocks grinding against each other generates electric charges, which travel upwards along the nearly vertical geological faults that are common in rift zones. When the charges reach Earth's surface and interact with the atmosphere, they create a glow.

"Earthquake lights are a real phenomenon - they're not UFOs," says lead author Robert Thériault, a geologist at Quebec's Ministry of Natural Resources in Quebec City, Canada. "They can be scientifically explained."

Event Time
2014-01-01 16:03:30 UTC
2014-01-02 03:03:30 UTC+11:00 at epicenter

Location
13.873°S 167.202°E depth=196.2km (121.9mi)

Nearby Cities
37km (23mi) W of Sola, Vanuatu
183km (114mi) N of Luganville, Vanuatu
443km (275mi) NNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
779km (484mi) N of We, New Caledonia
918km (570mi) N of Paita, New Caledonia

Technical Details

An unusually large number of high-profile earthquakes sprung up across the globe over the weekend, causing extensive damage to a roadway in Mexico and leaving residents shaken in southern Europe, Egypt and the U.S.

Saturday, an earthquake near the Mexico - U.S. border collapsed chunks of this 300-yard stretch of highway. (Via CNN)

"The road is about 60 miles south of Tijuana. It passes over geological fault. The earthquake ranged in magnitude from 1.3 to 4.3." (Via WABC)

There were surprisingly no injuries, but one truck driver hauling 36 tons of cement had to wait hours before being pulled to safety. (Via NBC)

Also Saturday, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake reportedly hit the Mediterranean Sea, shaking nearby Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt. (Via Famagusta Gazette)

That was followed by a 4.9 magnitude earthquake nearly 1,500 miles away around Naples, Italy early Sunday morning. Residents reportedly slept in their cars in fear of aftershocks that might damage buildings. (Via U.S. Geological Survey)

In the U.S., Oklahoma dealt with several earthquakes over the last week with more striking over the weekend. Most were reported as minor between 2.0 magnitude and 4.9., but the Midwestern state has rarely dealt with earthquakes, until recent years. (Via KOTV) (Via Al Jazeera)

Two years after a new underwater volcano appeared offshore of El Hierro in the Canary Islands, earthquake swarms and a sudden change in height suggest a new eruption is brewing near the island's villages, officials announced today (Dec. 27).

After the announcement, one of the largest temblors ever recorded at the volcanic island, a magnitude-5.1 earthquake, struck offshore of El Hierro at 12:46 p.m. ET (5:46 p.m. local time) today, the National Geographic Institute reported. Residents on the island reported strong shaking, and the quake was felt throughout the Canary Islands, according to news reports. The earthquake's epicenter was 9 miles (15 kilometers) deep.

Before the earthquake struck early this afternoon, the island's volcano monitoring agency, Pelvolca, had raised the volcanic eruption risk for El Hierro to "yellow." This warning means that activity is increasing at the volcano, but no eruption is imminent. A similar burst of activity prompted a yellow warning in June 2012, but the volcano soon quieted down.

The U.S. Geological Survey says a 4.1 magnitude earthquake rattled an area about 30 miles north-northeast of Oklahoma City early Sunday and was followed by a smaller quake hours later in the state. There were no reports of any injuries or damages from either temblor.

Event Time:
013-12-27 17:46:06 UTC
2013-12-27 17:46:06 UTC+00:00 at epicenter

Location:
27.915°N 18.271°W depth=22.8km (14.2mi)

Nearby Cities:
31km (19mi) NW of Frontera, Spain
89km (55mi) SSW of Los Llanos de Aridane, Spain
98km (61mi) SSW of Santa Cruz de la Palma, Spain
148km (92mi) WSW of Santiago del Teide, Spain
507km (315mi) W of Laayoune / El Aaiun, Western Sahara

Technical Data

Rivers turning blood-red, whales beaching themselves in Florida, landslides, sinkholes and flooding in southern Italy, severe flooding in Malaysia, extreme storms bring hurricane-force wind and snow to the UK and northern Europe, ice-storms across the US, including the coldest average day than any day last winter, avalanches of ice falling off buildings as far south as Dallas, the coldest ever recorded temperature anywhere on Earth (in Antarctica), a 'rare winter storm of Biblical proportions' in Palestine, snow in Egypt, fireballs raining down from the sky, including one overhead explosion in Arizona whose shockwave shook buildings from Chandler to Flagstaff, two separate fireballs over Greece, heavy flooding in Rio de Janeiro washing away whole buildings, giant sinkholes swallowing cars and buildings the world over, including one in China that swallowed an entire hamlet of 11 buildings, hundreds of birds falling from the sky in Virginia, the strongest rainfall on record forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate southern China...

The following video is a sample of strange and extreme weather events that took place around the world in first two weeks of December 2013.

3.8 magnitude earthquake in Kansas

The Kansas Geological Society is investigating whether a recent earthquake in southern Kansas might have been caused by oil production practices in the area. But KGS interim director Rex Buchanan said it might be difficult to determine if the 3.8 earthquake on Dec. 16 near Caldwell was man-made or caused by natural forces. No evidence has been found yet to suggest hydraulic fracturing caused the quake, said Buchanan. It's more common for minor quakes near oil production sites to be caused by the disposal of salt water waste, The Lawrence Journal-World reported. "There's a lot of saltwater produced with oil," he said. "Once you separate that off, you need to dispose of it. In Kansas, that's done in wells deep in the subsurface. There is production and disposal wells in the general vicinity around there." The Kansas Corporation Commission, which regulates oil and gas production in the state, is also investigating the issue. "It is important to point out that Kansas has a long history of oil production with very few reported incidents of any kind," KCC spokesman Jesse Borjon said in an email to the newspaper. "The KCC is looking into the issue of seismic activity as it relates to oil and gas activities. We have been in communication with the Kansas Geological (Survey) and continue to gather information." It's possible the earthquake was entirely natural, Buchanan said. - LJW

2.3 magnitude earthquake in Ky

Kentucky Emergency Management is reporting that a 2.3 magnitude earthquake was felt near Owingsville around 5:58am Monday. The USGS reports that the disturbance was centered near the Sharpsburg area. Many viewers report feeling the tremors throughout parts of Central Kentucky. Officials report that this type of event is relatively minor. - WKYT

3.3 magnitude earthquake strikes Oklahoma

An earthquake was reported Sunday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The 3.3 magnitude earthquake shook at about 10:25 a.m. Its epicenter was reportedly 15 miles south of McCord, 17 miles south of Ponca City and 71 miles north of Oklahoma City, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. No damage was immediately reported. - News OK

3.3 magnitude earthquake rattles Texas

Perhaps we should write a story when there's not an earthquake near Azle. For the 14th and 15th time in the last 30 days, people who live northwest of Fort Worth have felt the earth rumble. The latest incident, a 3.3-magnitude quake, was recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey at 7:11 a.m. Monday four miles northwest of Azle just off of S. Reno Rd. There was also an earthquake at 11:31 a.m. Sunday. It also registered as a 3.3-magnitude, according to the USGS. It was centered two miles northwest of Azle, just north of Willow Wood Drive. "Shook my bed and made the walls creak," wrote Azle resident Kim Johnson, who was upstairs in a two-story home. "We now have a few cracks in our vaulted ceilings upstairs. When will it end?" Writing on the WFAA Facebook page, Sandra Tingle said she's worried about liability. "My insurance company told me unless a fault line is determined to be under your property, it's not covered," she said. Sunday's tremor is the fourth-strongest in the past month. The most powerful registered 3.7-magnitude and struck 30 miles west of Azle on December 9. -KHOU

4.7 magnitude earthquake strikes SE California

A shallow magnitude 4.7 earthquake was reported Monday morning 31 miles from Lone Pine, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 5:39 a.m. PST near the surface. According to the USGS, the epicenter was 41 miles from Ridgecrest, 53 miles from Porterville and 57 miles from Lindsay. In the past 10 days, there have been no earthquakes magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby. - LA Times

A massive 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Southland, New Zealand in the early hours of Dec 17. The Southland earthquake was measured 25km deep and centred 125km west of Tuatapere on 1:10 am in the morning.

According to local reports, at least 170 people reported or felt the earthquake with some people coming from further north in Wellington's Naenae. Others reported things falling off their shelves, but aside from that, there was no other damage. A spokesperson for Southland's police department said there were no reports of immediate damage due to the earthquake.

Because of the 6.2 magnitude earthquake, Southland is warned by GNS authorities to expect more tremors. GNS seismologist Caroline Little said the heightened activity in Southland will be associated with the subduction zone as the Australian plate moves under the Pacific plate.