Earthquakes

5.5 Earthquake hits Fiji/Tonga region.

5.5 Earthquake hits offshore Guatemala.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Near Islands in the Aleutian Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.

Environment

Greenland and Antarctica have lost four trillion tonnes of ice in 20 years.

A new, definitive study of satellite data has found that polar ice sheets are now melting three times faster than they did in the 1990s.

The amount of ice lost from Greenland and Antarctica is enough to raise world sea levels by almost one millimetre a year. Since 1992, it has added more than 1cm to global sea levels - contributing around a fifth of the total rise. About two thirds of the ice loss was from Greenland and the remainder from Antarctica, said scientists.

 

 

The new survey is said to be the most accurate assessment to date, ending 20 years of uncertainty. It confirms that, with the exception of East Antarctica, both land masses are losing ice. But big differences in the pace of change were seen at each pole.

The new research concludes that Antarctica is melting, but points to the smaller ice sheet in Greenland, which covers most of the island, as the bigger and more pressing issue. Its melt rate has grown from about 55 billion tons a year in the 1990s to almost 290 billion tons a year recently, according to the study.

The vast polar ice sheets lock up unimaginable amounts of water. The Antarctic ice sheet contains 30 million cubic kilometres of ice and holds around 90% of all the fresh water on the surface of the Earth.

If the whole Antarctic ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by more than 60 metres. The Greenland ice sheet is much smaller, but would add seven metres to sea levels if it all melted away.

Volcanos

Guatemala is on alert as the Santiaguito volcano dumps plumes of smoke and ash over nearby communities, coating cars and houses in grey dust. Residents of nearby communities woke on Wednesday morning to find a thin layer of ash coating their cars, streets and homes. White columns of smoke reached up to 5km (3.1 miles) into the sky.

Disease

In an update for the outbreak of ebola in Uganda, the Ministry of Health in Uganda reported 7 cases (6 confirmed, 1 probable) with Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Luweero and Kampala districts. Of these cases, 4 died.

Storms and Floods

Tropical storm Bopha is forecast to strike the Philippines as a typhoon on 4 December. It is likely to make landfall over the Visayas or Mindanao.

Moscow, Russia is blanketed by a record-breaking snowfall. A large, early snowstorm raging in Moscow disrupted flights and created havoc on the roads on Thursday.

Renewed flooding of the Niger river threatens Niger's capital Niamey and parts of the west of the country,

Landslide in Norte de Santander, Colombia

-Ten missing and 50 others are trapped in a huge landslide in the northeastern Colombian province of Norte de Santander.

-Heavy rainfall caused avalanche in the hamlet of Teorama.

-Search efforts are currently suspended due to poor visibility. The landslide disaster area can only be reached by air.

Flooding in Carrara, Italy

-Around 28 people evacuated due to flooding in the city of Carrara.

-The rail line between the cities of Pisa and Genoa, and the Aurelia highway near Carrara temporary closed.

-Heavy snowfall reported in Colle della Maddalena and Colle del Tenda passes in the mountains between Italy and France.

Flooding in Portland, Jamaica

-Three houses in Bybrook and one in Lamy destroyed by flooding in the parish of Portland.

Earthquakes

5.9 Earthquake hits the Banda Sea.

5.6 Earthquake hits northern Peru.

5.5 Earthquake hits the Tanimbar Islands region, Indonesia.

5.2 Earthquake hits Japan's Bonin Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.

Environment

Decline in Amazon forest destruction.

Data released on Tuesday suggests destruction of Amazon rain forests has slowed to the lowest rate since monitoring began in 1988. The figures, based on Brazilian government data gathered by satellite imagery, mark the fourth straight year the overall deforestation levels have slowed.

But scientists warn, they must still confirm by follow-up research whether the reality on the ground matches what seems to be the case from the sky, especially as loggers and farmers clear smaller but more numerous patches of woodland in efforts to evade detection.

Three of the nine Amazonian states measured in the recent data actually showed increases in deforestation. Meanwhile, scientists and environmentalists warn that changes to Brazil's environmental policies in recent years could soon begin reversing the progress.

Volcanos

Global Volcano Activity:

The Tokyo VAAC reported that an eruption of Tolbachik, Kamchatka began at around 10:45 (GMT). An initial ash plume rose to a height of 10 KM; ash was seen in satellite images. On 28th November, the KVERT raised the Alert Level to ORANGE. The KVERT reported that lava flows and ash explosions have broken out from the northern part of the 1975 eruptive fissure. Heavy ash falls (4 cm thick) have been reported in Krasny Yar, 35 KM away from Klyuchi village to the west. One Russian report stated “volcano’s top caldera is being filled with fresh and gushing lava” suggesting explosive eruptions and fire fountains from the summit.

One newspaper reported an eruption from Lokon-Empung volcano. The eruption occurred at 10:05 (local time) sending an ash plume to a height of 3.5 KM a.s.l. Several ash plumes were also reported by the Darwin VAAC.

Paluweh volcano, Indonesia produced 2 ash plumes. The plume travelled 30 KM to the west.

5 explosions were detected from Fuego volcano, Guatemala producing weak, grey plumes to a height of 4.1 KM a.s.l. that drifted 5 KM southwest.

Santa Maria, Guatemala, is still effusing 4 lava flows from its Santiaguito lava dome complex. Avalanches produced ash plumes that rose to heights of 3 KM and drifted 10 KM SSW. Incandescence was seen at night.

Drought

Mississippi River barge traffic in the US is slowing as the worst drought in five decades combines with a seasonal dry period to push water levels to a near-record low, prompting shippers to seek alternatives. River vessels are cutting loads in an attempt to remain in business while they seek White House aid to keep the river open.

Storms and Floods

An "atmospheric river," a weather phenomenon which channels tropical moisture all the way across the Pacific Ocean like a 'river of storms' is heading for California, USA. Sometimes called a "pineapple express," these storms are viewed by weather experts as California's equivalent of a hurricane. Weather experts say Sacramento could see 4 to 8 inches of rain, and the mountains of the Northern Sierra Nevada and Shasta regions could be deluged with 12 to 18 inches of rainfall.

A brutal storm has left more than 50,000 homes in Perth and regional Western Australia without power, as emergency services scrambled to cope with widespread damage to schools, heritage buildings and homes across the state.

Flooding in Denbighshire, Wales

-One killed in flooding in St Asaph, Denbighshire, Wales.

-Around 500 people evacuated in the Welsh city of St Asaph after the river Elwy burst its banks.

-Several roads in Worcestershire, County Durham, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland are closed.

-Some schools in Conwy and Denbighshire in Wales are also closed.

-Almost 500 flood warnings and alerts remain in place today in North East England and North Wales.

Snowstorm in Hokkaido, Japan

-Hokkaido snowstorm left about 37,000 houses without electricity.

-About 90 trains and 10 domestic flights were canceled due to the storm.

Earthquakes

5.5 Earthquake hits Seram, Indonesia.

5.3 Earthquake hits the northern Mariana Islands.

5.2 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits Papua, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Dodecanese Islands, Greece - the largest in a cluster of small quakes over the past several days.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Andaman Islands off India.

5.0 Earthquake hits Panay in the Philippines.

Environment

Global Warming Shifts Heavy Rainfall Times in the UK.

The United Kingdom is one of those places that have been studying their weather and rainfall patterns for ages, with huge numbers of rain gauges scattered all across the country. Using this wealth of information, researchers have found that as the global climate warms the time of year when the UK will receive it’s heaviest rainfall is set to shift.

The research found in two different models that between 2021 and 2060 and 2061 and 2100 the south-east of the country is likely to experiences its extreme rainfall in autumn rather than in late summer, while the north-east of the country will see its heaviest rainfalls a month earlier than currently.

Problematically, these changes shift the heavy rainfalls over into times when the water catchments are already at their maximum capacity, increasing the risk of flooding in the regions.

The change in rainfall patterns would also affect the viability of many food and forage crops grown in the UK.

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Forests Worldwide Near Tipping-Point From Drought.

A new study, conducted by an international team of scientists, assessed the specific physiological effects of drought on 226 tree species at 81 sites in different biomes around the world. It found that 70 percent of the species sampled are particularly vulnerable to reduction in water availability. With drought conditions increasing around the globe due to climate change and deforestation, the research suggests large swathes of the world's forests — and the services they afford — may be approaching a tipping point.

Water is critical to trees, transporting nutrients, providing stabilizing, and serving as a medium for the metabolic processes that generate the energy needed for a tree to survive. Insufficient water availably leads a tree to start pulling air bubbles — called gas emboli — into its xylem impeding the flow of water. Hydraulic failure is akin to attempting to drink through a broken straw — air bubbles significantly reduce the amount of liquid that reaches the top of the straw.

The researchers found that a wide range of trees are susceptible to "hydraulic failure".

The study provides insight on why drought-induced forest die-off is occurring in a range of forest types, including tropical rainforests which are not typically considered at risk of drought. Over the past 15 years, forests in Borneo and the Amazon have suffered from widespread drought-induced decline. Drought stress if often accompanied by increased incidence of fires, either from natural sources like lightning or human activities like burning for cattle pasture of plantation establishment.

The suggestion that all forests are on the brink of succumbing to drought, and may already be responding to climate change, is supported by observations of increased drought-induced forest die-offs and tree mortality in many ecosystems.

The research also has implications for efforts to combat climate change by relying on forests to sequester more carbon from the atmosphere. Dying forests release, rather than absorb, carbon.

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Sea snails show impact of more acidic ocean.

The shells of some marine snails in the seas around Antarctica are dissolving as the water becomes more acidic, threatening the food chain,

Oceans soak up about a quarter of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year and as CO2 levels in the atmosphere increase from burning fossil fuels, so do ocean levels, making seas more acidic.

Ocean acidification is one of the effects of climate change and threatens coral reefs, marine ecosystems and wildlife.

It has been found thattThe shell of the pteropod sea snail in the Southern Ocean was severely dissolved by more acidic surface water.

And although the snails did not necessarily die, it increased their vulnerability to predators and infection which could affect other parts of the food chain. The sea snails are an important source of food for fish and birds as well as an indicator of marine ecosystem health.

Wildfires

4 new arson wildfires burn in East Tennessee, USA.

Wildfire in San José de Maipo, Chile. Each summer, wildfires devastate communities in rural Chile.

 

Storms and Floods

Tropical storm Bopha forms in the Pacific and is located approximately 295 nm southeast of Chuuk, Micronesia.

Britain looks set to experience its worst series of floods since the great floods of 2007 when areas that had never flooded in living memory experienced what would turn out to be their worst floods in over 150 years.

The latest of a series of heavy rainfall-induced flooding is being experienced by the south and south west areas of England and Wales, with over 500 flood warnings in place nationwide.

Flood and landslide in Panama

-5 people reported to be killed in landslide as floods hit Panama.

-Panama has declared Capira, Chorrera and Colon disaster areas.

-The worst flood hit areas were Colon province on the Caribbean coast and the Capira area 60km west of Panama City. Storms damaged 800 homes.

-A river burst its bank and flooded near by shops in Chorrera.

Disease

Authorities in the Democratic Republic Congo report that the Ebola outbreak has ended.

Earthquakes

5.5 Earthquake hits southern Xinjiang, China.

5.5 Earthquake hits the central east pacific rise.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Philippine Islands region.

4.9 Earthquake hits off the coast of southern Chile.

Volcanos

Global Volcanic Activity:

Only 1% of ejected material from the November 21 eruption of Tongariro, New Zealand was fresh magma.

A possible ash plume from Lokon volcano in Indonesia was reported on 26 November. The eruption was reported to have occured at around 03:00 in the morning (local time?). No ash was detected in satellite imagery.

A Magnitude 4.2 earthquake was detected at Loihi volcano in Hawaii.

Manam volcano (Papua New Guinea) produced pyroclastic flows. The MTSAT reported a thick plume from Manam on 26 October.

An ash plume from Paluweh, Indonesia drifted 60 KM WNW on 26 November.

On 25 November, a white plume from the crater of Fuego, Guatemala drifted W. A lava flow continued to effuse from Fuego's crater, blocks that detached from the main lava flow front created avalanches. Two small explosions produced ash plumes that rose to a height of 3 KM and drifted 7 KM west.

Environment

The week's hottest temperature was 114.8 degrees Fahrenheit (46.0 degrees Celsius) at Dampier, Western Australia.

The week's coldest temperature was minus 53.9 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 47.7 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.

Wildfires

Firefighters are battling wildfires in Jackson County, Mississippi, USA.

Storms and Floods

Flooding across England and Wales

-One killed and two others injured in recent disasters in Exeter City Centre. Flooding in Somerset, England also killed one person two days ago.

-More than 800 homes flooded by storms in England and Wales.

-Several flood warnings were issued by the Environment Agency in Lostwithiel, Helston, Polperro and Perranporth area.

-Because of a landslip at Honiton and flooding near Axminster in Devon, today trains between Exeter St Davids and Yeovil Junction were cancelled.

-Following Malmesbury Mayor Ray Sanderson, the flooding in Malmesbury is the worst that he has seen in a lifetime in the town.

-Around 271 flood alerts and more than 220 flood warnings remained in place across England and Wales.

-Heavy rainfall is expected to continue in the north of England and Scotland.

-The landslide reported off Church Lane in Old Sodbury, near Bristol. Six homes were evacuated.

-The Met Office today issued a yellow weather warning for Greater Manchester.

Flooding in Ratnapura and Kamburupitiya, Sri Lanka

-The number of people killed in flooding in Ratnapura and Kamburupitiya area of Sri Lanka has risen to 5.

-Flood affected Sri Lankan districts: Anuradapura, Badulla, Moneragala, Ratnapura Hambantota and Galle and Matara.

-The Hambantota district was reported to be worst affected area. More than 300 families are affected by recent floods. More than 25 houses were damaged in Suriyawewa in the Hambantota district.

-Flood displaced more than 190 families in Moneragala.

Earthquakes

5.3 Earthquake hits Moro Gulf, Mindanao in the Philippines.

4.9 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands region.

4.9 Earthquake hits Halmahera, Indonesia.

4.9 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.

Cluster of 54+ moderate Earthquakes hit the Dodecanese Islands in Greece.

Volcanos

For the first time in 2012, Kīlauea lava flows have entered the Pacific Ocean, adding slivers of new land to Hawai'i Island.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Cyclone Boldwin forms southeast of Diego Garcia in the central Indian Ocean. No threat to land.

Flash floods affect 17,823 people in 48 villages in 11 towns in Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte and Davao Oriental, Mindanao in the Philippines.

Torrential rains caused flooding in 16 urban villages in 5 sub-districts in East Jakarta, Indonesia.

Tornado touched down in the Darling Downs in western Queenland, Australia.

Earthquakes

5.3 and 5.1 Earthquakes hit near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

5.1 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.1 Earthquake hits offshore Chiapas, Mexico.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.

4.9 Earthquake hits near the south coast of Honshu, Japan.

Environment

Vietnam is suffering increased levels of coastal soil erosion due to the increased frequency of typhoons and tropical cyclones hitting the country, as well as rising sea levels. Vietnam has been identified as one of the top five countries likely to be most affected by rising sea levels.

Numerous coastal mangrove forests have been wiped out, while coastal residents are being forced to move further inland every few years to escape the waves, using rocks and sandbags to protect their homes.

Disease

There are now 10 cases reported in the latest ebola virus outbreak in Uganda, including 5 deaths in Luweero and Kampala.

The outbreak of Marburg haemorrhagic fever in Uganda has claimed 9 lives in 4 districts in Uganda (Kabale, Ibanda, Mbarara, and Kampala). A total of 20 cases have been reported.

Wildfires

Several new wildfires broke out in east Tennessee, USA on Thanksgiving Day. Wildfires are burning along Interstate 75 in Campbell and Scott counties, north of Knoxville. Fires were also reported in Grainger County and near the Sevier County/Cocke County line.

Storms and Floods

More heavy downpours of rain expected in England over the weekend.

-A man died following torrential rain in Somerset. His vehicle submerged in flood water.

-Stormy weather also caused travel disruption across Somerset and Bristol.

-Train services between Taunton and Exeter were cancelled because of flooding.

-Houses below Upper Camden Place in Bath were evacuated because of landslide.

-Galashiels (Scottish Border) also suffers flash flooding.

-Severe weather warning amber alert has been issued for Somerset.

Earthquakes

5.8 Earthquake hits Salta, Argentina.

5.2 Earthquake hits southern Sumatra, Indonesia.

5.2 Earthquake hits Luzon in the Philippines.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Molucca Sea.

5.0 Earthquake hits south-east of the Loyalty Islands.

Environment

Law enforcement and wildlife officials along the northern Gulf of Mexico are trying to track down who has been shooting, stabbing and mutilating dolphins there. At least four dolphins have been found savaged to death this month in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, USA.

Disease

An outbreak of dengue fever on the Portuguese island of Madeira has worsened as infections of the mosquito-borne disease accelerated. Reported cases of the potentially lethal disease rose to 1,672 as of Nov. 18. The disease is spreading due to many holiday makers returning home. Cases have so far been diagnosed in Britain, mainland Portugal, Germany, Sweden and France. The epidemic is the first sustained outbreak of dengue fever in Europe since the 1920's.

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A coral disease outbreak along Kauai’s North Shore in Hawaii has been described as an epidemic by local scientists due to the large numbers of coral infected (59%). The disease appears to be caused by the large amounts of suspended solids in the water coming from nearby human habitation.

A diseased piece of rice coral is pictured below. This photo shows a cyanobacterial/fungal disease attacking a piece of coral — the black ring is the disease, and the white area is the coral’s dead skeleton.

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Cholera kills 3 in southern Nigeria. Three people died in the southwestern state of Osun after being infected. Another 42 people were hospitalized in different centers across the region.

Global Warming

A U.N. conference in Qatar next week is the latest attempt to combat global warming after mounting evidence that human activity is disrupting the climate.

Here is a timeline of the road to action on global warming:

300 BC - Theophrastus, a student of the Greek philosopher Aristotle, documents that human activity can affect climate. He observes that drainage of marshes cools an area around Thessaly and that clearing of forests near Philippi warms the climate.

1896 - Sweden's Svante Arrhenius becomes the first to quantify carbon dioxide's role in keeping the planet warm. He later concluded that the burning of coal could cause a "noticeable increase" in carbon levels over centuries.

1957-58 - U.S. scientist Charles Keeling sets up stations to measure carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere at the South Pole and at Mauna Loa, Hawaii. The measurements have shown a steady rise.

1988 - The United Nations sets up the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to assess the scientific evidence.

1992 - World leaders agree the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, which sets a non-binding goal of stabilising greenhouse gas emissions by 2000 at 1990 levels - a target not met overall.

1997 - The Kyoto Protocol is agreed in Japan; developed nations agree to cut their greenhouse gas emissions on average by at least 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12. The United States stays out of the deal.

2007 - The IPCC says it is at least 90 percent certain that humans are to blame for most of the warming trend of the past 50 years. It also says signs that the planet is warming are "unequivocal".

2009 - A conference of 193 countries agrees to "take note" of a new Copenhagen Accord to fight climate change, after U.N. talks in Denmark. The accord is not legally binding and does not commit countries to agree a binding successor to the Kyoto Protocol when its first stage ends in 2012.

2011 - U.N. climate talks in Durban, South Africa, agree to negotiate a new accord by 2015 that is "applicable to all" and will come into force from 2020.

Volcanos

Volcanic Activity Worldwide:

Strombolian activity has resumed at the New SE crater of Etna volcano in Italy. Tremors began rising on 20 November. On the night of 21 November, incandescence was seen in Etna's New Southeast crater. On 22 Nov, a swarm of earthquakes has started in the NW sector of the volcano at depths mostly around 20 km.

Another small eruption at Lokon volcano in North Sulawesi (Indonesia) was observed by our reporters at the volcano observatory on 20 Nov.

Popocatépetl volcano in Mexico remains with about 1 emission per per hour. Sometimes, incandescent tephra is ejected to the crater area during the more vigorous explosions.

Fuego volcano in Guatemala has an active lava flow now 800 m long and some weak mild strombolian explosions every few hours, ejecting bombs to about 100 m above the crater and producing ash clouds rising 200-500 m height above the crater.

The lava flows from the Santiaguito lava dome remain very active. At 06:09 on 22 Nov morning, a moderate pyroclastic flow was triggered by collapsing material of one of the flow fronts on the SE side.

Sakurajima volcano in Japan has returned to its normal average activity level of 1-2 moderate explosions per day, with ash clouds reaching 6-9,000 ft (1.8-2.7 km) altitude.

Thermal anomalies continue to be detected almost daily at the Snow cone, Chirpoi volcano in the Kuriles. No ash plumes have been detected which means the activity produces little to no ash.

SO2 plumes are visible on today's NOAA satellite images from Ambrym volcano on Vanuatu and Nyiragongo volcano in the DR Congo.

Storms and Floods

Flooding in England continues as heavy rainfall has caused flooding in South Cumbria. Train services in Barrow, Whitehaven and Carlisle, and Barrow through to Preston and Lancaster have been affected. A flood alert was also issued for Upper Derwent, from Seathwaite to Derwentwater. Public transport has been affected near Barrow and Ulverston in Cumbria.

Earthquakes

5.9 Earthquake hits offshore O'Higgins, Chile. Office buildings in the capital, Santiago swayed for almost a minute but authorities said no damage was reported and ruled out the possibility of tsunami.

5.6 Earthquake hits Jujuy Province, Argentina.

5.4 Earthquake hits south of Sumbawa, Indonesia.

5.2 Earthquake hits Komandorskiye Ostrova region, off the coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.2 and 5.1 Earthquakes hit offshore O'Higgins, Chile.

5.0 Earthquake hits south of Bali.

5.0 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Taiwan region.

Storms and Floods

Water spout [or sea tornado] seen at Batemans Bay, in New South Wales, Australia on Sunday.

 

More than 2 000 people were evacuated as relentless rains brought floods to eight towns in three provinces in southern Mindanao, in the Philippines. Two children were reported dead in the floods, which hit the provinces of Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental.

The US Pacific Northwest is hit by a fierce storm bringing heavy rains and strong winds which swamped streets, toppled trees and large trucks, cutting power to nearly 50,000 homes.

Flash flood in Bahrain after Heavy rainfall caused flooding in Isa Town, Sanabis, Manama and Riffa regions of Bahrain.

Heavy rain continues to cause floods in the Midlands and South West of England. The British Environment Agency has issued 74 flood warnings in the South West and the Midlands and 113 flood alerts across the rest of the country. The villages of Yealmpton and Tamerton Foliot in Devon are worst hit. Schools have been closed in Worcestershire, Devon and Gloucestershire. Flooding at Tiverton Parkway and Birmingham New Street disrupted rail services in Gloucester, Bristol Temple Meads, Taunton, Yeovil, Exeter, Birmingham International, Coventry, Great Malvern and Hereford. Bus services in both Bristol and Somerset were also either cancelled or diverted. Heavy rainfall caused flooding around Rugby area. Two people were injured in Pailton. Following Warwickshire Police, Lawford road near Church Lawford has completely flooded. Mudslide also reported in Barby Lane near Rugby.

Wildfires

Wildfire in the Northern Cape, South Africa burns more than 100 000 hectares.

Earthquakes

5.4 Earthquake hits offshore O'Higgins, Chile.

5.2 Earthquake hits the Taiwan region.

Two 5.0 Earthquakes hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Molucca Sea.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Lake Edward region, Uganda.

Volcanos

New Zealand's Mount Tongariro volcano has erupted, sending a black plume of gas and ash up to 2km into the air. Tourists quickly evacuated from the area.

Other Volcanic Activity Worldwide:

Ash explosions occur almost each day at Paluweh volcano (Rokatenda) off Flores, Indonesia. The activity seems to be increasing. The largest explosions have produced plumes rising up to 3 km altitude.

Marapi volcano on Sumatra (Indonesia) is showing signs of unrest or minor activity. A small steam (and possibly ash) puff was observed from the crater yesterday morning.

Popocatépetl volcano in Mexico has calmed down to only about 1-2 emissions per hour during the past days. Few of the explosions contained small amounts of ash. Glow remains visible at night.

Fuego volcano in Guatemala has picked up in activity again. Strombolian explosions have been gradually returning at the volcano: 5 were recorded between 18-19 and 13 during 19-20 Nov. They produced gray ash columns of 200-500 meters above the crater and dispersed up to 8 km towards south and southwest. The explosions ejected incandescent material to 100-150 meters above the crater and generated weak avalanches on the upper slope. The lava flow toward Ash Canyon is still active and had increased to 800 meters length this morning.

Santiaguito's activity remains at low levels and mainly effusive. There are only few and small explosions and the lava flows from the dome continue to be weakly active.

Pulses of volcanic tremor are regularly visible on the seismograms of Concepcion volcano in Nicaragua. In the past days, seismic activity seems to have been increased. As Earthquake-report noted, tremor at Masaya volcano also in Nicaragua has been a bit higher recently with some few local earthquakes appearing on the seismic recordings.

A significant SO2 plume from Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia is visible on the current NOAA satellite image. Seismic activity shows an increased number of small quakes and long-period events.

Reventador volcano in Ecuador continues to build up its lava dome and produce lava flows on the upper flanks. The latest report of the Instituto Geofisico warns of the possibility of increased explosive eruptions accompanied by pyroclastic flows that could affect a larger area.

After a phase of intense activity during 15-16 Nov, Sakurajima volcano has been more at average activity levels, with 1-2 daily explosions with ash plumes rising 7-8,000 ft (2.1-2.4 km) altitude.

Small earthquakes appear on the otherwise seismic recording from Ruapehu volcano in New Zealand. Alert level remains at 1 as an eruption is not thought imminent, but as a precaution, the New Zealand government has placed a safety exclusion zone of 2 km around the summit area.

Earthquakes

5.4 Earthquake hits Pakistan

5.2 Earthquake hits offshore O'Higgins, Chile.

5.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

5.0 Earthquake hits Myanmar.

Environment

Sea levels have risen almost six centimeters since 1995.

Sea levels have continued to increase by 3.2 millimeters per year, according to a NASA chart analyzing data from 1992 to 2012. There was some debate after recordings showed a quarter inch drop in seal levels between the summer of 2010 to the summer of 2011. The reason for the drop was due to a big El Nino followed by a massive La Nina. These climate events were so powerful they changed storm patterns around the world and brought massive rains and floods to places like Australia, South America, and Southeast Asia. So much water was transferred onto the continents that the level of the oceans fell by about five millimeters, circled on the chart below.

Climate change skeptics used this drop to deny the oceans are rising, but the latest data shows we are still on track for rising waters. The NASA and European Topex/Poseidon, Jason-1 and Jason-2 satellites have been circling the Earth, tracking the rise of the oceans. The oceans are rising due to global warming melting glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.

Storms and Floods

Heavy rain causes flooding and road disruption in Scotland. Some train services out of Glasgow have been closed. The River Cree burst its banks and the flooding in Newton Stewart is the worst in 50 years.

 

 

Flooding also occurred:

- in Vernonia, Oregon, USA

- in South Devon, England

- in Sungai Rembau, Malaysia

Earthquakes

5.9, 5.2, 5.1 and 5.0 Earthquakes hit New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

5.4 Earthquake hits east of the South Sandwich Islands.

5.3 Earthquake hits south-east of Easter Island.

5.2 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.

5.0 Earthquake hits south of Java.

Space Events

The sun unleashed a monster eruption of super-hot plasma Friday, Nov. 16, in back-to-back solar storms. The solar eruption does not appear to be aimed at Earth, so will likely have little effect on our planet.

 

Storms and Floods

State of emergency declared in southern Spain after flash floods hit the Andalucía region. Worst hit by the disaster were the provinces of Valencia, Extremadura and Asturias.

Earthquakes

5.3 Earthquake hits the west Chile rise.

5.2 Earthquake hits the Banda Sea.

5.0 Earthquake hits Tonga.

5.0 Earthquake hits New Britain, papua New Guinea.

Storms and Floods.txt

Malaga, on the Costa del Sol, Spain, received almost five inches 5 inches of rain from midnight to midday Saturday, flooding the regional capital. Torrents of water plunged rapidly downhill through the streets of the city with the main shopping quarter chest-deep in muddy water.

 

Monster storm hits Queensland, Australia causing heavy damage. More than 4000 lightning strikes within 80km of Brisbane were reported in one hour. Brisbane, Redlands, North Stradbroke and parts of the Gold Coast Logan and Moreton Bay were worst affected by the storm.

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Earthquakes

6.8 Earthquake [preliminary magnitude] hits the Kuril Islands.

6.1 Earthquake hits Tonga.

5.7 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.

5.1 Earthquake hits south-east of the Loyalty Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits Fiji.

5.0 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands region.

5.0 Earthquake hits Tajikistan.

4.8 Earthquake hits offshore Chiapas, Mexico.

Space Events

The Leonid meteor shower is expected to peak during the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 17-20.

Leonids are spawned by the comet Tempel-Tuttle. Every 33 years, it rounds the Sun and then goes back to the outer solar system. On each passage across Earth's orbit, Tempel-Tuttle lays down another trail of debris.

To see the Leonids, lie outside in a dark place between midnight and dawn. Point your feet east and look carefully.

Transportation

A train collided with a school bus in southern Egypt. So far, there have been 47 people (mostly children) killed and 13 others injured.

Volcanos

Volcanic activity world-wide:

Popocatépetl volcano in Mexico has calmed down considerably to only about 2 emissions of steam and ash per hour (after having reached numbers of 150-200 per day during recent days). The decline might be in connection with the M6.0 Tlalchapa earthquake yesterday morning or simply be part of the fluctuations in activity the volcano has been undergoing over the past months.

Fuego volcano in Guatemala remains very calm. The lava flow towards the Ceniza canyon was 350 m long yesterday.

Santiaguito produced a weak explosion occurred at 19:16 h local time on 16 Nov with an ash column rising 400 m and strong glow visible. There are constant weak and moderate avalanches from the active lava flows from the lava dome.

A small earthquake swarm occurred yesterday morning at Little Sitkin volcano in the Aleutians (Alaska). USGS has not noted any other unusual activity.

Storms and Floods

Tornado hits Portugal's Algarve causing chaos, 8 injured. Firefighters said most of those injured had to be pulled out of overturned vehicles.

Earthquakes

5.6 Earthquake hits the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge.

5.3 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

5.2 Earthquake hits near the east coast of central Peru.

5.0 Earthquake hits off the west coast of northern Sumatra.

5.0 Earthquake hits Antofagasto, Chile.

Wildlife

While residents living in South Australian towns ravaged by this week's bushfires have escaped injury, the local wildlife has not been so lucky.

Dozens of badly burned koalas, possums and echidnas have been rescued and taken to wildlife carers around the Port Lincoln area where the worst blaze hit.

Injured animals are receiving round-the-clock care at Adelaide's AMWRRO Centre.

 

Drought

Drought in Tanzania is driving the youth to the cities. Changing weather patterns in Tanzania have caused a rising wave of migration from rural to urban areas, with thousands of youths flocking into Dar es Salaam, the largest city, in search of work.

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A storm system that brought cold, wet weather to much of the United States last week helped ease drought in many states, but some areas that were most in need of moisture were missed.

The U.S. High Plains, which includes key farm states of Nebraska, South Dakota, and Kansas, saw slight improvement last week due to good precipitation. But three quarters of both Kansas and Nebraska continued to suffer from extreme or exceptional drought.

In South Dakota, extreme or worse drought still covers nearly 55 percent of the state.

The portion of the contiguous United States under "extreme" or "exceptional" drought - the two most dire classifications - improved to 18.30 percent from 19.36 percent.

The persistent drought continues to hinder growth of the new winter wheat crop in many U.S. Plains states.

Texas and Oklahoma, also key wheat growing states, continued to struggle with drought.

Wheat in Nebraska, South Dakota, Colorado, and Oklahoma is struggling with more than 30 percent of it in each of those states rated poor to very poor, according to USDA.

In Texas, the drought deepened as the state was largely missed by the rain storms that swept through the Plains and Midwest. In contrast, most of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and western Tennessee measured widespread precipitation.

Disease

In addition to the three dead in the latest ebola outbreak in Uganda, up to 15 people are being monitored for signs of the disease. Officials advised against panic after it was revealed that two possible Ebola patients had since checked into Kampala's main referral hospital.

First outbreak of a highly pathogenic bird flu virus in Australia in 15 years. Authorities hope that a cull of 50,000 chickens will contain the outbreak. It is not yet known what caused the outbreak at an egg farm in New South Wales. Japan has banned imports of eggs from Australia.

Volcanos

Volcanic activity world-wide:

Due to increased seismic activity, GNZ has increased the alert level of Ruapehu volcano in New Zealand.

Ash emissions continue from Paluweh volcano (Rokatenda) volcano off Flores, Indonesia.

The MODIS TERRA and AQUA satellites detected 4 thermal anomalies at Michael volcano in the South Sandwich Islands on 14 November suggesting that some significant activity has started there.

At Kilauea volcano on Hawai'i, the lava flows in the coastal plain have reached within 400m/0.25mi of the shoreline, and are expected to enter the ocean in the next few days.

The current phase of weak, mainly effusive activity endures at Fuego volcano in Guatemala. The lava flow towards the Ceniza canyon was 250 m long yesterday.

Santiaguito produced a moderate explosion on 15 Nov and a small pyroclastic flow caused by partial collapse of one of the still weakly active lava flows descending the flanks of the dome.

A small eruption might have occurred at Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia prior to 14:47 GMT yesterday 15 Nov. The report came by VAAC Washington, based on seismic data and the detection of a hot spot. The volcano occasionally has been having small ash puffs in the recent weeks.

Reventador volcano in Ecuador: While visual observations are difficult to absent due to near constant cloud cover, the seismic signal tells a clear story that significant activity is going on at the growing lava dome.

Sakurajima volcano has entered once again a phase of more intense and frequent explosions. Since yesterday, there has been one explosion every 4-5 hours on average. Ash clouds rose to altitudes between 1.8-3.4 km (6-11,000 ft) altitude.

Another small earthquake swarm has occurred at Mammoth Mountain west of the Long Valley caldera (California) between 14-17 Nov. This seismic activity falls into the normal behaviour of an active caldera system, and should not be seen as indicator of new eruptions to be expected in the near future.

Significant SO2 plumes, evidence of fresh magma arriving at the surface, continue to originate from Ambrym volcano on Vanuatu and from Nyiragongo volcano in the DR Congo.

Storms and Floods

Flash floods have washed away the rice harvest of some 2,000 farmers in western Kenya, flooding some of their homes and sending latrine effluent into water courses, which provide drinking water to many communities.

Earthquakes

6.0 Earthquake hits Estado de Mexico, Mexico.

5.9 Earthquake hits the Bismarck Sea north of Papua New Guinea.

5.7 Earthquake hits the Near Islands in the Aleutian Islands.

5.5 Earthquake hits the New Britain region, Papua New Guinea.

5.3 Earthquake hits the Fiji region.

5.1 Earthquake hits Guatemala.

5.1 Earthquake hits the northern Pacific Ocean.

5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Guatemala.

4.9 Earthquake hits near the coast of Chiapas, Mexico.

4.9 Earthquake hits the Mariana Islands.

Environment

After maintaining a marked silence on the issue of global warming in the campaign running up to the US elections, President Obama now sees a second-term focus on climate change, saying that melting ice caps and increasing global temperatures are signs that climate change is real and that he will seek to mitigate the damage from the phenomenon:

"I am a firm believer that climate change is real... and as a consequence, I think we've got an obligation to future generations to do something about it."

Volcanos

Volcanic activity world-wide:

Ash emissions from Paluweh volcano (Rokatenda) volcano off Flores, Indonesia, continue to show up on satellite images. VAAC Darwin reported a plume at 8,000 ft (2.4 km) altitude extending about 100 km to the west from the volcano today.

Not much activity has been reported recently from Etna volcano, but a small SO2 plume showed up on NOAA's satellite image of 14 Nov, suggesting a phase of increased degassing.

Popocatépetl's activity remains elevated (compared to previous weeks) with frequent (141 during 13-14 Nov) emissions, mainly of steam, but some with small ash plumes and ejection of incandescent material onto the upper crater area. Glow is well visible at night and a strong SO2 emission signal indicates the continuing rise of fresh magma. A seismic swarm seems to be occurring today.

Very few if any explosions have been occurring recently at Fuego volcano in Guatemala. The lava flow towards the Ceniza canyon, 350 m long on 14 Nov, remains weakly active. Nearby Santiaguito also remains mainly effusive in activity with only few explosions, but still active block lava flows on the flanks of the dome.

Nicaragua's San Cristobal volcano has been showing some tremor in recent days.

During the past week, Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia showed in increase in seismic activity with more frequent small quakes. They were mostly located N and NW of the Arenas crater at depths between 4 and 10 km. The largest was a magnitude 2.2 event on 5 Nov at 01:38 local time.

Seismic activity at Galeras volcano remained at fluctuating levels. Occasional gas and ash emissions were observed.

Seismic swams continue to occur beneath Cumbal volcano. No other changes have been noted at the volcano.

Reventador volcano in Ecuador continues to build a new lava dome and effuse a lava flow. Strong steaming can be observed when the volcano is not hidden in clouds, and occasional explosions can occur any time.

Significant SO2 plumes are regularly seen from Ambrym volcano on Vanuatu and from Nyiragongo volcano in the DR Congo. Both volcanoes continue to have very active lava lakes.

The seismic swarm in the Tjörnes Fracture Zone north off Iceland seems finally to be coming to an end.

Disease

Uganda reports three dead in the new Ebola outbreak near Kampala.

Earthquakes

5.6 Earthquake hits Panay in the Philippines.

5.5 and 5.0 Earthquakes hit Tonga.

5.4 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.

5.0 Earthquake hits Myanmar.

Earthquakes

5.6 Earthquake hits Panay in the Philippines.

5.5 and 5.0 Earthquakes hit Tonga.

5.4 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.

5.0 Earthquake hits Myanmar.

Environment

The British government is looking into a proposal to have volcanos generate power to homes within a decade. The geothermal energy would be piped to Britain through the world's longest seabed power cable from Icelandic volcanoes. Experts say this would be no more expensive than the next generation of nuclear energy.

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Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2011 rose 2.5 percent to 34 billion tonnes, a new record, Germany's renewable energy institute has reported.

If the current trend is sustained, worldwide CO2 emissions will go up by another 20 percent to over 40 billion tonnes by 2020.

China led the table of emitters in 2011 with 8.9 billion tonnes, up from 8.3 billion a year earlier. Its CO2 output was 50 percent more than the 6 billion tonnes in the United States.

India was third, ahead of Russia, Japan and Germany.

Disease

The deadly Ebola hemorrhagic fever has broken out in the central Ugandan district of Luwero about one month after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the East African country free of the disease.

Volcanos

Volcanic activity world-wide:

New ash emissions occurred from Paluweh volcano (Rokatenda) today, reaching an altitude of 8,000 ft (2.4 km).

Popocatépetl in Mexico continues to produce small mostly steam emissions at high frequency (120 during 11-12 Nov), sometimes with small amounts of ash. The crater continues to glow at night.

Fuego volcano [Guatemala] has been relatively quiet during the past day, with no new explosions. The lava flow is still weakly active but has decreased to 200 m length.

The blocky lava flows descending the flanks of Santiaguito have remained active, and there are occasional weak explosions from the dome.

Reventador volcano in Ecuador remains the currently most active volcano in South America. The volcano observatory reported an new ash emission reaching 17,000 ft (about 5.2 km) altitude, i.e. an ash plume rising about 2 km above the volcano this morning.

The other volcanoes in Central and South America have not shown significant variations and mostly been quiet.

Sakurajima volcano [Japan] has been much calmer with only 1-2 weak to moderate explosions after the phase of intense explosions during 8-9 Nov.

A thermal anomaly was visible at Tinakula volcano in the Solomon Islands on 23 Oct, suggesting that some intermittent activity could be going on there.

Storms and Floods

Cyclone damages more than 100 houses in Jepara, Central Java, Indonesia. No casualties reported.

Floods caused havoc across Uganda. Worst affected is the Nagaseke District.

Tuscany, Italy is badly hit by a third day of flooding after unusually heavy downpours. 800 people were evacuated from their homes in the village of Albinia, thousands left without electricity and several towns isolated by swamped roads. The main A-1 highway was closed in parts of the region. The Tiber river burst its banks north of Rome as heavy rain moved south, flooding factories and homes near the ancient town of Orte.

Earthquakes

6.4 Earthquake hits the Gulf of Alaska.

6.0 Earthquake hits off the coast of Aisen, Chile.

5.3 Earthquake hits the Queen Charlotte Islands region.

5.3 Earthquake hits the Tonga region.

5.2 Earthquake hits the northern mid-atlantic ridge.

5.1 Earthquake hits off the coast of Ecuador.

5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Guatemala.

5.0 Earthquake hits Tarapaca, Chile.

Volcanos

Volcanic activity world-wide:

Sheveluch volcano in Kamchatka produced a moderate explosion with ash rising about 2 km above the volcano to an altitude of 14,000 ft (4.2 km) and drifting south.

Low-level ash emissions continue from Paluweh volcano (Rokatenda). A recent Terra / Modis satellite image shows the ash plume at 6-8,000 ft altitude (2-2.4 km) drifting about 60 km to the west.

At Kilauea volcano on Hawai'i, the active lava flows southeast of Pu`u `O`o continued to advance across the coastal plain and may reach the ocean in the next few days.

Popocatépetl in Mexico continued to have an elevated number of emissions during 10-11 Nov (97 total) and produce occasional weak explosions, sometimes containing ash and ejecting glowing tephra onto the crater.

Fuego volcano [Guatemala] produced 6 weak strombolian explosions during 10-11 Nov and the lava flow remained active with a length of about 400 m.

Santiaguito {Guatemala] had 2 small explosions on the evening of 10 Nov from the lava dome, and the lava flows, apparently still weakly alimented, produced occasional small avalanches.

Nevado del Ruiz volcano, Colombia: Seismic activity has remained generally calm with the exception of a small regional quake earlier today and an elevated number of small earthquakes visible on today's seismic recordings.

The seismic swarm in the Tjörnes Fracture Zone north off Iceland continues with no signs of stopping, but even seems to have intensified over the past 3 days.

Storms and Floods

One killed after flooding in 14 low-lying villages in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao area of the Philippines.

Heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in the Serengeti District of Tanzania.

Earthquakes

6.2 Earthquake hits offshore Guatemala. The second strong quake in less than a week caused panic in the Central American country, but there had been no immediate reports of more deaths.

6.0 and 5.4 Earthquakes hit south of Fiji.

5.6 Earthquake hits the Izu Islands off Japan.

5.5 Earthquake hits Myanmar.

5.3 Earthquake hits the New Britain region, Papua New Guinea.

5.2 and 5.1 Earthquakes hit the Santa Cruz Islands.

5.2 and 5.1 Earthquakes hit off the coast of Aiden, Chile.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands off Alaska.

5.0, 4.9 and 4.8 Aftershocks hit offshore Guatemala.

Wildfires

A fire destroyed or damaged 76 houses in St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Many of the homes in the resort town are thatch-roofed. The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage but the SA Police Service forensic unit will be investigating.

 

Two out-of-control bushfires threaten the town of Zeehan on Tasmania's west coast.

Two wildfires scorched West Oahu, Hawaii on Saturday afternoon.

Volcanos

Three tourists have gone missing while exploring Chile's Villarica volcano in Chile's central valley on Thursday morning.

Storms and Floods

Seventy per cent of central Venice was under water yesterday after rainfall and seas whipped up by strong winds brought the Italian city's high tide mark to its sixth-highest level since records began in 1872. Floods also occurred throughout Tuscany.

 

Heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in Epworth on the Burin Peninsula, Canada. A bridge and the main road were washed away.

Two weak tornadoes touched down in Minnesota, USA, late Saturday. It is extremely rare for tornadoes to develop in Minnesota in November.

Earthquakes

6.8 Earthquake hits central Burma [Myanmar] near Mandalay. At least 12 people are feared dead with dozens more injured.

5.4, 5.3 and 5.2 Aftershocks hit Myanmar.

5.2 Earthquake hits offshore Chiapas, Mexico.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Santa Cruz Islands in the central Pacific.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Fiji Islands.

4.9 Earthquake hits Sichuan, China.

Environment

Swarms of desert locusts that began appearing over the past few months in parts of Mali are threatening to spread northward into Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Mauritania. The swarms are believed to have initially emerged last year in the Libyan conflict zone, fed by abundant rainfall and unusually lush and moist conditions during the past summer.

The insects can consume more than their own weight in vegetation each day, and can ravage crops and pastures within hours.

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The week's hottest temperature was 111.7 degrees Fahrenheit (44.2 degrees Celsius) at Tarcoola, South Australia.

The week's coldest temperature was minus 69.3 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.3 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.

Volcanos

Global Volcanic Activity 11 November 2012 Update:

New explosions occurred earlier today from Paluweh (Rokatenda) volcano in Flores, Indonesia. An ash plume was observed at 09:30 GMT reaching 8,000 ft (2.4 km) altitude and extending 80 nm (about 140 km) to the NW.

A new explosion occurred earlier today at Cleveland volcano in the Aleutian Islands. A small ash cloud was detected on satellite images. AVO raised the Aviation Color Code to orange.

Lokon volcano in North Sulawesi produced another small explosion today at 13:47 local time. Residents heard a loud bang and observed ash coming out from the crater. Ash was not seen on satellite data.

The seismic swarm in the Tjörnes Fracture Zone north off Iceland regained some strength the past days. The seismic swarm has now been ongoing for almost 3 weeks.

After being unusually quiet, two of the volcanoes in the Philippines seem to become more restless: Mayon volcano has started to show some signs of renewed activity. PHILVOLS has detected a slightly elevated number of quakes and weak inflation of parts of the volcanic edifice. The volcano is producing a gas and steam plume. It is not expected to erupt in the near future, but PHILVOLCS recommends a safety distance of 6 km due to the risk of sudeen phreatic explosions and lahars.

Taal volcano has been showing increased CO2 emissions, but otherwise no significant changes in the ongoing weak volcanic unrest.

Popocatépetl in Mexico had more than 120 emissions of steam and sometimes small amounts of ash during 9-10 November, in other words more than 3 times what has been reported for most of the previous days. It is unclear whether this is due to better observation circumstances (clearer weather etc.) or reflects a true increase of activity.

During 9-10 Nov, Fuego volcano was unusually quiet with only 3 weak explosions. The latest INSIVUMEH report also mentions the length of the lava flow at only 200 m, which would suggest that effusion rate has dropped a lot (temporarily).

During the past days, also Santiaguito seems to have been calm compared to previous periods. INSIVUMEH reports steaming and a few weak explosions, but states the dome was "calm".

A strong thermal anomaly remains visible at Alaid volcano in the Northern Kuriles, Russia.

MODIS satellite data continues also to show a hotspot at Heard Island volcano.

Wildlife

Well over 100,000 migratory birds are killed for food or to be sold on the black market each year in far northeastern India, according to Conservation India. During the peak of migration, 12,000 to 14,000 birds are captured each day on their passage over Nagaland, a remote, mountainous state that borders Burma.

One of the more disturbing examples of the poaching is the capture of raptors, using nets set up near lakes and reservoirs to trap the birds when they come to roost at night or as they leave in the morning.

Conservation India urges Nagaland officials to enforce laws protecting the birds, and to work with local populations to prevent the killings.

Wildfires

A serious bushfire is burning out of control near Port Lincoln, South Australia, threatening lives and homes.

Storms and Floods

Many New Jersey, USA residents suffer cold and dark as many still lack power after Hurricane Sandy and winter storm Athena.

Earthquakes

5.9 Earthquake hits central Peru.

5.3 Earthquake hits northern Sumatra, Indonesia.

5.2 Earthquake hits the Bali Sea.

5.1 Earthquake hits south of Java, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Sumba region, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits near the cough coast of Papua, Indonesia.

4.9 Earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.

Environment

Norway's $650 billion sovereign wealth fund, one of the world's biggest investors, has started asking companies it invests in to minimise their impact on rainforests.

It is hoped this will mean Norway stops investing and pulls out of many companies that are damaging rainforests.

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A new study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA has found that climate model projections that show a greater rise in global temperature are likely to prove more accurate than those showing a lesser rise over the coming decades.

Scientists analyzed how well 16 leading sophisticated climate models reproduce observed relative humidity in Earth's tropics and subtropics.

Current climate models predict temperature increases in this century, if current carbon dioxide emission levels continue unchanged, at between 3 and 8 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to 19th century temperatures. The average prediction is 5 degrees. If this new study proves accurate, that would mean temperature increases on the upper end of the 3-to-8 degree range if nothing changes. The greater the temperature rise, the greater the effect on sea level rise, heat waves, droughts and other effects

The world's major global climate models are all based on long-established physical laws known to guide the atmosphere. However, because these relationships are challenging to translate into software, each model differs slightly in its portrayal of global climate. In particular, some processes, such as those associated with clouds, are too small to be represented properly. Although satellites observe many types of clouds, satellite failure, observing errors and other inconsistencies make it challenging to build a comprehensive global cloud census that is consistent over many years.

Disease

185000 hens have been slaughtered to contain outbreak of a rare strain of salmonella on two commercial egg farms in Ireland. The strain of salmonella poses no threat to humans, but can cause substantial losses in flocks.

Volcanos

Global Volcanic Activity 9 - 10 November 2012:

An explosion occurred from Karymski volcano in Kamchatka at 22h15 on 9 Nov GMT), producing an ash plume rising to 18,000 ft (5 km) altitude and quickly drifting south (Tokyo VAAC). 4 hours later, the ash had dissipated.

Popocatépetl, Mexico: Activity remains essentially unchanged with a slow rise of magma into the crater of the volcano where a lava dome is growing. When not obscured by clouds, incandescence is visible at night and an impressive SO2 emission can be detected, typical for a volcano that ranks as one of the top SO2 producers world-wide.

Activity of Fuego volcano (Guatemala) has been becoming more typical strombolian-style, with explosions less ashy, but richer in incandescent material. During 8-9 Nov, there were 15 strombolian explosions with ash plumes of 3-500 m height and incandescent bombs being ejected to 150-200 m height, lasting 25-40 seconds, and generating avalanches on the upper outer crater flanks. The lava flow toward Ash Canyon was 500 meters long and produced block avalanches that reached the vegetation line.

Eruptive activity at Reventador volcano (Ecuador) has been showing an increasing trend over the past week with more frequent explosions taking place. New ash emissions weres recorded earlier this morning.

Seismic activity at Nevado del Ruiz volcano has calmed down considerably, but few weak quakes and emission signals remain visible.

Sakurajima volcano (Japan) continued to be unusually active during 9 Nov with 4 moderate explosions that ejected ash plumes to altitudes of 8-13,000 ft (2.4-4 km).

Manam volcano in Papua New Guinea produced a SO2 plume.

In New Zealand, Tongariro volcano's seismic activity has been calm compared to most of the previous months.

Storms and Floods

Flooding in Cape Haitien city on Haiti killed 16 people. Haitian police patrols found a number of bodies in the streets. Four members of the same family were found dead by rescue workers.

 

A tornado touched down in Hobart, Tasmania.

At least 10 people have died and another 20 have gone missing in floods that inundated the Indonesian island of Celebes over the past few days.

Earthquakes

5.2 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands region.

5.1 Earthquake hits south of Australia.

5.1 Earthquake hits the western Indian Ocean ridge.

5.1 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

5.0 Earthquake hits Tonga.

Volcanos

Global Volcanic Activity 8 - 9 November 2012:

Popocatépetl in Mexico increased the frequency of emissions/explosions, more than 2 per hour on average during 6-7 Nov and about 3 during 7-8 Nov. Glow remains visible at night and SO2 emissions are elevated, suggesting that magma continues to rise within the volcano.

Activity of Fuego volcano and Santiaguito has not changed [Guatemala]. A seismic swarm began at Nevado del Ruiz volcano around 5 Nov when a 2.2 local magnitude earthquake occurred at 01:38 local time and is continuing with over 2000 small quakes recorded so far. This might suggest that new magma is intruding under the volcano.

Soputan volcano (Indonesia) produces a small SO2 plume visible on today's satellite image for the North Sulawesi region. Increased degassing from the volcano could indicate some new activity there.

Activity at Sakurajima volcano in Japan has increased since 8 November, with at least 6 explosions of moderate size during the past 24 hours. One this morning at 06:27 GMT produced an ash plume that rose to 13,000 ft (4.3 km).

At Kilauea volcano on Hawai'i, deflation continued, but the summit lava lake in Halema'uma'u remained stable. Seismic activity has calmed down compared to last week. At Pu`u `O`o, small lava flows issued from a south floor source while the rim of the NE perched lava lake collapsed just after midnight. Lava flows southeast of Pu`u `O`o continued to be active on the coastal plain but are still far from the ocean.

Glow at night and a thermal anomaly detectable on satellite data suggest that mild strombolian activity in the summit crater of Klyuchevskoy volcano in Kamchatka continues.

The shallow earthquake swarm at Mammoth Mountain west of the Long Valley caldera (California) seems to be ending. Similarly, the swarm that has been plaguing the Tjörnes Fracture Zone north off Iceland continues to slow down after having been going on for more than 2 weeks.

Disease

Vietnam hand, foot and mouth disease outbreak surges past 100 000 cases. The CDC issues travel advisory.

31 people have now died and 424 have been sickened in the fungal meningitis outbreak linked to tainted steroid injections in the U.S.

Storms and Floods

Flash flood has affected more than 17,000 people in Orientale province in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Snow storms in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada killed one and injured other 12.

Earthquakes

7.4 Earthquake hits off the Pacific coast of Guatemala killing at least 48 people in two states as it triggered huge landslides, collapsed roads and sent terrified villagers streaming into the streets. One hundred people are missing and hundreds more have been injured. Tsunami alert issued for Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama and Mexico.

5.0, 5.0, 4.9, 4.9, 4.8 Aftershocks hit off the coast of Guatemala.

6.2 Earthquake hits Vancouver Island, Canada.

5.6 Earthquake hits eastern New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.

5.1 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.

5.1 Earthquake hits the South Indian Ocean.

4.9 Earthquake hits near the coast of central Chile.

Storms and Floods

Winter storm Athena hits New York and New Jersey where residents have been warned to evacuate their homes for the second time. 650 000 buildings remain without power one week after Hurricane Sandy struck, killing 106 people. 1 200 flights have been cancelled as Athena bring heavy snowfalls to already flooded areas. Utility companies are warning of further power outages. [This is the first 'named' winter storm since the Weather Channel decided to start naming powerful winter storms the same way tropical summer storms are named.]

 

Landslide in Zamfara, Nigeria kills 9. The tragedy occurred when miners were digging up gold at the water-logged informal mining sites in the area.

Disease

Death toll in the yellow fever outbreak in the Darfur region in Sudan rises to 67, while 77 cases of measles have also been reported.

Earthquakes

5.5 Earthquake hits south-east of Easter Island.

5.4 Earthquake hits north-west Iran.

5.1 and 5.1 Earthquakes hit the central east Pacific rise.

Volcanos

Global volcano activity 6 - 7 November 2012;

Strombolian activity has been observed at Raung volcano in East Java during a visit by two of our local expedition organizers in Indonesia.

Paluweh volcano (Rokatenda) volcano on Flores produces a strong gas plume suggesting that significant eruptive activity continues from the volcano.

Popocatépetl's activity [Mexico] remains fluctuating between low to moderate. During 5-6 Oct, there was only about 1 weak explosion per hour with no or little ash content and plumes of up to 1 km height. Glow from the crater remains visible at night.

Activity of Fuego volcano [Guatemala] remains stable with weak strombolian explosions and the effusion of a lava flow on the southern flank, 600 m long on 6 Nov.

The lava flows from Santiaguito's lava dome [Guatemala] remain active and there are occasional weak to moderate explosions with ash plumes rising up to about 800 m above the crater.

Elevated volcano-tectonic seismic activity continues at Nevado del Ruiz volcano volcano in Colombia. Steam columns reach up to 2 km above the volcano and there are occasional weak ash explosions.

Seismic activity at Galeras volcano [Colombia] remained at fluctuating levels with a slight decrease compared to the previous week. Occasional gas and ash emissions were observed.

Elevated seismicity, but lower than in previous weeks, continued under Cumbal volcano [Colombia] with 2 swarms of quakes with 79 and 81 events on 2 and 4 November.

Also in Colombia, weakly elevated seismic activity also continues under Cerro Machin and Sotará volcanoes.

Another small seismic swarm has occurred (or started) yesterday near Mammoth Mountain in California, with about 20 very small quakes located at about 6 km east of the volcano at depths mostly between 10 and 5 km.

In New Zealand, Tongariro volcano continues to show increased degassing mainly from the Te Maari eruption site. The hottest temperature measured from gas vents in this area was 235 °C, while others range from 95 °C to 104 °C (GeoNet). Seismic activity overall has remained low with only few earthquakes.

Satellite observations: Strong SO2 emissions are visible from Bagana volcano in Papua New Guinea, Dukono Volcano (Halmahera, Indonesia), and from Nyiragongo in Central Africa.

Storms and Floods

Floods force hundreds of people to evacuate their homes in Croatia and neighbouring Slovenia.

Earthquakes

5.8 and 5.4 Earthquakes hit Minahasa, Sulawesi, Indonesia.

5.7 Earthquake hits the Carlsberg off the Horn of Africa.

4.9 Earthquake hits the Bonin Islands off Japan.

4.9 Earthquake hits the Fiji Islands.

Wildlife

Thirty hippos die in an anthrax outbreak in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The outbreak in the north of the Park, which initially began in August, has now killed dozens of hippos in the Letaba and Olifants Rivers.

Volcanos

Volcanic activity world-wide 3-5 November 2012:

The seismic swarm in the Tjörnes Fracture Zone north off Iceland continues with little changes. About 50-100 earthquakes mostly of magnitudes of around 1-2 are being recorded daily.

At Kilauea volcano on Hawai'i, the 2 lava lakes at the summit and in Pu'u 'O'o on the rift zone remain active. A spatter cone near Pu`u `O`o continued to emit lava flows. In the coastal plain, lava flows remain active as well have been advancing slowly, but are still at least 1 km away from the coast.

Popocatépetl's activity [Mexico] has continued to increase a bit over the past days with about 3 weak to moderate explosions per hour, some producing small ash plumes.

Activity of Fuego volcano in Guatemala continues dominated by the effusion of a lava flow, reaching now 800 meters length. Mild explosive activity was observed as well with 13 weak strombolian explosions during 4-5 Nov with ash plumes rising 2-500 m and spreading west and northwest. Incandescent material was thrown to 100 meters above the crater and generated weak avalanches on the upper crater's flanks.

The viscous lava flows from Santiaguito lava dome resumed their progress. Strong glow from the western lava dome rim and constant avalanches from the flow fronts were observed during 4-5 Nov. [Guatemala].

Seismic activity at El Salvador's San Miguel volcano has calmed down compared to some weeks ago, but still shows many small quakes and long-period events.

An eruption of Manam volcano in Papua New Guinea produced an ash plume rising to 10,000 ft / 3 km altitude on 3 Nov, indicating that sporadic explosive activity from the volcano goes on.

After a relatively quiet period between 30 Oct - 3 Nov, Sakurajima volcano on Kyushu in Japan had a record number of 6 moderate explosions on 4 November (GMT time). Ash rose to altitudes of 6-8,000 ft (1.8-2.4 km).

Wildfires

Several wildfires burn in Colorado, USA. No threat to homes.

Storms and Floods

Surprise snow and heavy rainfall over the weekend have led to flash flooding in some areas of southern England.

A tornado hit La Marque, Texas, USA, causing damage to the local fire station.

Nigeria's worst flooding in at least half a century has killed 363 people since the start of July and displaced 2.1 million people, the Nigerian emergency agency has reported. Nigeria often suffers seasonal flash floods after heavy tropical rain, but the sheer scale of the devastation this year has shocked people and images of towns and cities under water have filled TV screens.

Earthquakes

5.6 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

5.2 Earthquake hits the Molucca Sea.

5.2 and 5.0 Earthquakes hit Kepulauan Sangihe, Indonesia.

5.2 Earthquake hits the southwest Indian Ocean ridge.

5.1 Earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits Potosi, Bolivia.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Queen Charlotte Islands region.

Wildlife

Volunteers were working Sunday to save the few survivors among about 100 whales and dolphins stranded on a Tasmanian beach, hoping to help them back out to sea.

More than 80 of the animals were dead when a fisherman found them Saturday on King Island. Two whales and six dolphins were considered to be strong enough to attempt to refloat them.

 

Environment

In a remote fjord where icebergs float in silence and hunters stalk reindeer, plans are being drawn up for a huge iron ore mine that would lift Greenland's population by four percent at a stroke - by hiring Chinese workers.

The $2.3-billion project by a small, British company, London Mining Plc would also bring diesel power plants, a road and a port near Greenland's capital Nuuk. It would supply China with much needed iron for its economy.

With global warming thawing its Arctic sea lanes, and global industry eyeing minerals under this barren island a quarter the size of the United States, the 57,000 Greenlanders are wrestling with opportunities that offer rich rewards but risk harming a pristine environment and a traditional society that is trying to make its own way in the world after centuries of European rule.

Great expectations could lead to greater disappointments, for locals and investors. Yet a scramble for Greenland already may be under way, in which some see China trying to exploit the icebound territory as a staging ground in a global battle for Arctic resources and strategic control of new shipping routes.

Wildfires

Firefighters are battling four major bushfires on the Eyre Peninsula near Darke Peak, Mt Wedge, Bramfield Hill and Nunjikompita. About 82,500 lightning strikes over the past 24 hours have been the main cause for most of the 26 blazes across the South Australia.

Storms and Floods

Heavy snowstorms swept across northern China over the weekend, with the most extreme weather hitting Beijing, Hebei and the Inner Mongolia region. Three elderly Japanese tourists died after being trapped in sudden heavy snowstorms during a visit to the Great Wall of China.

At least 22 people have been killed by heavy rains in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. More than 1,500 houses have been damaged and thousands of people living in low-lying areas in the affected districts have been moved to 86 relief camps. Rail and road traffic also also been hit as flood waters inundated railway tracks and highways.

 

 

The US East Coast is still facing challenges trying to recover from last week's Superstorm Sandy. A new storm system is expected to bring fresh downpours to already flooded areas by Wednesday and thousands of displaced victims will be in urgent need of temporary accommodation in shelters as extremely cold weather is also on the way. Initial damage questimates suggest that the cost of Sandy may be in excess of $70 billion, approaching Hurricane Katrina's cost of $100 billion.

Earthquakes

5.4 and 5.0 Earthquakes hit southern Peru.

5.1 Earthquake hits south of the Fiji Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits Kepulauan Kai, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.

Space Events

The Taurid meteors show up each year between mid-October and mid-November giving a spectacular display. Nov. 5 to 12 will likely be the best time to look for them this year.

Environment

Commuters have been struggling though sandstorms which have swept through northwestern China. Lanzhou City in Gansu Province and Yinchuan City in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region were among those affected.

Earthquakes

6.4 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.

5.5 Earthquake hits the Philippine Islands region.

5.5 Earthquake hits the central mid-atlantic ridge.

5.1 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

5.0 Earthquake hits the northern Mariana Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Talaud Islands, Indonesia.

Storms and Floods

Heavy rains have displaced thousands of people in the mid-eastern regions of the self-declared republic of Somaliland on the Horn of Africa.

Earthquakes

5.5 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.4 Earthquake hits Minahasa, Sulawesi, Indonesia.

5.3 Earthquake hits the Flores Sea.

5.2 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.

5.0 Earthquake hits Kepulauan Sangihe, Indonesia.

Environment

The Dead Sea is slowly dying as industrial and agricultural extraction of water causes the lake to shrink at record rate over the last year.

NASA satellite images illustrating the decline of the Dead Sea over the past 40 years:

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The week's hottest temperature was 121.1 degrees Fahrenheit (49.5 degrees Celsius) at Kaedi, Mauritania.

The week's coldest temperature was minus 79.6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62.0 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.

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Every rainy season, the Guna people living on the Panamanian white sand archipelago of San Blas brace themselves for waves gushing into their tiny mud-floor huts.

Rising ocean levels caused by global warming and decades of coral reef destruction have combined with seasonal rains to submerge the Caribbean islands for days on end.

Once rare, flooding is now so menacing that the Guna have agreed to abandon ancestral lands for an area within their semi-autonomous territory on the east coast of the mainland.

Volcanos

An increased number of earthquakes have been noted beneath Askja volcano in Iceland during the recent days.

A strong SO2 plume is visible from Nyiragongo, in the DR Congo. The Goma Volcano Observatory has reported continuous ash emissions. This could suggest a new eruptive phase at the volcano has begun.

The seismic swarm in the Tjörnes Fracture Zone north off Iceland that had started nearly 2 weeks ago continues as well although at somewhat reduced pace. Quakes are contentrated in 2 main areas at the western and eastern sides of the fault system.

Elevated seismic activity including a swarm of quakes in mid October and ongoing slight deflation continued at Yellowstone caldera volcano during October. There are no signs of a possible reawakening in a near future.

Popocatépetl's activity [Mexico] has been showing a weak increasing trend with more than 2 exhalations per hour during 30 Oct - 1 Nov. Glow from the crater remains visible at night, indicating that the lava dome continues to grow slowly there.

Fuego volcano in Guatemala has mild infrequent strombolian explosions and continues to feed its lava flow, which however has decreased to 200 m length.

The lava flows from Santiaguito lava dome were reported calm this morning [Guatemala]. Few weak explosions are sometimes observed from the dome.

Pacaya volcano [Guatemala] is steaming only, but continues to show some elevated seismic activity.

Seismic swarms of low energy continue to occur at Cumbal volcano in Colombia. Nevado del Ruiz volcano continues to emit significant amounts of steam and gas, and sometimes small amounts of ash. Galeras volcano has had small intermittent ash explosions recently. The country's other volcanoes currently on yellow alert have not shown significant variations in their activity during the past week.

MODVOLC detected a hot spot at Pagan volcano in the Marianas on 31 Oct, the first time since August 2012. According to USGS, the volcano continues to show only steaming, but it cannot ruled out that the new thermal anomaly might be caused by near-surface lava.

Alaid volcano (Northern Kuriles, Russia) continues to show a thermal hot spot as well. The volcano is not monitored on ground.

Raung volcano in East Java might have been erupting on a small scale already since 19 Oct. A video from a visit at the local volcano observatory shows strong seismic activity, but no visible plumes rising from the volcano's summit.

An explosion from Kizimen volcano in Kamchatka today produced an ash plume rising to 17,000 ft (5.2 km) altitude, VAAC Tokyo reported.

Disease

Mauritania declares an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever. A total of 34 cases have been confirmed, including 17 deaths in 6 regions.

Wildfires

Dozens of residents fled their homes last night after a bushfire jumped containment lines and burnt within metres of their properties in the Newcastle suburb of Edgeworth, New South Wales, Australia.

Storms and Floods

The US death toll from Sandy stands at 98 as swathes of the East Coast battle to recover, three days after being battered by the massive storm. The death toll from Sandy is continuing to rise, as swathes of the US East Coast battle to recover from the massive storm that hit three days ago. At least 38 people are now known to have died in New York City alone, and others are missing. About 4.5 million people in 12 states are still without power, and chronic fuel shortages persist. The National Guard is to deliver a million meals and bottled water to New Yorkers affected by the storm.

High tides have again flooded Venice, Italy, leading Venetians and tourists to don high boots and use wooden walkways to cross St. Mark's Square and other areas under water.

Torrential rains from Tropical Cyclone Nilam have left vast stretches of croplands in Chittoor, Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur and East Godavari districts, Southern India under water and claimed the lives of six people.

Earthquakes

5.8 Earthquake hits Java, Indonesia.

5.2 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands off Alaska.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Andreanof Islands in the Aleutian Island chain.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Banda Sea.

5.1 and 4.9 Earthquakes hit the Queen Charlotte Islands region.

5.0 Earthquake hits New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Fiji Islands region.

Environment

Major nations failed to reach agreement on Thursday to set up huge marine protected areas off Antarctica under a plan to step up conservation of creatures such as whales and penguins around the frozen continent.

Environmentalists criticised the failure to agree new marine protected areas in the Ross Sea and off East Antarctica, home to penguins, seals, whales and seabirds as well as valuable stocks of shrimp-like krill.

Most resistance came from Ukraine, Russia and China.

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Peru, the world's top fishmeal exporter, has slashed its commercial fishing quota as warmer water temperatures and controversial practices deplete stocks of anchovy in one of the world's richest fisheries.

The government cut its quota for this summer's anchovy season by 68 percent to 810,000 tonnes, the smallest allowance in 25 years. Anchovy is rarely eaten fresh, but is instead dried, ground up and exported as a protein-rich feed for livestock and farmed fish.

Volcanos

Wind kicks up ash from eruption of remote Alaska volcano 100 years ago - A smog-like haze that hung over part of Alaska's Kodiak Island this week was courtesy of a volcanic eruption — 100 years ago. The National Weather Service said strong winds and a lack of snow Tuesday helped stir up ash from the 1912 eruption.

Global Volcano Activity Today:

The seismic swarm in the Tjörnes Fracture Zone north off Iceland continues into its 10th day and the frequency of quakes has even picked up again a bit. An warning for a possible larger earthquake remains in place.

3 small phreatic explosions occurred at Poas volcano in Costa Rica on Sunday 29 Oct.

Popocatépetl's activity remains fairly stable [Mexico]. The volcano continues to glow at night and produced 1-2 weak explosions per hour, sometimes with small ash plumes. A local news article mentioned light ash fall occurred in some nearby areas.

Fuego volcano [Guatemala] continues with mild infrequent strombolian explosions and an active lava flow towards the Ash Canyon about 400 m long.

A strong SO2 plume can be seen from Ambrym volcano on Vanuatu on 30 Oct, where several lava lakes are quite active.

Sakurajima volcano [Japan] had 2 moderately strong explosions on 29 and 30 Oct with ash plumes reaching 3-3.4 km altitude.

Mammoth Mountain in California experienced a deep seismic swarm during 29 Oct, accompanied by some measurable extension of the volcanic edifice.

Disease

Marburg haemorrhagic fever in Uganda - update. As of 28 October 2012, a total of 18 cases and 9 deaths, including a health worker, have been reported from 5 districts namely Kabale district, in south-western Uganda, Kampala (the capital city), Ibanda, Mbarara and Kabarole.

U.S. meningitis death toll rises to 29 with fatality in Virginia.

Canada, Switzerland lift ban on Novartis flu vaccines.

Drought

Ukraine has confirmed that it will ban wheat exports from November 15 after poor weather conditions slashed its harvest yield. Drought across Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan during the growing season has resulted in exceptionally low harvests.

Wildfires

Wildfires in Mexico in the northern part of the Baja California Peninsula, south of the city of Tijuana and just east of the city of Ensenada, release plumes of smoke blowing to the west over the Pacific Ocean.

Storms and Floods

Stunning NASA video shows Sandy genesis from tropical storm to Hurricane. See it here.

Hurricane Sandy has been blamed for 82 deaths in US and Canada.

Tropical Storm Rosa strengthens in the Pacific, but is still far from land.