Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.5 Earthquake hits the southeast Indian ridge.
5.3 Earthquake hits the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Hindu Kush, Afghanistan.
5.1 Earthquake hits the South Georgia Island region.
5.0 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.
5.0 Earthquake hits the west Chile rise.
5.0 Earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
No current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
Philippines - A boy was killed and three others injured in a landslide in Maguindanao, while the heavy rains also left many areas of Pagalungan town, also in Maguindanao, under water. The heavy rains, also submerged the low-lying Maguindanao towns of Sultan Kudarat, Kabuntalan, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Datu Piang, Sultan sa Barongis, Rajah Buayan, Datu Hofer, Mamasapano and Pagalungan affecting more than 23 000 people.
Nepal - Nepal is facing its worst floods and landslides in a decade with at least 256 people killed and 255 remaining missing in floods and landslides over the past two months since the monsoon season began in June. According to the Home Ministry, 151,073 people were directly affected and 15,201 families displaced in the flooding disasters.
South Sudan Disease
South Sudan's cholera crisis is waning but humanitarian workers are now battling increased cases of malaria and the parasitic disease kala azar, with children most affected.
Conflict between the government and rebels has displaced 1.7 million people, or one in seven of the population, since December, with famine on the horizon.
While a cholera outbreak appears to be under control, other diseases are plaguing South Sudan's hungry, displaced people.
The latest emergency operations are focusing on malaria and kala azar, a parasitic disease transmitted by the bite of a sandfly which is usually fatal without treatment. MSF treated about 200 people for kala azar in Upper Nile State, one of the areas worst hit by fighting, in July.
With the onset of the rains producing stagnant water for mosquitoes, there has also been a "spike" in malaria, MSF said.
MSF treated almost 700 malaria cases in Pamat and Aweil, the capital of northern Bahr el Ghazal State in July, mostly pregnant women and children. There are tens of thousands of displaced people in the area, which is to the west of the main oil-rich conflict zone.
The appalling conditions in which the 1.1 million internally displaced live increases their vulnerability.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Bardarbunga (Iceland): A new eruptive phase has started at the same fissure that had been briefly active Friday morning. The new eruption seems to be bigger than the previous one and located slightly north of the Friday fissure vent. The active fissure was estimated to be 1.5 km long and is located approx. 9 km north of the Dyngjujökull glacier in the Holuhraun lava plain. At the same time, intense seismic activity continues. More than 200 earthquakes have been detected since midnight, both under the active intrusion under and north of the rim of the glacier NE of the volcano as well as under the caldera of Bárdarbunga itself. The stringest were 7 quakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 3.8. According to IMO, "the new eruption started in Holuhraun shortly after 04 AM, on the same volcanic fissure, which erupted earlier this week. The fissure is estimated to be 1,5 km long. "...Fewer earthquakes seem to follow the event than in the previous eruption, but more lava is being extruded. At 07 AM the lava flow was around 1 km wide and 3 km long towards northeast. The thickness was estimated a few meters, the flow about 1000 m3 pr second. Approximately 500 earthquakes were detected in the area and smaller than before. The strongest earthquake, M3.8 was in the Bárðarbunga caldera. Poor weather conditions prevail in the area, which makes detection of smaller earthquakes difficult.
Wildfires - California and Oregon
Two wildfires sparked by lightning nearly three weeks ago were still growing on Saturday while threatening as many as 250 homes in far Northern California.
Low humidity and warm weather helped the fires burning in the Klamath National Forest one mile east of the gold mining and logging town of Happy Camp continue its sweep through steep terrain packed with trees desiccated by the state's extreme drought, Forest Service spokesman Marc Peebles said.
The two fires are the largest among about 20 that broke out in the forest when a thunderstorm moved through the area on Aug. 11. Originally located a few miles apart, they had merged by Saturday morning and together charred more than 90 square miles, about 21 square miles more than a day earlier.
Nearly 2,000 firefighters and 11 helicopters are assigned to the Happy Camp Complex blazes. As of Saturday, they remained just 15 percent contained.
Wildfires are still lighting up parts of Oregon.
The evacuation level has been lowered for areas affected by the Deception Creek Fire, the Willamette National Forest Service announced on Saturday afternoon.
The Deception Creek Mobile Home Park, Middle Fork Ranger Station and homes along La Duke Road are now under evacuation level 1. Area residents are advised to prepare for a potential evacuation but that there's no immediate threat.
The fire is the largest in the Deception Complex — at 1,916 acres, it makes up the majority of the 2,196–acre affected area. The Oakridge airport is closed to civilian air traffic. It's currently being used as a helicopter base for fire-fighting crews.
The fire is currently 55 percent contained. It was sparked by lightning in the area in mid-July.
Other fires throughout the state:
The 790 Fire northeast of Medford has charred 2,260 acres. The perimeter is 5 percent contained and the Pacific Crest Trail is still closed from its southern boundary at Crater Lake National Park down to Highway 140. The Forest Service estimates that it was started at approximately 2 p.m. on July 31. The
A fire sparked on Aug. 29 has nearly reached 3,000 acres in size just south of Monument. There's no cause yet announced for the Lost Hubcap Fire, which burned between 1,200 and 1,500 acres soon after it was reported.
The South Fork Complex Fire is still approximately 96 percent contained. The expected containment date for the 66,179-acre fire is Sept. 1. The Murderer's and Deer creek recreational facilities are closed as of 4:19 p.m. on Saturday.
The Bald Sisters Fire is also still burning east of Prairie City, which sits west of Baker City. the 1,238-acre blaze has the Beulah Unit bowhunting territory closed for the time being. The fire was sparked by lightning on Aug. 2
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.4 Earthquake hits Iceland.
5.3 Earthquake hits the Bougainville region, Papua New Guinea.
5.2 Earthquake hits Iceland.
5.1 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, japan.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Izu Islands off Japan.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Northwest Territories, Canada.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
No current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
Bangladesh - The flood situation in Munshiganj has worsened amid continuing rain and rising river levels. The Padma is eroding its bank at an alarming rate. According to the Water Development Board records at 9am Friday, Padma River was flowing at 20cm above the danger mark at the Bhaggyakul Point while new areas in the district were flooded in the last 24 hours.
Washington, USA - Following the severe wildfires last month, torrential rains have brought flash floods and mudslides which damaged a number of homes and road infrastructure.
Norway Kills More Whales This Season Than Since 1993
Favorable weather during spring and most of this summer has allowed Norway’s commercial whaling ships to slaughter more of the marine mammals than they have since the country resumed its whale hunt during 1993, in violation of a worldwide moratorium.
While Japan kills whales under the guise of research, Norway and Iceland are the only two nations that conduct commercial hunts.
At least 729 whales have been harpooned by Norwegian ships so far this summer, up from the 590 rorqual whales slaughtered last year.
Greenpeace says Norway’s hunt will eventually end as demand for whale meat continues to wane.
The delicacy has already become less popular in Norway as well as in Japan, where storehouses are flooded with surplus meat from the country’s “research” whaling.
“The weather this summer has been very good, which favored significant whale meat demand for grilling in northern Norway, but also made hunting easier thanks to clear skies and calm waters," said Truls Gulowsen, the head of Greenpeace in Norway.
Global warming is about to turn Sweden’s highest mountain into its second highest
The snow-capped southern peak of Lapland’s Kebnekaise, in the Scandinavian Mountains, reaches 2,097.5 meters (6,881.6 feet) above sea level, making it the highest point in Sweden. But not for long.
The 40-meter-thick glacier on top of it has been shrinking, on average, a meter a year for the past two decades. In 1901, when the southern peak was first measured, its elevation was 2,121 meters.
By next year, scientists at the University of Stockholm predict, Kebnekaise’s northern peak—which is solid rock—will likely become the tallest spot in the country.
The culprit? Climate change. A recent research paper that tracked 47 years of air-temperature records in Tarfala Valley, below the Kebnekaise glacier, found a significant warming trend. The period from 1995 to 2011 was 1.08°C warmer than the period from 1965 to 1994. Eight of the ten warmest years covered by the study occurred since 1999.
Ebola virus disease update - West Africa
Senegal confirms its first case of ebola.
Liberia says it will open up a slum in its capital where thousands of people were barricaded to contain the spread of Ebola. The slum of 50,000 people in Liberia's capital was sealed off more than a week ago, sparking unrest and leaving many without access to food or safe water.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): The effusive eruption continues with little changes and no signs of ending soon. The effusion rate is fluctuating, but elevated and the vent feeds two flows that travel down the Sciara in two channels.
Bardarbunga (Iceland): The still intense earthquake swarm and deformation continues with little variation. No further eruptive activity has occurred since yesterday's "blitz" eruption. The intrusion has not changed position and is focused on a 15 km long stretch both under and outside the Dyngjujökull glacier NE of Bardarbunga. Earthquake activity also continues under the volcano's caldera with the strongest today so far being a magnitude 5.4 event this morning.
White Island (New Zealand): A swarm of small earthquakes was detected on Thursday near White Island, New Zealand scientists monitoring the volcano reported. The largest event is magnitude 3.3 and was located within 5km of the island. All of the earthquakes appear to be within 5 km of White Island. The size of the locatable events ranges from magnitude 2.5 to 3.3 and all are shallow (less than 10 km depth).
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.8 Earthquake hits southern Greece.
5.8 Earthquake hits Kyushu, Japan.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical storm Marie is located about 920 mi...1480 km WSW of San Diego, California. Marie is still generating huge swells that will pound the coast of Southern California and Mexico's Baja Peninsula through Friday.
Hurricane Cristobal strengthens a little while it races toward the North Atlantic located about 435 mi...700 km SSE of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Hurricane Cristobal continues to churn northeastwards over the Atlantic towards Iceland. Cristobal will merge with a frontal zone on Friday and transition to a powerful extratropical storm that will likely bring tropical storm-force winds and heavy rain to Iceland on Sunday night.
NewsBytes:
Philippines - Heavy rain fell over parts of Central Visayas, including Cebu and Bohol provinces on Thursday, causing floods that stranded commuters and slowed traffic.
Bangladesh - Severe flooding in northern Bangladesh has paralyzed 12 districts, leaving hundreds of thousands of people stranded. Monsoon floods that have hit the region for the past month have deteriorated over the past 10 days. At least 75,000 people have been directly affected in the town of Bogra alone and at least 50 educational institutions have been shut down due to the flood.
Ebola virus disease update - West Africa
The total number of probable and confirmed cases in the current outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the four affected countries as reported by the respective Ministries of Health of Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone is 3069, with 1552 deaths.
The outbreak continues to accelerate. More than 40% of the total number of cases have occurred within the past 21 days. However, most cases are concentrated in only a few localities.
The overall case fatality rate is 52%. It ranges from 42% in Sierra Leone to 66% in Guinea.
A separate outbreak of Ebola virus disease, which is not related to the outbreak in West Africa, was laboratory-confirmed on 26 August by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
As Ebola Grips Liberia’s Capital, a Quarantine Sows Social Chaos
Some people are swimming in and out of the Ebola quarantine zone in this seaside capital. One man slips out every day to reach his job at a Western embassy. Another has turned his living room into a tollbooth, charging others to escape through his apartment at the edge of the cordoned area. Countless others have used a different method: bribing their way out with fees that soldiers determine according to a person’s appearance, circumstances and even gender.
Dengue Fever Outbreak in Japan
Three students have contracted dengue fever in Japan, marking the first domestic outbreak of the disease in some 70 years.
Global Temperature Extremes
The week's hottest temperature was 118.9 degrees Fahrenheit (48.3 degrees Celsius) at Qaysumah, Saudi Arabia.
The week's coldest temperature was minus 77.1 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 60.6 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.
Temperatures were tabulated from the more than 10,000 worldwide synoptic weather stations. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization sets the standards for weather observations, and provides a global telecommunications circuit for data distribution.
Decimated Monarch Butterfly Population May be Rebounding
Initial signs from the monarch butterfly’s first stop on the fall migration southward to Mexico indicate the insect’s population could be about to rebound after a devastating two years.
The CBC reports that staff at Ontario’s Point Pelee National Park say they have found more caterpillars this year, as well as male monarchs defending patches of milkweed. Monarchs need that once-ubiquitous plant to breed and feed.
“We’re definitely seeing more monarchs fluttering around the park this year than we did at the same time last year, so that’s encouraging for all of us,” said park interpreter Sarah Rupert.
Chip Taylor, director of Monarch Watch, says that after an all-time low population last year, the number of monarchs could rise by 30 to 40 percent this fall.
Loss of habitat and pesticide use due to expanding agriculture is mainly to blame, according to experts.
Last summer’s extreme drought in the U.S. Corn Belt wiped out huge numbers of milkweeds.
Monarch experts say that was a fatal blow to many of the iconic fliers.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Bárdarbunga (Iceland): An eruption started in Holuhraun north of Dyngjujökull at around 00:02. Seismic tremor was observed on all seismic stations and the web camera installed in the area by Mila has showed some nice pictures of the eruption. It is a small fissure eruption and at 02:40 AM the activity appears to have decreased. An exclusion zone 1.5 km above and 15 km around the eruption site is in place. The circumstances around the eruption are somewhat enigmatic. It is interesting to note that the large intrusion, estimated to contain approx. 350 million cu meters of magma on a length of 40 km only produced a tiny fissure eruption (so far, at least).
Tavurvur volcano (Rabaul, Papua New Guinea): A large explosive eruption began at Tavurvur volcano (Rabaul caldera) this morning. The eruption seems to be similar to a paroxysm on Etna. Lava fountains and significant ash emissions were observed. The ash plume reached a height of approx. 60,000 ft (18 km) altitude. Aviation colour code was raised to red.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.8 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.
5.6 Earthquake hits Fiji.
5.3 Earthquake hits Kapulauan Barat Daya, Indonesia.
5.2 Earthquake hits Guatemala.
5.0 Earthquake hits Iceland.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical Storm Marie located about 820 mi...1320 km WSW of Punta eugenia Mexico with maximum sustained winds...50 mph...85 km/h. Present movement...NW or 305 degrees at 16 mph...26 km/h.
Hazards affecting land: surf...swells generated by Marie are expected to gradually subside in the extreme southern Gulf of California today...and the West Coast of the Baja California peninsula and Southern California through Friday. Life-threatening surf and rip current conditions are likely as a result of these swells...as well as minor coastal flooding.
Hurricane Cristobal located about 305 mi...490 km NNW of Bermuda and about 600 mi...965 km SSW of Halifax Nova Scotia with maximum sustained winds...75 mph...120 km/h. Present movement...NE or 50 degrees at 26 mph...43 km/h.
Hazards affecting land: surf...swells generated by Cristobal are affecting Bermuda and the U.S. East Coast from North Carolina northward through New England. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
NewsBytes:
China - A landslide in Guizhou province has claimed the lives of at least seven people and left 20 others missing. The landslide destroyed more than 70 houses in the village of Yingping.
Wildfires - Canada
Wildfires are taking off in Canada as the country goes through one of its hottest and driest summers in decades.
Wildfire activity in the Northwest Territories is more than six times higher than its 25-year average, and as of last Tuesday a total of 162 wildfires were burning in British Columbia. The latter province has seen 1269 wildfires so far this year, along with 314,895ha of land burned – almost equivalent to 2010, when the province lost 337,149ha to various blazes.
The fires have cut through the boreal forests that lie just outside the Arctic Circle throughout Canada, aided by the hottest and driest summer the Northwest Territories have seen in 50 years.
The fires can kick smoke up to 10km or even 15km into the atmosphere, leaving massive plumes that can be spotted by satellite and seen as far away as Portugal.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Bárdarbunga (Iceland): Over 800 earthquakes have occurred today so far, mostly now beyond the edge of the Dyngjujökull glacier. The crisis is showing no signs of decreasing. The intrusion itself has migrated about 1 km northwards since yesterday, and approaches the Asjka volcanic complex, which is a worrying development. A magnitude 4 earthquake occurred this morning under the eastern caldera rim of Askja.
IMO does not think an eruption is imminent and announced that it will from now on only post updates once a day (around noon) unless the situation escalates.
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): The lava flow in the new channel at the eastern side of the Sciara del Fuoco remains well alimented. After a calmer weak, it is now again reaching the sea, at least intermittently.
Bagana (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea): Eruptive activity continues at the volcano. An ash plume at approx. 7,000 ft (2.1 km) altitude was spotted by Darwin VAAC extending 50 km to the SW yesterday.
Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia): A new ash plume extending approx. 50 km NW was reported yesterday on satellite imagery by Darwin VAAC.
This follows a relatively long interval of several weeks since the last ash plume spotted in early July.
Kilauea (Hawai'i): The lava flow branch that entered and followed a deep ground crack on Kīlauea's East Rift Zone last week has resurfaced and is now forming a small lava island inside the forest. Its farthest point is 11.4 km (7.1 miles) from the the vent on Puʻu ʻŌʻō, and 3.1 km (1.9 miles) from the eastern boundary of the Wao Kele o Puna forest reserve.
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): Activity remains essentially unchanged and has been relatively low. The volcano emits a gas-steam plume most of the time and occasionally has small explosions that eject small amounts of ash.
Fuego (Guatemala): Activity has been stable at average levels with intermittent weak to moderate strombolian-type explosions.
During the past 24 hours, ash plumes rose up to 800 m and drifted up to 12 km west and southwest. The stronger explosions were accompanied by shock waves. Incandescent material was seen ejected to approx. 100 m above the crater.
Sabancaya (Peru): A phreatic explosion occurred at the volcano on the evening of 25 Aug at 20:39 local time, Peru's Geophysical Institute (IGP) informed.
The eruption was not observed directly, but inferred from its seismic trace. A swarm of long-period quakes followed the eruption, suggesting internal fluid movements.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.4 Earthquake hits Hokkaido, Japan.
5.1 Earthquake hits Iceland.
5.0 Earthquake hits Iceland.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Gulf go Alaska.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical depression Karina is located about 1210 mi (1950 km) WSW of the southern tip of Baja California. Karina is expected to degenerate into a remnant low today and dissipate by Wednesday.
Hurricane Marie gradually weakening. Located about 605 mi (970 km) WSW of the southern tip of Baja California. Swells generated by Marie are affecting much of the Baja California peninsula and the southern Gulf of California. These swells are spreading northwestward and will reach the Southern California coast later today. Marie is still a large hurricane. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 60 miles...95 km...from the centre and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 275 miles.
Hurricane Cristobal moving northward. Expected to pass northwest of Bermuda tomorrow. Located about 545 mi (875 km) SW of Bermuda. Tropical storm conditions are possible on Bermuda late Wednesday and Wednesday night. Swells generated by Cristobal are affecting portions of the United States East Coast from central Florida northward to North Carolina and will spread northward later this week.
Drought in Central America
The Guatemalan government has declared a state of emergency in 16 of the country's 22 provinces because of a drought that has caused major agricultural losses in Central America. As of last week more than 236,000 families had been affected mainly in western and central Guatemala.
Central America is suffering one of its worst droughts in decades, and experts say major farm losses and the deaths of hundreds of cattle in the region could leave hundreds of thousands of families without food. The losses are largely in the region's staples of corn and beans.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Bárdarbunga (Iceland): The intense seismic crisis caused by a significant laterally migrating magma intrusion continues to evolve with little changes.
Earthquake activity has been a bit weaker yesterday, only to pick up again today. Two more magnitude 5+ quakes occurred after midnight near the caldera of the Bardarbunga central volcano.
The intrusion is now 45 km long and roughly 20 km deep, but so far remains mostly below 5 km depth. Horizontal spreading between the Dyngjuháls (DYNC) and Kverkfjöll (Gengissig, GSIG) GPS stations approaches 50 cm.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 Earthquake hits the Samoa Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits Iceland.
5.0 Earthquake hits northeastern Sakha, Russia.
5.0 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.
5.0 Earthquake hits Iceland.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Hurricane Marie is located about 550 mi...880 km WSW of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds...105 mph...165 km/h. Present movement...NW or 310 degrees at 14 mph...22 km/h.
Hazards affecting land: Surf...swells generated by Marie are affecting much of the Baja
California peninsula and the southern Gulf of California. These swells are spreading northwestward and will reach the Southern California later today. Life-threatening surf and rip current conditions are likely as a result of these swells...as well as minor coastal flooding.
Hurricane Cristobal is located about 590 mi...950 km SW of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds...75 mph...120 km/h. Present movement...N or 10 degrees at 12 mph...19 km/h.
Hazards affecting land: rainfall...Cristobal is expected to produce additional rainfall
amounts of 1 to 3 inches over the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas. In addition to ongoing rainfall...Cristobal is expected to produce additional rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches over Bermuda. Wind...tropical storm conditions are possible on Bermuda by Wednesday afternoon. Surf...swells generated by Cristobal are affecting portions of the United States East Coast from central Florida northward to North Carolina...and will spread northward later this week. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
NewsBytes:
Bangladesh - Flooding during Bangladesh's yearly summer monsoon season has forced 500,000 residents into homelessness and caused scores more to lose their crops. Streets throughout the northern area of the country have reportedly been swept away.
South Korea - Flash floods brought on by heavy rain in southern South Korea have killed at least five people. Monday's heavy rain also disrupted train services in Busan, and a nuclear power plant was forced to halt operations after a cooling facility became flooded.
Antarctic Riddle: How Much Will the South Pole Melt?
The melting of the Antarctic ice sheet has long been a relatively minor factor in the steady ascent of high-water marks, responsible for about an eighth of the 3 millimeters of annual sea-level rise. But when it comes to climate change, Antarctica is the elephantine ice sculpture in the boiler room. The ice sheet is so massive that its decline is, according to the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment, “the largest potential source” of future sea level rise. Accurately forecasting how much of it will be unleashed as seawater, and when that will happen, could help coastal communities plan for surging flood risks.
A study published Aug. 14 in Earth System Dynamics — one that took more than 2 years and 50,000 computer simulations to complete, combining information from 26 atmospheric, oceanic, and ice sheet models from four polar regions — has helped scientists hone their forecasts for this century’s Antarctic thaw. And the results of the global research effort were more sobering than the findings of most of the more limited studies that came before it.
The world’s seas could rise anywhere from less than half an inch up to more than a foot by the end of this century solely because of the effects of balmier waters fanning Antarctica’s underside, causing ice to melt, icebergs to calve, and ice and snowpack to slough into the sea, the scientists calculated. The upper limit of that projection is more than double earlier estimates, with scientists attributing the change to advances in models.
Those figures do not include additional sea level rise caused by melting glaciers, by the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, by the expansion of warming water, or from the effects of groundwater pumping, which shifts water from aquifers to the seas. If the most recent IPCC projections for those sources of rising seas were combined with the new Antarctic figures, the U.N. group’s upper limit for overall sea level rise by century’s end would increase to 119 cm, or nearly 4 feet. That’s up by more than a fifth compared with the figure included in last year’s assessment.
Wildfires - USA
The wildfire season appears to be winding down, with crews containing four large blazes in Washington state in the past 24 hours.
The Little Bridge Creek fire west of Winthrop and the Upper Falls fire north of Winthrop are both now 100 percent contained. So is the Carlton Complex south of Twisp, which has been burning over a month and has torched more than 256,100 acres. The other blaze that's now 100 percent lined is the the Auvil Canyon fire northwest of Waterville, which has scorched more than 600 acres.
In Oregon, the Deception/Stanley complex remains the top priority. Sparked by lightning, the five fires in the complex have charred nearly 470 acres and are 53 percent contained. The fires are burning on steep, rugged terrain, threatening recreational areas and a municipal watershed but no homes.
Elsewhere in Oregon:
The Bald Sisters Fire has burned more than 1,100 acres in Grant County east of Prairie City and remains zero percent contained.
The South Fork complex south of John Day covers more than 66,100 acres but is 96 percent contained.
The 790 fire northeast of Medford has charred more than 1,300 acres and is 5 percent contained.
The Sommers Fire northeast of Enterprise grew has scorched more than 36,100 acres and is 75 percent contained.
In Washington:
The Devil's Elbow complex northeast of Nespelem has torched more than 26,400 acres and remains 95 percent contained.
The Snag Canyon fire has burned nearly 12,600 acres and is 92 percent contained.
The South Cle Elum Ridge fire southwest of Cle Elum has torched nearly 900 acres and is 97 percent contained.
In California:
Wildfires are surging through the Northern California town of Weaverville, forcing about 150 homeowners to evacuate and threatening another 500 or so with destruction.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): After fluctuating and unstable effusive activity during the last few days, the vent seems to have once again increased its magma effusion rate and triggered a new pathway for the lava to flow down the upper part of the Sciara del Fuoco. Whilst on the afternoon of the 23rd of August lava was still flowing down from the plateau in much the same location as it had done since opening of the vent on the 7th of August, the overflow of lava from the ca 600 m plateau onto the Sciara del Fuoco had substantially decreased by the early hours of the 24th of August.
Bárdarbunga (Iceland): The earthquake this morning at the north/northwestern part of the caldera at 6 km depth at 01:26 UTC could have been the biggest in the current swarm. Estimated magnitudes range from 4.1 (IMO) to 5.7 (USGS). The magma intrusion (dyke) north of Dyngjujokull is still migrating and stretches now approx. 10 km outside of the glacier. It will be interesting to see what happens when it reaches the area of the Asjka fissure swarm. A possibility could be that older dykes from that one stop the propagation of the Bardarbunga intrusion, another that it activates Askja as well. The seismic swarm continues to be intense and continues with no significant changes. A magnitude 5 quake occurred this morning 01:26 UTC northeast of the central volcano. Approx 1500 quakes had been registered during yesterday. The tip of the earthquake cluster has migrated further and is now 6-7 km north of Dyngjujökull glacier below ice-free land surface. According to IMO, there are no signs of an impending eruption as the quakes remain mostly at 5-12 km depth.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
7.0 Earthquake hits central Peru.
5.5 Earthquake hits near the coast of southern Peru.
5.4 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.
5.3 Earthquake hits Iceland.
5.0 Earthquake hits western Turkey.
5.0 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Bonin Islands off Japan.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Hurricane Marie is located about 255 mi...415 km WSW of Socorro island and about 470 mi...755 km SW of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds...145 mph...230 km/h. Present movement...NW or 305 degrees at 13 mph...20 km/h.
Hazards affecting land: Surf...swells generated by Marie are affecting the southwestern coast of Mexico...the southern part of the Baja California peninsula...and the southern Gulf of California. These swells will spread northwestward along the West Coast of the Baja California peninsula today...and will reach Southern California by Tuesday. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions...as well as minor coastal flooding.
Tropical Storm Cristobal is located about 120 mi...195 km ENE of San Salvador and about 715 mi...1150 km SW of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds...60 mph...95 km/h. Present movement...NNE or 15 degrees at 2 mph...4 km/h.
Hazards affecting land: rainfall...Cristobal is expected to produce rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches over the Turks and Caicos Islands...as well as portions of the southeastern and central Bahamas through Tuesday...with isolated amounts around 12 inches possible. Minor flooding has been reported near Pirates Cove on Mayaguana island during the past several hours.
NewsBytes:
India - The flood situation has deteriorated in Assam's Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts with seven deaths reported from the area where three lakh people remain affected, officials said on Sunday. State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) officials said floods have upset lives of people in over 1,000 villages in 15 districts of the state.
Ebola outbreak confirmed by DR Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed that an outbreak of haemorrhagic fever in the north of the country has been identified as Ebola.
Health Minister Felix Numbi told the BBC that tests on two people had confirmed the disease in Equateur province, where 13 had already died.
But he said the deaths occurred in an isolated area and the disease seemed a different strain to West Africa's.
Dr Numbi said a quarantine zone was being set up to contain the disease.
The cases are the first reported outside West Africa since the outbreak there began.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Bárdarbunga (Iceland):The seismic crisis in Bárðarbunga and Dyngjujökull continues strongly. Today alone, more than 400 quakes of magnitudes up to 4 were detected, mostly at the N end of the active intrusion that has been going on. The location of the quakes indicating the front of the magma intrusion (dyke) continues to advance northwards. Its tip is now outside the glacier and approaching the Askja caldera. In case of an eruption, it is now more likely that at least some of it occurs on land (and not under the glacier).
Popocatépetl volcano (Mexico): The volcano had a phase of stronger activity this morning, but overall this remains similar to the past months. A discrete explosion ejected an ash plume approx 1 km high and a phase of strong steaming, possibly with some ash emissions, occurred this morning.
Tungurahua volcano (Ecuador) activity update Intermittent explosive activity of moderate size continues at the volcano. An ash emission to flight level 280, i.e. 28,000 ft (8 km) altitude and drifting west was reported today.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.3 Earthquake hits Valparaiso, Chile.
6.0 Earthquake hits the San Francisco Bay area, California.
6.0 Earthquake hits the San Francisco Bay area, California.
5.4 Earthquake hits the Iran-Iraq border region.
5.3 Earthquake hits Iceland.
5.3 Earthquake hits the Iran-Iraq border region.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical storm Karina is located about 1500 mi...2415 km E of Hilo Hawaii and about 1480 mi...2385 km W of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds...70 mph...110 km/h. Present movement...ENE or 75 degrees at 9 mph...15 km/h.
Post-Tropical storm Lowell is located about 1110 mi...1790 km W of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds...35 mph...55 km/h. Present movement...NW or 310 degrees at 8 mph...13 km/h.
Hazards affecting land: Surf...swells generated by Lowell along the coasts of the Baja
California peninsula and Southern California are subsiding.
Hurricane Marie is located about 420 mi...675 km WSW of Manzanillo Mexico and about 470 mi...755 km S of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds...135 mph...215 km/h. Present movement...WNW or 295 degrees at 15 mph...24 km/h.
Hazards affecting land: Surf...swells generated by Marie are affecting the southwestern
coast of Mexico. These swells will spread northwestward along the West Coast of the Baja California peninsula and the southern Gulf of California during the next couple of days...and are likely to cause extremely dangerous life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Tropical Storm Cristobal forms in the western Atlantic. No details available as yet.
NewsBytes:
India - Incessant rains and an unprecedented rise in the water level of the Subansiri have triggered landslides and flash floods in Arunachal Pradesh with the swirling river water leaving a trail of destruction. The Subansiri river recorded an unprecedented rise in the water level at Daporijo in Upper Subansiri district on Thursday night.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Bárdarbunga (Iceland): Even if Bárðarbunga's eruption continues and breaks the ice, allowing explosions between magma and water/ice to eject significant amounts of ash, most experts agree that a scenario like the Eyjafjallajökull back in 2010 is unlikely to repeat itself. Back then, most of Europe's airspace was closed for 6 days, which caused 100,000 flight cancellations and left thousands of travellers stranded all over the world. IMO believes that the two M5 earthquakes that took place under the caldera of Bárðarbunga volcano during the night were caused by adjustments in response to pressure changes in the plumbing / magma storage system of the volcano as magma is moving.
Stromboli volcano (Eolian Islands, Italy): The lava flow continues to be active, but the effusion rate has been more and more unstable and fluctuates a lot. This results in lava flows taking different (often overlapping) paths on the upper portion of the Sciara del Fuoco.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.7 Earthquake hits Tarapaca, Chile.
5.5 Earthquake hits eastern New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.
5.3 Earthquake hits the Iran-Iraq border region.
5.2 Earthquake hits the Bougainville region, Papua New Guinea.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Iran-Iraq border region.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical storm Karina is drifting eastward and is located about 1270 mi...2045 km ESE of Hilo, Hawaii.
Tropical storm Lowell is located about 1020 mi...1645 km W of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds...45 mph...75 km/h. Present movement...NW or 310 degrees at 8 mph...13 km/h.
Hazards affecting land: Surf...swells generated by Lowell will continue to affect the West
Coast of the Baja California peninsula and the coast of Southern California through the weekend. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Hurricane Maria is located about 355 mi...575 km SSW of Manzanillo Mexico with maximum sustained winds...75 mph...120 km/h. Present movement...WNW or 285 degrees at 13 mph...20 km/h.
Hazards affecting land: Surf...swells generated by Marie are affecting portions of the
south-central and southwestern coast of Mexico and are expected to spread northwestward over the weekend and begin affecting the southern Baja California peninsula by Sunday. These swells are likely to cause extremely dangerous life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
NewsBytes:
Chicago, USA - Heavy rain causes flash flooding across the Chicago area.
Banned Ozone-Killing Compound Still Being Emitted
A powerful ozone-depleting chemical is still making its way into the atmosphere from an unknown source decades after it was banned worldwide.
Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) was once used in dry cleaning and some fire extinguishers before it and other chlorofluorocarbons responsible for the ozone hole over Antarctica became regulated in 1987 under the Montreal Protocol.
All countries that signed that agreement say they had no CCI4 emissions between 2007 and 2012.
But NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center scientist Qing Liang says that instead of the level of CCl4 disappearing at the predicted rate of 4 percent per year, it’s declining at only 1 percent annually, meaning it is still being released into the atmosphere.
“It is now apparent there are either unidentified industrial leakages, large emissions from contaminated sites or unknown CCl4 sources,” said Liang.
Ebola virus disease update - West Africa
Between 19 and 20 August 2014, a total of 142 new cases of Ebola virus disease (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 77 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
Questions have been received in WHO Headquarters about the original proposed budget for the response and the new draft budget, which is being reviewed by partners. The increase in needed resources is based on improved data and understanding of the situation on the ground in the affected countries. The new estimation of costs is derived using a unit-cost model, built for the most intense transmission areas and reflects the average operational costs based on the current situation in the affected countries. The major assumptions for the cost estimates will be announced towards the end of next week.
Drought lifts land in California, Western US as water level drops
The drought that has been plaguing life in California and the western US has resulted in a rise of Earth’s crust.
According to researchers, the drought has caused overall drop in water levels, leading to rise of Earth’s crust to one-sixth of an inch since last year.
The drought in California and Western US is a year and a half now and since then it has depleted 63 trillion gallons of water across the Western US, a report in The Los Angeles Times said, citing a new study on how the parched conditions are altering the landscape.
The scientists from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the US Geological Survey said that the loss of groundwater and surface water sources like reservoirs has been so extreme in the said duration that it lifted the Earth’s surface in the West by an average of one-sixth of an inch since last year.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Fuego volcano (Guatemala) activity update Explosive activity has been relatively high recently. Individual eruptions have been producing ash plumes that rose to up to 1 km and incandescent material was seen rising 150-200 m above the crater. Shock waves often accompany the stronger explosions. There is no lava flow currently.
Ubinas volcano (Peru): sudden strong explosion After a being relatively since the end of July, a powerful explosion occurred suddenly at the volcano yesterday afternoon at 15:36 local time. The explosion ejected blocks to up to 2 km distance and produced an ash plume that rose to approx. 7-8 km altitude. The eruption was likely a vulcanian-type event, i.e. caused by the sudden release of pressure as viscous (sticky) and gas-rich magma had accumulated beneath a solid plug in the vent. It shows that the eruptive phase at the volcano continues and is capable of producing extremely dangerous explosions.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.0 Earthquake hits offshore El Salvador.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Aegean sea.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical storm Karina is located about 1315 mi...2120 km ESE of Hilo Hawaii and about 1780 mi...2865 km WSW of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds...65 mph...100 km/h. Present movement...E or 85 degrees at 5 mph...7 km/h.
Tropical storm Lowell is located about 870 mi...1395 km W of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds...65 mph...100 km/h. Present movement...NW or 320 degrees at 8 mph...13 km/h.
Hazards affecting land: Surf...swells generated by Lowell will affect the West Coast of the Baja California peninsula and portions of the coast of Southern California through the weekend. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Tropical Storm Maria is located about 290 mi...470 km SSW of Acapulco Mexico with maximum sustained winds...45 mph...75 km/h. Present movement...WNW or 290 degrees at 18 mph...30 km/h.
NewsBytes:
Cambodia - Flooding in Cambodia has killed at least 45 people since last month, officials said Thursday. About 11,500 families have also been forced from their homes by the flash floods along the Mekong River since July 30, the National Committee for Disaster Management said in a report. The deaths and displacements were caused by heavy rains which have affected 12 provinces in the north and northeast.
Thailand - Flash floods hit eight villages in Nan province, affecting more than 300 households in the area. Heavy rain caused the Nam Ngob river to overflow, inundating houses, vast agricultural areas and public utilities across three tambons of Thung Chang district.
Global Warming Pause 'Due to Atlantic Ocean Carrying Heat Deep Down'
The Atlantic ocean could be contributing to the 'pause' in global warming by drawing down heat by nearly a mile, according to a new study.
The research from the University of Washington shows that heat from the surface is plunging deep in the north and south Atlantic, affecting the balance between incoming heat and heat radiated back into the atmosphere. The study is published in Science.
Recent measurements of ocean temperature made by thousands of buoys and observations of Earth's radiative energy by satellite instruments have shown that the Earth is warming up. In fact, Earth's heating rate increased between the 1985-1999 and 2000-2012 periods.
But this increased heating has not directly corresponded with surface warming - and apparently, the answer could be found deep in the Atlantic.
The temperature at the Earth's surface depends upon where the heat is deposited in the oceans. If the upper levels warm, so too will the atmosphere above it. However, if ocean circulations cause more heat to be drawn down to deeper depths, then surface temperatures will cool.
Ka-Kit Tung, a University of Washington professor of applied mathematics and co-author Xianyao Chen of the Ocean University of China, observed deep-sea temperatures from Argo floats that sample the water down to 6,500ft (2,000m).
The authors say that fluctations in surface temperature are part of a cycle involving ocean circulation responses to changes in how dense the upper Atlantic Ocean layers are - ie, how saline they are.
The cycle starts when saltier, denser water at the surface northern part of the Atlantic, near Iceland, causes the water to sink, taking heat down with it. This changes the speed of the current in the Atlantic Ocean that circulates heat throughout the planet.
Recent observations at the surface in the North Atlantic show record-high saltiness, Tung said, while at the same time, deeper water in the North Atlantic shows increasing amounts of heat.
The cycle switches naturally between warm and cool because of tropical water being carried to the North Atlantic, warming the surface and deep water and causing ice to melt. In turn, this makes the surface water there less dense and after a few decades will set off the cooling phase.
After 30 years of warming, the researchers say we are now in the 'cool' phase.
The pause in global warming has been attributed to many environmental factors, with another recent study from ETH Zurich citing climate fluctuations like El Nino and solar irradiance. The team also said that global warming would continue once these natural fluctuations settle down.
Possible Ebola virus disease victim in Ireland
The Health and Safety Executive is investigating a possible ebola outbreak in Ireland, after a man is believed to have died from the deadly disease.
The suspected victim is thought to have been from the Mountcharles area, outside Donegal town, County Donegal. It is believed the victim had recently returned from the ebola stricken region of Sierra Leone, where he was working for a telecommunications company.
The man, who was reportedly receiving treatment for malaria when he died, was visiting his parents in Co Donegal when he was taken ill.
Massive Solar Power Plant Setting Birds on Fire
Many thousands of birds are said to have caught fire in midair above a massive solar-thermal power plant near the California-Nevada border since it began operating in February.
Workers at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System call the dying birds “streamers,” because of the trail of smoke they leave behind after igniting.
Federal investigators say they counted an average of one bird catching fire every two minutes during their survey.
The $2.2 billion plant consists of three towers surrounded by an array of more than 300,000 mirrors, which some pilots say nearly blinded them as they flew past.
The California chapter of the Audubon Society calls the deaths “alarming,” and one of the three companies behind the plant, NRG Solar, said it is taking the issue “very seriously.”
Federal wildlife officials call the plant a “mega-trap” because its bright light attracts insect-eating birds that get lured to a fiery death.
Plant operators say they are looking at ways to frighten the birds away or redirect them from the plant’s glaring danger.
Global Temperature Extremes
The week's hottest temperature was 121.6 degrees Fahrenheit (49.8 degrees Celsius) at Hafar Al-Batin, Saudi Arabia.
The week's coldest temperature was minus 113.4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 80.8 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.
Temperatures were tabulated from the more than 10,000 worldwide synoptic weather stations. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization sets the standards for weather observations, and provides a global telecommunications circuit for data distribution.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): Lava continues to flow from the fissure vent at the base of the NE crater. Compared to the first week, the effusion rate has become more unstable, causing several surges and intervals of strongly decreasing activity.
The fluctuating rate of effusion has also caused the formation of several overlapping new lava channels in the upper area of the Sciara. Two such surges occurred yesterday and today.
Zhupanovsky (Kamchatka, Russia): Intermittent explosive activity continues at the volcano. Volcanic ash plumes drifting SSE were reported yesterday and Tuesday rising to 10-15,000 ft (3-4.5 km) altitude (VAAC Tokyo).
Kusatsu-Shirane (Honshu): JMA reported that during 8-15 August volcanic earthquakes continued at Kusatsu-Shiranesan’s crater, although they had decreased from early August and tremor was absent. The Alert Level remains at 2 (on a scale of 1-5).
Kuchinoerabu-jima (Ryukyu Islands): No new eruptions seem to have occurred at the volcano since the relatively violent eruption on 4 Aug.
JMA reported continuing tremor and earthquake activity as well as a steam-/gas-plume rising 50-600 m above the crater rim.
Dukono (Halmahera): Ash emissions were observed on satellite imagery this morning. An ash plume at estimated 8,000 ft (2.4 km) altitude extended 20 nautical miles to the north of the volcano.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.8 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
5.4 Earthquake hits the Rat Islands in the Aleutian Islands.
5.3 Earthquake hits the Izu Islands off Japan.
5.1 Earthquake hits east of the South Sandwich Islands.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Rat Islands in the Aleutian islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits Tonga.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical storm Karina is located about 1275 mi...2050 km E of Hilo Hawaii and about 1785 mi...2870 km WSW of the southern tip of Baja California. Present movement...ESE or 110 degrees at 2 mph...4 km/h.
Tropical storm Lowell is located about 805 mi...1290 km WSW of the southern tip of Baja California. present movement...NW or 315 degrees at 3 mph...6 km/h.
NewsBytes:
Arizona, USA - Heavy monsoon season rains that swept across Arizona on Tuesday led to dramatic rescues, road closures and flight delays as a series of fast-moving storms pummelled the state. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for much of the metro area and north of the city where up to 8 inches of rain fell by midday in some of the mountainous regions along Interstate 17.
Sweden - Rain continued to bucket down over parts of Sweden on Wednesday night, adding the town of Kristinehamn, Värmland to the list of towns partially under water. Towns in Halland, Bohuslän, and Värmland have now been affected by flooding.
Arctic Ice Snow Cover Disappearing
The depth of the late-winter snowpack on sea ice in the Arctic has thinned considerably over the past 70 years, according to a new University of Washington-NASA study.
Writing for the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, lead author Melinda Webster says the conclusion was made after combining data collected by ice buoys and NASA aircraft with historical records gathered by Soviet scientists from the 1950s through the early 1990s.
Those measurements show the snowpack has thinned from 14 inches to 9 inches in the western Arctic and from 13 inches to 6 inches in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, north and west of Alaska.
“This confirms and extends the results of that earlier work, showing that we continue to see thinning snow on the Arctic sea ice,” said Ignatius Rigor, who was also a co-author on the earlier paper.
The authors believe the snowpack could be thinner because the surface of the Arctic Ocean is freezing later, after some of the year’s heaviest snowfalls in September and October.
That snow is now falling on a mainly open ocean.
Ebola virus disease update - West Africa
Between 17 and 18 August 2014, a total of 221 new cases of Ebola virus disease (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 106 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
WHO continues to engage in high-level communication efforts with affected countries, companies and organizations doing business in and from Africa, and national and global leaders. Currently, some companies have taken the decision to suspend services to the affected countries. This includes airlines and shipping companies. As a result of these decisions, countries are beginning to experience supply shortages, including fuel, food, and basic supplies. WHO is working with the UN World Food Programme to ensure adequate food and supplies, but calls on companies to make business decisions based on scientific evidence with regard to the transmission of Ebola virus.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Bárdarbunga (Iceland): The intense earthquake swarm continues with no significant changes. There are no signs of magma migrating towards or reaching the surface are present, although the risk of a subglacial eruption in the near future remains high. This could lead to significant glacial floods and ash emissions, which in turn could cause again disruptions of flight operations in the region, depending on the wind trajectories and the amount of ash released. A slow migration of the quakes towards the NE is visible during the past days, indicating that the intruding magma at shallow depth is currently moving horizontally.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 Earthquake hits the Iran-Iraq border region.
5.3 Earthquake hits the Iran-Iraq border region.
5.1 Earthquake hits southwest of Africa.
5.1 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.
5.0 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.
5.0 Earthquake hits Hokkaido, Japan.
Thousands of small intense earthquakes are rocking Iceland amid concerns that one of the country's volcanoes, Bárðarbunga, may be close to erupting.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical storm Karina moving slowly westward about 1365 mi (2195 km) E of Hilo, Hawaii.
Tropical storm Lowell moving northwestward with no change in strength about 740 mi (1190 km) WSW of the southern tip of Baja California.
The Western Pacific remains quiet, with no new named storms expected to develop over the next five days.
NewsBytes:
Finland - Month's worth of rain falls in two days. A low-pressure front over Northern Europe is bringing rains into Finland, with the warm sea adding to precipitation figures along the coast. Tuesday saw some 20mm of rainfall in Finland Proper and Western Lapland – and in Somero more than three times that amount has come down in less than two days.
Japan - Huge landslides in the outskirts of Hiroshima have killed at least 36 people after a wall of mud sparked by torrential rain wiped out dozens of houses burying many alive.
Poachers Killed More than 100,000 Elephants in 3 Years
The insatiable demand for ivory is causing a dramatic decline in the number of African elephants. Poachers are hunting the animal faster than it can reproduce, with deaths affecting more than half of elephant families in the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya, a new study finds.
In 2011, the worst African elephant poaching year on record since 1998, poachers killed an estimated 40,000 elephants, or about 8 percent of the elephant population in Africa. In the absence of poaching, African elephant populations grow about 4.2 percent each year, the researchers found based on detailed records from Samburu.
Poachers killed an average of 33,630 elephants every year from 2010 to 2012, resulting in more than 100,000 deaths across the continent, the study found. Illegal killings across Africa decreased somewhat in 2010, but they were still higher than pre-2009 levels, the researchers reported. As more elephants are poached, the number of governmental seizures of illegal ivory increase, and the black market price of ivory goes up.
Poaching rates for ivory are unsustainable and exceed the natural growth rate of wild elephants. "This means that elephant populations currently decline by nearly 60 to 70 percent every 10 years, making it likely for the species to go extinct in the near future if poaching and the illegal ivory trade are not stopped,".
Much of the ivory demand comes from China and Southeast Asia. Many people see ivory as a status symbol and an artistic investment, especially for religious renditions, whereas others turn to ivory for mass-consumption products, such as bracelets and chopsticks.
A similar ivory boom in the late 1970s and 1980s tapered out when 115 countries opted to ban the international trade of ivory in 1989. Today, researchers hope that conservation organizations, as well as high-profile advocates such as Chinese basketball player Yao Ming, will help to stem the ivory demand.
Wildfires - California
One of several wildfires burning across California prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people in a central California foothill community near Yosemite National Park.
More than 1,500 people from homes and four hotels near the community of Oakhurst have been told to evacuate, said Erica Stuart, a spokeswoman for the Madera County Sheriff's Office. Oakhurst is about 16 miles away from an entrance to Yosemite National Park.
A surging wildfire in Kern County some 50 miles northeast of Bakersfield was threatening buildings and bringing evacuations.
A fire in Wofford Heights near Lake Isabella has grown to about slightly more than 1 square mile.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Bárdarbunga (Iceland): The situation remains the same as yesterday. The earthquake swarm continues at high intensity. The quakes are clustered in an area 20 km east of the Bárdarbunga volcano's caldera under the ice cap and at shallow depths of 10-1 km. During the first 7 hours of today, 200 events were registered, the largest being a magnitude 3 quake at 10 km depth. Police authorities and Civil Protection have decided to close and evacuate the area around the volcano due to possible elevated volcanic hazards, one of the most severe being likely jökulhlaups, glacial floods.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.8 Earthquake hits the Iran-Iraq border region.
5.1 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical storm Karina is located about 1415 mi...2275 km E of Hilo Hawaii.
Tropical Storm Lowell is located about 705 mi...1135 km WSW of the southern tip of Baja California. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.
Tornado Swarms More Frequent Under Warming
Florida researchers say they have found a possible link between the strength and frequency of tornadoes in the United States and the magnitude of climate change.
Writing in the journal Climate Dynamics, Florida State geography professor James Elsner says that while the chance of a tornado forming each day has gone down under global warming, when twisters do form on a given day, there are more of them.
Elsner points out that there were 187 days with tornadoes during 1971, and only 79 in 2013.
But he says that a closer look at the data shows a greater severity in tornadic storms on a given day than before climate change accelerated under the influence of greenhouse gas emissions in the late 20th century.
Elsner adds that at least “Tornado Alley” doesn’t appear to be growing in size.
So far this year, there have been 189 tornadoes with a death toll of 43, according to the NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
Ebola virus disease update - West Africa
Between 14 and 16 August 2014, a total of 113 new cases of Ebola virus disease (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 84 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia*, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
The response of WHO and other partners to the Ebola Virus outbreak is continuing to grow in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. To reduce the likelihood that those who are infected will carry the disease outside their communities, the governments have set up quarantine zones in areas of high transmission including severely-affected cities such as Gueckedou in Guinea, Kenema and Kailahun in Sierra Leone and Foya in Liberia.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Bárdarbunga (Iceland): Intense earthquake activity continues, but there is no signs of magma reaching the surface, i.e. a new eruption of the volcano yet. So far, 164 quakes of magnitudes 1.2-2.8 have been detected today and tremor remains elevated. The quakes cluster in an area at the NE part of the volcanic system. This is where a new intrusion is likely occurring at the moment, but it is uncertain if it will result in an eruption.
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): The eruption continues with no significant change, but lava effusion seems to have increased. Several secondary active branches formed on the upper part of the new lava flow field and are visible on webcam images.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.0 Earthquake hits the Iran-Iraq border region.
Reports that at least 250 people have been injured in the earthquakes in Iran. The earthquake was felt as far away as Kuwait.
5.7 Earthquake hits the Iran-Iraq border region.
5.7 Earthquake hits the Iran-Iraq border region.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Mid-Indian ridge.
5.0 Earthquake hits Guerrero, Mexico.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Iran-Iraq border region.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Samoa Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Iran-Iraq border region.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical storm Karina is located about 1500 mi...2415 km E of Hilo Hawaii with maximum sustained winds...45 mph...75 km/h. Present movement...WSW or 255 degrees at 9 mph...15 km/h.
NewsBytes:
China - A flooded coal mine in China has left two dead and trapped 14 others.
China - Rainstorm-triggered landslides in Guizhou Province in China have claimed the lives of at least seven people.
Colorado, USA - A tornado touched down in Henderson, Colorado. Minor damages have been reported to two houses.
India - Floods triggered by heavy rains in the Himalayas have inundated nearly 1,500 villages in Uttar Pradesh, killing at least 28 people and leaving thousands homeless, officials said on Sunday. Thousands were marooned in villages across nine districts of Uttar Pradesh, where the release of water from overflowing dams in neighbouring Nepal has added to the impact of the downpours. A lack of rain earlier in the June-September monsoon season had led to fears of drought, but this month all that has changed. The latest heavy rains have caused landslides and floods in many parts of India and Nepal.
Ocean 'Dead Zones' Growing
The world’s oceans are plagued with the problem of “dead zones”, areas of high nutrients (such as nitrogen and phosphorus) in which plankton blooms cause a major reduction of oxygen levels in the water. Sea creatures need oxygen to breathe just as we do, and if oxygen levels fall low enough marine animals can suffocate. This commonly happens around coastlines where fertilisers are washed from fields into rivers and the sea, but also mid-ocean, where currents trap waters in gyres (large systems of rotating ocean currents).
To date most studies have shown that these dead zones have been growing with global warming. But a recent study published in Science by Curtis Deutsch and colleagues suggests that the ocean’s largest anoxic zone – where there has been a total depletion of oxygen – in the eastern tropical North Pacific, may in fact shrink due to weakening trade winds caused by global warming.
The trade winds drive water away from the coast, and the gap is filled by new cold and nutrient-rich waters that come up from the deep. These nutrients trigger algae and plankton blooms upon which larger animals feed, which builds up an accumulation of organic matter. As bacteria decompose this organic matter the oxygen in the water is depleted. This causes low oxygen areas, such as the oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) with very low oxygen content found at intermediate ocean depths.
Weaker trade winds would mean less upwelling of these deep nutrient-rich waters, and consequently less plankton and less oxygen depletion. Deutsch and colleagues affirm that although initial oxygen content will be lower due to higher temperatures, oxygen demand will decrease as trade winds do. So, the result would be that low oxygen areas in the tropical north Pacific would shrink.
Typhoid outbreak hits Harare, Zimbabwe
At least nine people have succumbed to typhoid while over 300 cases were reported in a fresh outbreak of the disease in Harare, Mutare and Chegutu.
The disease outbreak has been attributed to councils' failure to provide safe drinking water in suburbs, some have gone for months without running water.
According to the latest weekly surveillance report by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, 370 cases have been recorded with 55 having been confirmed.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.3 Earthquake hits Kepulauan Barat Daya, Indonesia.
5.2 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.
5.1 Earthquake hits eastern Sichuan, China.
5.0 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Myanmar-India border region.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical storm Karina is located about 1160 mi...1865 km WSW of the southern tip of Baja California. A westward to west-southwestward motion and a decrease in forward speed are expected during the next 48 hours. Maximum sustained winds remain near 40 mph...65 km/h...with higher gusts. Some slight strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours.
NewsBytes:
Nepal -The death toll resulting from the torrential rain last week which led to multiple landslides and flooding, leaving a trail of death and destruction in the Himalayan nation has risen to 85.
African Apes Being Killed by Ebola As Well
The Ebola virus that has killed more than 1,000 people in West Africa has also devastated the continent’s wild ape population.
Ecologist Peter Walsh with the University of Cambridge says he observed 90 to 95 percent of the gorillas he was studying disappear in a Congolese sanctuary during two Ebola outbreaks earlier this century.
He tells the Voice of America that Ebola, and human diseases being introduced into the wild population, are joining the bush meat trade as the primary reasons the apes are vanishing.
Illnesses, especially from viruses, have exploded among wild primates, mainly due to humans encroaching deeper and deeper into formerly isolated habitats, Walsh says.
He warns the danger works both ways: “We’re giving the viruses those animals carry the opportunity to jump to a new host (humans).”
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): No significant changes have occurred during the past days. The lava flow continues to be active from the vent at the base of the NE cone, but the effusion rate is slowly decreasing overall.
Bárdarbunga (Iceland): An intense earthquake swarm started yesterday under Bárðarbunga volcano, located under the northwestern part of the Vatnajökull ice cap. It is continuing at the moment and accompanied by elevated harmonic tremor. This might indicate a subglacial eruption at the volcano, but this needs yet to be confirmed. The last eruption of Bárðarbunga volcano was in 1797, while another eruption in 1910 took place at neighboring Hamarinn volcano.
Mayon (Luzon Island): A small lava dome is present at the top of the volcano. During a field survey on 12 August, PHIVOLCS scientists observed a new lava dome, approx. 30-50 m high. It is not known when exactly the dome had grown, but it seems likely that it was relatively recently. In the past 2 months, the volcano experienced weak and short phases of inflation, suggesting pulses of rising magma. In addition, sulfur dioxide emissions had been higher than normal during the past 2 weeks. However, no incandescence was observed during the past 4 months.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 Earthquake hits eastern Kazakhstan.
5.1 Earthquake hits Kepulauan Batu, Indonesia.
5.0 Earthquake hits southern Iran.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical storm Karina has weakened further over the open Pacific Ocean, about 770 mi (1235 km) WSW of the southern tip of Baja California.
Floods and landslides across Nepal have claimed lives of at least 31 people on Friday.
Surkhet At least 21 persons have been killed in landslides and floods in Surkhet district in last 24 hours. According to the District Administration Office, other 44 persons have gone missing.
Bheri River bridges at Tatopani-Ghatgaun junction and Tatopani-Babiyachaur junction have been swept away by the floods. Birendranagar Municipality, Babiyachaur, Latikoili, Itaura and Uttaranga villages are reported to be most affected by the disaster.
Chitwan Floods triggered by downpours have claimed lives of at least three people in Chitwan district of Nepal. Flooding in Kayarkhola swept away two people in Shaktikhor. The landslides triggered by heavy rain near Mahadevsthan in Makawanpur have obstructed the road.
Banke Floods in the Babai River in Dang have claimed lives of at least three people. Fatalities are from Urahari and Duruwa area. Floods have also obstructed the Ghorahi-Tulsipur road section.
Rolpa The landslide triggered by incessant downpour has killed two people in Rolpa.
Gorkha A landslide at a school claimed lives of two persons and injured seven others at Finam-6 of Gorkha district.
The Ruwakhola River has swept away three children while crossing it in Asigram VDC-8.
Landslide has obstructed traffic in Narayanghat-Muglin road section. Landslide hit the highway at the place called 17 Kilo in Kabilas VDC-4 on Friday, Nepal Republic Media mentioned.
NewsBytes:
Niger - Heavy rains and flooding in Niger have claimed lives of at least 12 people and left thousands without food or shelter.
Pakistan - Torrential rain and hailstorms in Peshawar, Pakistan have claimed the lives of at least 16 people and injured 60 others. Ten people, including six children and two women, died and 50 others were injured when the roof of a madrasa and boundary walls collapsed in the city. Severe hail storms hit parts of the Peshawar on Friday evening and caused damage to properties in Akhundabad, Gujjarabad, Wazirbagh, Faqirabad and other areas of the city.
Indonesia - Floods and landslides in West Java and Gorontalo provinces of Indonesia have claimed lives of at least two people. Floods have submerged over 100 houses.
New Research Links Extreme Weather to Global Warming
A new study has been published by a team of climatologists possibly linking global warming to these extreme weather events.
The key to this is what’s called a “blocking pattern”, where a high-pressure system becomes immobile, squatting over a specific spot. Under the high-pressure spot, this can bring long, gruelling heat waves that don’t go away for days or weeks. On the edges it can bring a deluge of rain, as moist air from the south is brought up to meet colder air coming down from the north. That’s what Detroit and New York just went through.
These blocking patterns are themselves associated with the jet stream, the constant flow of air about 10 kilometres above sea level at latitudes between 30° and 60°. Sometimes the flow weakens, and the winds can dip down into more southern latitudes. These meanders (sometimes mistakenly called the “polar vortex”) depend on a lot of factors, but the new research just published indicates they may be due to the Arctic warming up. The physics is complicated — fluid dynamics is amazingly subtle and complex — but the research indicates a warming Arctic can create and amplify the conditions that lead to jet stream excursions, and therefore blocking patterns.
It was a blocking pattern that led to a phenomenal heat wave in Alaska in 2013, to the floods in the Northeast, and to the unbelievable rain we saw in Boulder, Colorado last year; they got over 30 cm in just a day.
Ebola virus disease update - West Africa
Between 12 and 13 August 2014, a total of 152 new cases of Ebola virus disease (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 76 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
On 13-14 August, some airlines and social media and traditional media vehicles expressed concern that air travel to and from affected countries was a high-risk activity for the spread of Ebola. To correct this misunderstanding, WHO called a press conference at the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva on 14 August. Dr Isabelle Nuttall, speaking on behalf of WHO, said, “Air travel, even from Ebola-affected countries, is low-risk for Ebola transmission.”
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Kilauea (Hawai'i): The June 27 flow remains active on Kilaueas East Rift Zone, and has advanced further into the forest over the past week. The flow front is 8.5km (5.3mi) NE of the vent on Puʻu ʻŌʻō. The flow's continued brisk advance rate is likely related, in part, to its continued confinement by local topography. In this USGS photo, the narrow flow front was within one of the many linear depressions (grabens) on the East Rift Zone.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.1 Earthquake hits northwest of Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
5.0 Earthquake hits Taiwan.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Hurricane Julio is located about 765 mi...1235 km N of Honolulu Hawaii. The Post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the north near 2 mph. The remnant of Julio is expected to turn northwest and accelerate over the next 48 hours.
Tropical storm Karina continues to move away from Mexico; located about 770 mi...1235 km WSW of the southern tip of Baja California.
NewsBytes:
Nepal - Flood and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in the Lalitpur district in Nepal have claimed the lives of at least three people. In another landslide, a seven-year-old child was killed in Chunwang-8 of Rukum district in Nepal on Thursday evening.
Arctic Heat Drives Reindeer Into Tunnel
One of Norway's hottest summers on record has caused overheated reindeer to take refuge in a highway tunnel located in the far north of the country.
The invasion came as temperatures soared to 72 degrees Fahrenheit at the 1.4-mile-long Stallogargo tunnel, located about 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle and near the Nordic outpost of Hammerfest.
Temperatures there peaked at 84 degrees earlier this summer.
“Our maintenance crew attempted to chase the reindeer out of the tunnel, but it’s hopeless; after a few hours they’re back,” highway official Tor Inge Hellander told the Finnmark Dagblad daily.
Drivers were forced for two days to take a detour on a precarious, narrow road due to the danger of striking the Arctic grazers.
Hellander says that the reindeer typically stop entering the tunnel as soon as it cools off outside.
Giant Panda Gives Birth to 'Rare' Trio in China
A zoo in southern China celebrated the birth of the world's first known surviving panda triplets, a rare event for the endangered, bamboo-loving bears.
About 1,600 wild pandas live in the mountains of southwestern China. But the endangered species, which has a low reproductive rate, also faces habitat destruction.
Cholera Outbreak in Ghana
A Cholera outbreak in Ghana has been described as a “complete epidemic” by the Regional Directorate of Health as it appears to be losing the battle against the disease, which has claimed nearly 40 lives since June. The disease is mostly attributed to poor hygienic practices.
Over 3,000 cases have been reported at various health facilities across the region.
TB Outbreak Hits Alabama Prisons
Alabama's prison system, badly overcrowded and facing a lawsuit over medical treatment of inmates, is facing its worst outbreak of tuberculosis in five years, a health official said Thursday.
Medical officials have diagnosed nine active cases of the infectious respiratory disease in state prisons so far this year.
While the number isn't huge, Alabama prisons averaged fewer than five TB cases annually each year since 2009 and didn't have any last year, Barrett said.
"This is a very serious outbreak," she said.
All but one of the cases this year occurred at the St. Clair Correctional Facility, which was designed for 984 men but held 1,292 prisoners at the end of May. Inmates are put on a six-month treatment plan once they are diagnosed.
To prevent the spread of the disease through a prison system packed with more than 25,000 inmates, or nearly twice the designed capacity, St. Clair isn't accepting new inmates or transferring prisoners to other lockups, Barrett said.
Global Temperature Extremes
The week's hottest temperature was 116.6 degrees Fahrenheit (47.0 degrees Celsius) at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
The week's coldest temperature was minus 98.3 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 72.4 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.
Temperatures were tabulated from the more than 10,000 worldwide synoptic weather stations. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization sets the standards for weather observations, and provides a global telecommunications circuit for data distribution.
Forest Fire in Sweden
Sweden is fighting a huge forest fire raging in central part of the country as officials say the wildfire is the worst in Scandinavia in 40 years.
Two French Canadair CL-415 water-bombing planes flew from their base near Marseille in the south of France to help quench the raging flames.
The planes joined two similar Italian air tanker fire aircraft in fighting the wildfire.
According to reports, Sweden does not have any air tankers of its own and has been relying on helicopters to control the blaze.
The fire, which broke out on July 31, has already destroyed 150 square kilometers of forests in central Sweden.
It also claimed its first victim on Tuesday, when a 30-year-old man was found dead with severe burns in an area swept by flames.
Scores of firefighters are battling the wildfire while about 1,000 people have been evacuated from villages and towns threatened by the fire in Vastmanland province, about 140 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of Stockholm.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Kelud (East Java): Due to visual and instrumental monitoring results as well as level of potential hazards the Alert Level for Kelut was lowered to 1 (on a scale of 1-4) on 12 August. Residents and visitors were advised to not approach the crater rim, crater floor, or the rivers that disgorge from Kelut.
Dieng (Central Java): Alert level was lowered back to normal (1 out of 4). After the peak of the latest crisis in March 2013, activity (in particular gas emission levels) has calmed down to normal levels.
Soputan (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): Alert level was decreased to "Waspada" or 2 out of 4 recently as visual and seismic activity have decreased at the volcano recently.
Ijen (East Java, Indonesia): Due to decreased volcanic seismicity the Alert Level for Ijen was lowered to 1 (on a scale of 1-4) on 11 August.
Shishaldin (United States, Aleutian Islands): The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) released a photo showing a small active lava lake inside the volcano's crater. Previously available satellite imagery was only able to identify a heat source, but not the type of its source, i.e. the activity at the volcano.
Sabancaya (Peru): An small explosion has probably occurred at the volcano on 9 August at 04:29, the Geophysical Institute of Peru informed. The event was not observed, but inferred from its seismic signal. The explosion signal is the first since the beginning of the crisis, which began in February 2013. Most likely, the explosion was a phreatic event, i.e. caused by overheated ground water without involvement of fresh magma.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 Earthquake hits Tarapaca, Chile.
5.0 Earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Hurricane Julio is located about 625 mi or 1010 km, N of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Tropical storm Karina continues to move away from Mexico; located about 400 mi or 645 km S of the southern tip of Baja California.
NewsBytes:
Switzerland - A landslide in Switzerland derails a train at the top of a ravine, injuring several passengers and leaving one carriage hanging over the precipice. The train derailed at the top of a gully after running into a landslide near the Swiss ski resort of St Moritz. Eleven people are reported to have been injured and taken to nearby hospitals by helicopter, but there appear to have been no fatalities. The accident left one carriage hanging over the edge of the ravine, while another plunged down before before lodging behind a tree. The landslide happened after heavy rain in eastern Switzerland overnight.
New York, USA - Heavy rainfall has caused flash flooding in Bay Shore in New York. A rain storm hit New York City area for 10 hours on Wednesday morning, depositing more than a foot of rain.
Poachers Force Massive Rhino Evacuation
Hundreds of endangered rhinos will be evacuated from one of the largest national parks in Africa, according to the South African government.
The evacuation effort aims to protect the rhinos in South Africa's Kruger National Park from poachers, by moving the animals away from regions of high population density to safer areas.
The move comes in response to the country's rising problem with illegal poaching. Last year, poachers killed a record 1,004 rhinos in South Africa — more than double the number slaughtered in 2011 and astronomically higher than the 13 killed in 2007, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). More than 60 percent of the slaughtered rhinos lived in Kruger National Park.
The growing demand for rhino horn comes mainly from Asian countries, where locals prize the ivory as a status symbol and sometimes use it in traditional medicine for ailments ranging from gout to rheumatism.
With the evacuation, officials aim to move rhinos from the park's vulnerable eastern edge, where poaching is rampant, to safer places across the country. Though the rhinos' final homes haven't been decided yet, the government is considering other national and provincial parks, safer spots in Kruger National Park, private reserves, and even other countries. The evacuation will also break up dense rhino populations into less populous groups; the dense groups face higher mortality rates and breeding pressures.
Ebola virus disease update - West Africa
Between 10 and 11 August 2014, a total of 128 new cases of Ebola virus disease (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 56 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
Contact tracing in Guinea, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone has resulted in a range between 94% and 98% of contacts of EVD cases being identified and followed-up. In Liberia, efforts are underway to strengthen contact tracing, but help is needed in this area. The Liberian Army has also recently placed a third province under quarantine as part of the ongoing effort to stop transmission of EVD.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): (13 Aug) The lava flow continues to be well alimented with little variation visible. It forms an active stream on most of the Sciara, but its flow front during the past days only occasionally reached the sea, and rather accumulated to thicken the lava delta at the NE base of the Sciara.
Etna (Sicily, Italy): New access regulations for the summit region of Etna volcano have been agreed upon with the prefecture of Catania and the mountain guides.
While the summit area (above 2900 m a.s.l.) was often closed to everybody, even if accompanied by mountain guides, this limitation is now lifted: Groups accompanied by an accredited mountain guide may now access the summit area at their own judgement and risk even when the summit area is closed to the public.
This is a significant step towards a more liberal approach to make this unique, highly interesting, although potentially dangerous geologic environment available for a personal first-hand experience. It opens the way for those who would like to see the fascinating summit craters of Europe's most active volcano from close. If you are interested in a guided tour to Etna's summit area, have a look here.
Bagana (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea): Intense activity has been taking place at the volcano during the past days. A significant ash plume reaching approx. 25,000 ft (7-8 km) altitude has been observed on satellite imagery drifting 100-150 km southwest.
It is unknown what type of activity is producing the ash plumes. A thermal anomaly is visible on satellite imagery, suggesting that the volcano has entered a phase of significant lava dome growth that produces explosions and/or collapse events that result in ash plumes.
Slamet (Central Java): VSI raised the alert level back to 3 ("Siaga") on a scale of 1-4 last Monday, as activity had been increasing recently.
The observatory reported elevated tremor accompanying strong and increasingly frequent strombolian explosions, with incandescent material thrown above the crater rim and ash plumes rising up to more than 2000 m.
Deformation measurements show slight inflation of the volcanic edifice, indicating the arrival of fresh magma inside the conduit.
Ambang (North Sulawesi & Sangihe Islands): VSI lowered the alert level back to 1 (normal) on 8 August due to decreased seismic and fumarolic activity.
