Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.7 Earthquake hits the Bougainville region, Papua New Guinea.

5.3 Earthquake hits Tonga.

5.1 Earthquake hits south of Tonga.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Eastern Pacific:

Tropical Depression Genevieve is located near latitude 13.1 north...longitude 150.1

west. The depression is moving toward the west near 7 mph...11 km/h. This general motion is forecast to continue through Thursday...with a slight increase in forward speed expected on Friday.

In the Western Pacific:

Tropical storm 11w (Halong) is located approximately 266 nm west northwest of Navsta, Guam, and is tracking westward at 08 knots.

NewsBytes:

New Mexico, USA - Flood waters have struck parts of Albuquerque and other New Mexico cities as the state prepares for more severe weather.Heavy rain and thunderstorms sparked damaging floods Tuesday in Albuquerque's South Valley and pockets of eastern New Mexico.

Romania - Romania’s Hydrology Institute issued a Code Red for flooding warnings for Gorj and Valcea counties in the Southern Romania while the Interior Ministry mobilized 1,600 troops from various institutions to help people who were affected by flooding in ten counties in the center and southern regions of the country.

Floods were caused by heavy rains at the beginning of this week. In Valcea, helicopters were sent to help evacuate 40 people from areas that were isolated due to flooding. Hundreds of people were evicted after their homes were flooded or even completely destroyed, and two people died.

Several road sections in Gorj county were blocked due to heavy rains, which caused landslides. A passenger train operated by private company Regiotrans derailed in Arges county, because of a bridge that was destroyed by the flooding. The derail caused four injuries.

The heavy rain also reduced Romania’s grain crops by 20 to 30 percent and destroyed 40 to 60 percent of the vegetable crops in the southern part of Romania, farmers’ associations said. Some regions were also affected by hail and specialists estimate that this will cause a decline in Romania’s agriculture production.

Tasmania - Wild weather continues to cause blackouts in Tasmania, as communities in the state's north face possible flash flooding. As 900 homes in Scottsdale had their power reconnected on Wednesday night, another 1000 homes lost electricity in Verona Sands in the state's south. Flood warnings have been issued for all northern river basins and a sandbagging effort is being co-ordinated out of Young Town on Launceston's outskirts.

Wildlife

Great apes face extinction: conservationist

The world's great apes face extinction within decades, renowned chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall warned Tuesday in a call to arms to ensure man's closest relatives are not wiped out.

"If we don't take action the great apes will disappear, because of both habitat destruction as well as trafficking," Goodall said in an interview in Nairobi.

In the past half century, chimpanzee numbers have slumped from some two million to just 300,000, spread over 21 countries, said Goodall, a British scientist who spent more than five decades studying chimpanzees in Tanzania's Gombe National Park.

"If we don't change something, they certainly will disappear, or be left in tiny pockets where they will struggle from inbreeding," said 80-year-old Goodall, the first scientist to observe that apes as well as humans use tools.

Experts predict that at the current rate, human development will have impacted 90 percent of the apes' habitat in Africa and 99 percent in Asia by 2030, according to a UN-backed report last month.

Infrastructure development and extraction of natural resources -- including timber, minerals, oil and gas -- have devastated the prime habitat of apes and pushed chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, orangutans and gibbons closer to extinction.

Wildfires

Wildfires - California

The fast-moving wildfire in Yosemite National Park has grown to about 3,000 acres, prompting officials to keep evacuations orders in place for the entire town of Foresta, Calif.

As of Tuesday, officials said the El Portal fire was only 19% contained and had destroyed a duplex. Two firefighters have sustained minor injuries battling the flames.

The fire began about 3:15 p.m. Saturday near Old El Portal, prompting evacuation orders there that have since been lifted.

Arizona

Several wildfires are burning around the state, but according to one expert, the bulk of this year's fire season is over.

Mary Zabinski is a public information officer for the Southwest Coordination Centre in Albuquerque. She said there are 12 fires burning right now in Arizona, with the largest one burning up north.

"The Bar M Fire is burning in the Coconino National Forest about five miles west of Mormon Lake," said Zabinski. "At last count, it was a little over 4,500 acres."

All of the fires are lightning-caused but are not threatening any lives or property. Zabinski said that in most cases, the lightning was accompanied by heavy monsoon rain that has kept the fires manageable and beneficial to Arizona's forests.

Disease

Ebola virus disease, West Africa – update

Between 24 and 27 July 2014, a total of 122 new cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD; laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 57 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. The Ebola epidemic trend in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone remains precarious with ongoing community and health-facility transmissions of infection. The surge in the number of new EVD cases calls for concentrated efforts by all to address the identified problems, such as health facility transmission and effective contact tracing.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Kilauea (Hawai'i): The June 27 flow front has advanced more rapidly over the past four days, and is now 4.2km (2.6mi) from the vent (Seen in first photo below). This recent increased advance rate is due to the confinement of the flow against the slopes of an older perched lava channel, from 2007. The advance rate will likely drop in the coming days as the flow passes the confines of the perched channel and spreads out on flatter topography.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.9 Earthquake hits the Bismarck Sea.

5.5 Earthquake hits southern Iran.

5.5 Earthquake hits the southern Mid-Atlantic ridge.

5.1 Earthquake hits the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge.

5.1 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Eastern Pacific:

Tropical Depression Genevieve is located near latitude 12.9 north...longitude 149.0 west. The depression is moving toward the west near 7 mph...11 km/h ...And this motion is expected to increase slightly through the next 48 hours.

In the Western Pacific:

Tropical storm 11w (Halong) is located approximately 75 nm northwest of Navsta, Guam, and is tracking westward at 08 knots.

NewsBytes:

India - At least 15 people were killed after heavy rains triggered a landslide in Maharashtra’s Pune district, burying over 160 as rescuers searched for survivors and bodies in the massive debris of mud and rock. Racing against time and battling inclement weather. Emergency personnel have pulled out 15 bodies from the rubble and many injured survivors so far.

Germany - Summer storms bring flooding to parts of western Germany.

USA - A storm system that wreaked havoc across the eastern half of the U.S. spawned a tornado just north of Boston on Monday, causing extensive damage. Winds as high as 120 miles per hour roared through Revere Monday, uprooting hundreds of trees, ripping roofs off houses and flipping cars.

Global Warming

Arctic Ice Retreat Creates Giant Swells For The First Time

The Beaufort Sea in Arctic Ocean is usually frozen. The water is covered with ice most of the time. But researchers have recorded giant waves, as high as 16 feet, just north of Alaska. Swells of that size have stunned the scientists because they have the potential to break up Arctic ice much faster than expected. The North is changing, and it’s changing fast as the sea ice retreats due to global warming.

Jim Thomson of the University of Washington recorded the wave measurements with the help of sensors. The house-size waves were measured during a September 2012 storm. Thomson told The Washington Post that 16 feet swells were the average. The biggest single wave was about 29 feet.

Until recently, the Arctic Ocean remained ice-covered throughout the summer, so there were no waves to measure. But the area of open water is increasing. Thomson said the Arctic ice never retreated more than 100 miles during summer in the past. But in 2012, it retreated well over 1,000 miles. The expanded ice retreat leaves much of the Beaufort Sea ice-free by the end of summer.

Another Massive Hole Appears in Siberia

It's uncertain yet what's caused the sinkholes, but experts said global warming may play a part, when permafrost melts, gas is released, causing an underground explosion.

Wildlife

Rare Pangolins May Be Eaten to Extinction

They've been described as walking artichokes and the most trafficked mammals in the world. Now, conservationists warn that pangolins, or scaly anteaters, could be eaten out of existence if illegal hunting and poaching continue . In the latest update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, all eight pangolin species were listed as "critically endangered," "endangered" or "vulnerable." Today (July 29), a group of scientists and conservationists tasked with studying pangolins for the IUCN issued an action plan outlining steps that should be taken to save the armoured, insect-eating creatures.

"In the 21st century, we really should not be eating species to extinction — there is simply no excuse for allowing this illegal trade to continue," Jonathan Baillie, co-chair of the pangolin specialist group for the IUCN's Species Survival Commission and conservation programs director at the Zoological Society of London, said in a statement.

Pangolins, native to Asia and Africa, are the world's only mammals with true scales made of keratin. Despite international trade bans, pangolin meat and scales still fetch high prices on the black market. Demand is especially high in China and Vietnam, where pangolin parts are used in medicine and served as a culinary delicacy.

Last August, more than six tons of live pangolins were seized as they headed from Indonesia to Vietnam in a shipping container labeled as frozen fish, fins and fish bones. In April 2013, a Chinese fishing vessel was found carrying as many as 2,000 of the toothless creatures, after the vessel ran aground in the protected Tubbataha Reefs off the coast of the Philippines, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Tungurahua (Ecuador): Following more than 2 months of calm, the volcano is probably about to enter a new eruptive phase, a special bulletin of Ecuador's Geophysical Institute (IGPEN) informs. Following a steep increase in seismic activity last Sunday afternoon, a small ash emission occurred at 15h49 local time, producing a plume rising approx. 1 km and causing light ash fall.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.3 Earthquake hits Veracruz, Mexico.

5.7 Earthquake hits New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.

5.4 Earthquake hits Chiapas, Mexico.

5.3 Earthquake hits the Andaman Islands off India.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Soutyh Indian Ocean.

5.0 Earthquake hits Salta, Argentina.

5.0 Earthquake hits eastern Sichuan, China.

5.0 Earthquake hits New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Eastern Pacific:

Tropical Storm Hernan is located near latitude 22.8 north...longitude 119.9 west. Hernan is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph...26 km/h...and this general heading with a decrease in forward speed is expected through late Wednesday.

In the Western Pacific:

Tropical storm 11w (Halong) is located approximately 191 nm east-southeast of Andersen AFB and is tracking northwestward at 05 knots.

NewsBytes:

India - After barely a lull of two days, another spell of torrential rain followed by flash floods played havoc and claimed at least five lives and loss of livestock and property across Madhya Pradesh on Monday.

Wildfires

Wildfires - California

Two California wildfires have forced around 1,700 residents to flee and destroyed 10 homes while threatening to burn hundreds more buildings.

The 3,800-acre Sand Fire force more than 1,200 residents in Amador and El Dorado counties to evacuate as 1,500 firefighters have contained it by 35 percent as of Sunday. Some 515 buildings in and around the River Pines Estates community in Amador were also ordered evacuated. The fast-moving fire fanned by triple-digit temperatures, low humidity and high winds have destroyed 10 homes and eight structures.

Meanwhile, the 45-home Foresta community in Yosemite National Park was ordered evacuated as a fire that started Saturday grew to 2,100 acres.

Disease

Ebola Update 

Between 21 and 23 July 2014, 96 new cases and 7 deaths were reported from Liberia and Sierra Leone. In Guinea, 12 new cases and 5 deaths were reported during the same period. These include suspect, probable, and laboratory-confirmed cases. The surge in the number of new EVD cases in Guinea after weeks of low viral activity demonstrates that undetected chains of transmission existed in the community. This phenomenon is retrogressive to the control of the EVD outbreak; and calls for stepping up outbreak containment measures, especially effective contact tracing.

In addition, the Ministry of Health of Nigeria has reported the first probable case of EVD

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Zhupanovsky (Kamchatka, Russia): Intermittent eruptions continue. New ash emissions occurred yesterday from the volcano. VAAC Tokyo spotted an ash plume at estimated 28,000 ft (8 km) altitude drifting north on satellite imagery.

Nishino-shima (Volcano Islands): Activity at the growing island continues, perhaps even with increased intensity, judging from the recent pictures obtained by the Japanese Coast Guard on 23 July: They show active lava flows reaching the sea and enlarging the island continuously, most notably towards the east, where a stretch of new land up to 250 m wide was added during only 1 month!

Karangetang (Siau Island, Sangihe Islands, Indonesia): An comparably small eruption occurred last week at the volcano. Incandescent lava avalanches were reported to descend from the summit lava dome to the SE, towards the area of Batu Awang, during 19-21 July. It seems to have been a short-lived and relatively small event that did not form the feared pyroclastic flows (which Karangetang is notorious for): avalanches of gas-rich fresh lava that detaches from the dome and/or lava flows and turns into devastating hot turbulent flows that can reach many kilometers distance.

Ibu (Halmahera, Indonesia): New thermal signals have been detected recently coming from the northern rim of the volcano's summit crater, suggesting that the volcano has entered a phase of increased activity. The rarely visited remote Ibu volcano has been in more or less continuous eruption since 1998, slowly growing a new lava dome as well as producing strombolian to vulcanian-type explosions, with significant variations in intensity. The new thermal signals, in the same area where glowing rockfalls had been reported last year, probably indicate that the (continued) lava extrusion has increased recently.

Dukono (Halmahera): Activity at the volcano continues to be elevated. VAAC Darwin frequently spots ash plumes from relatively strong strombolian to vulcanian activity.

Kilauea (Hawai'i): A piece of the crater walls of the Halema'uma'u lava lake collapsed on 23 July and triggered a small explosive eruption. Liquid spatter was ejected to the outer perimeter of the pit crater (including webcam position and the closed observation area) and an ash plume was generated. The reason for the event was a sudden disturbance of the gas influx and release equilibrium of the lava lake induced by the rockfall, triggering a spontaneous and very strong degassing phase.

Reventador (Ecuador): Activity at the volcano has increased with more frequent small to moderately sized explosions from the growing lava dome in its summit. An explosion on the evening of 26 July generated a pyroclastic flow on the southwestern slope that reached almost 1 km length. Seismic activity reflects frequent explosions and tremor, but visual observations are often not possible due to frequent cloud cover. IGPEN characterizes the activity as "moderate". The volcano's activity at the present does not pose a risk for the closest inhabited areas approx. 8 km away.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.5 Earthquake hits the Mauritius - Reunion region.

5.4 Earthquake hits the Pulau region.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Eastern Pacific:

Tropical Storm Hernan is located about 360 mi...580 km SW of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds...70 mph...110 km/h. Present movement...WNW or 300 degrees at 15 mph...24 km/h. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 70 mph...110 km/h...with higher gusts. Additional weakening is expected during the next 48 hours.

A number of tropical storms and disturbances have formed in the eastern, western and central Pacific, and in the north Atlantic which have the potential for tropical development.

Disease

Ebola Update - Liberia

Liberia's president has closed all but three land border crossings, restricted public gatherings and quarantined communities heavily affected by the Ebola outbreak in the West African nation.

Other measures include restricting demonstrations and marches and requiring restaurants and other public venues to screen a five-minute film on Ebola.

Sirleaf also empowered the security forces to commandeer vehicles to aide in the public health response and ordered them to enforce the new regulations.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf described the measures late Sunday after the first meeting of a new task force she created to contain the disease, which has killed 129 people in the country and more than 670 across the region. Experts believe the outbreak originated in southeast Guinea as far back as January, though the first cases weren't confirmed until March. That country has recorded the most deaths, with 319. Sierra Leone has recorded more of the recent cases, however, and has seen 224 deaths in total.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Ibu volcano (Halmahera, Indonesia) activity update: New thermal signals have been detected recently coming from the northern rim of the volcano's summit crater, suggesting that the volcano has entered a phase of increased activity. The rarely visited remote Ibu volcano has been in more or less continuous eruption since 1998, slowly growing a new lava dome as well as producing strombolian to vulcanian-type explosions, with significant variations in intensity. The new thermal signals, in the same area where glowing rockfalls had been reported last year, probably indicate that the (continued) lava extrusion has increased recently.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.5 Earthquake hits the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge.

5.1 Earthquake hits the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge.

5.1 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.

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

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Eastern Pacific:

Tropical Depression Genevieve is located near latitude 12.4 north...longitude 140.1 west. The depression is moving toward the west near 9 mph...15 km/h. A turn toward the west-northwest is expected during the next day or two. The last advisory has been issued for this system.

Tropical Storm Hernan forms and is located near latitude 16.9 north...longitude 110.0 west. Hernan is moving toward the northwest near 14 mph...22 km/h. A west-northwest to northwest motion is expected during the next couple of days. On the forecast track the centre of Hernan is expected to pass just to the southwest of Socorro island by early afternoon. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 65 mph...100 km/h...with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is expected today...and Hernan could become a hurricane by this afternoon. Weakening is expected to begin on Monday.

NewsBytes:

Paraguay - Some 88,200 people have been displaced here by floods caused by two months of rising waters in the Paraguay River, while nationwide the number of those driven from their homes has dropped from 245,000 to 222,000.

Wildfires

Wildfires - California

A wildfire forced the evacuation of more than 500 homes and about 1,200 residents in a rural area east of the California state capital Sacramento on Saturday, a day after the blaze broke out, fire officials said.

The wind-swept fire burned more than 3,000 acres (1,200 ha), destroying five residences and two outbuildings and causing one minor injury. The fire is centred about 5 miles (8 km) north of the town of Plymouth and 30 miles east of Sacramento in north central California and it covers parts of Amador and El Dorado counties, according to Cal Fire.

About 250 homes were ordered evacuated on Saturday afternoon, bringing the total number to 515 since the blaze erupted on Friday, Tolmachoff said.

Wildfires in Sweden

A wide-ranging wildfire is burning in the Vehmersalmi district of Kuopio, spreading to 10 hectares of land. Rescue services say the fire has not yet been retained and fire fighting operations are expected to go on well into the night.

Fire-fighting efforts are being complicated by a strong wind that is effectively spreading the flames. The cause of the fire has not been established, but the Finnish Meteorological Institute has issued a forest fire warning for most of the country due to the very hot and dry weather.

Three separate wildfires have also broken out near the city of Lappeenranta and one near Luumäki. 12 different firefighting units are battling the blazes, incorporating 80 firefighters. A Boarder Guard helicopter is also in use.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.4 Earthquake hits east of the South Sandwich Islands

5.1 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.

A second and third 5.1 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits east of the South Sandwich Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Izu Islands off Japan.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Pagan region in the North Mariana Islands.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Eastern Pacific:

Tropical Storm Genevieve is located near latitude 12.2 north...longitude 136.7 west. Genevieve is moving toward the west near 5 mph...7 km/h. Genevieve is expected to begin accelerating later today and maintain a westward motion through Sunday night. There is no threat to land.

NewsBytes:

India - At least nine people were killed in floods due to incessant rains leading to breaches in the embankment of river Baitarani in Odisha. The floodwaters have inundated more than 100 villages.

UK - Flash floods hit Doncaster after heavy rains.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Etna volcano update: Opening of a new vent at E base of North-East Crater A new vent opened yesterday morning at 11:14 local time. It is located about 150-200 metres north of the two previous vents at the eastern base of the NE crater. Its activity is characterized by small strombolian explosions while a lava flow continues to be weakly alimented from one of the two other vents

Global Warming

World's Weather Now Has a New Normal

The U.N.’s weather agency says the baseline for what is considered “normal” in weather needs to be adjusted to account for atmospheric shifts caused by global warming.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced that the 30-year period most often used as a yardstick for climate — 1961 to 1990 — is no longer a useful tool for gauging today’s climate.

Such 30-year “normals” are typically updated every three decades, but the WMO argues that’s not often enough.

A press release from the agency urges weather agencies to now use the 1981-2010 climate baseline for predicting temperatures and rainfall, and for recommending crop planting times.

While the United States already does this, the WMO says other domestic weather services should also begin updating their climate baselines every 10 years.

Weather has been so altered by climate change over the past few decades that the old "normal" calculations from 1961 through 1990 are no longer representative.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.0 Earthquake hits southeastern Alaska.

5.4 Earthquake hits eastern New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.

5.3 Earthquake hits Leyte in the Philippines.

5.1 Earthquake hits south of Tonga.

5.1 Earthquake hits Hokkaido, Japan.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Eastern Pacific:

Tropical Storm Genevieve forms near latitude 12.2 north...longitude 134.4 west. Genevieve is moving toward the west near 10 mph...17 km/h. A westward motion at a slower forward speed is expected through tonight. Genevieve is then forecast to accelerate and turn west-northwestward by Saturday night.

There is no threat to land.

NewsBytes:

USA - A tornado in Cherrystone near Cape Charles, Virginia on Thursday morning has claimed the lives of two persons and injured 20 others.

India - Over 25,000 people have been affected in 42 villages across Assam in the second round of floods this year. Over 60 villages in the world’s largest river island Majuli were submerged on Thursday following heavy rain, and nearly 20,000 people were shifted to higher lands, the release said.

Drought

Colorado River Groundwater Disappearing at 'Shocking' Rate

As the Southwest's drought has worsened in the last decade, making surface water scarce, millions of people are drawing more heavily on underground water supplies. The water is coming out faster than it's being replenished, a new study finds.

Between December 2004 and November 2013, more than 75 percent of the water lost in the Colorado River Basin was from groundwater, according to the study. The region has been in a drought since 2000, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The results show that groundwater is already being used to fill the gap between the demands of the region's millions of residents and farmers, and the available surface water supply, the researchers said.

The Colorado River Basin stretches across seven states: from Wyoming across Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and California. Its groundwater is stored in underground aquifers and is sucked from the ground by wells. If water is removed from an aquifer faster than it can be replaced, eventually the wells will go dry.

Environment

Global Temperature Extremes

The week's hottest temperature was 121.0 degrees Fahrenheit (49.4 degrees Celsius) at Death Valley, California.

The week's coldest temperature was minus 92.0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 68.9 degrees Celsius) at the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole 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.

Disease

Chikungunya Disease Reaches USA

An extremely painful but rarely fatal viral disease native to Africa has infected two people through local mosquito bites in South Florida.

Chikungunya was probably brought to the United States by travelers who became infected abroad and were subsequently bitten by Florida mosquitoes, which transmitted it to the other victims.

The virus has spread rapidly across the Caribbean and Central America since it was first detected in the Western Hemisphere last December.

The Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique have been especially hard-hit.

But the disease is also spreading across central America and northern parts of South America.

Since two species of mosquito that can carry the virus are common across a wide area of the United States, some doctors warn chikungunya could spread along the Gulf Coast later this summer or next year.

The virus causes rash, fever and severe joint pain that can linger for years in some cases.

There is no cure, but the pain can be treated. Health officials caution that the only way to combat the virus is to control the mosquito population.

More than 440,000 cases of chikungunya have been reported in the Caribbean, Latin America and now South Florida so far this year.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.5 Earthquake hits Potosi, Bolivia.

5.1 Earthquake hits south of Java, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Eastern Pacific:

Two tropical depressions form off the coast of California/Mexico. The areas of disturbed weather have the potential for tropical development.

NewsBytes:

Thailand - Persistent rains have caused floods in 13 districts of five provinces, mostly in the Northeast, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported on Thursday.

Wildlife

Blue Whales Roam Dangerously Close to Shipping Lanes

The feeding grounds of blue whales along the U.S. West Coast overlap dangerously with shipping lanes, placing the behemoths in danger of collisions with ships, researchers say. This finding could help prevent human threats to these endangered titans, scientists added.

Blue whales are the largest animals that have ever lived on Earth, weighing in at 330,000 lbs. (150,000 kilograms) and reaching up to 108 feet (33 meters) long. They are gentle giants, grazing the oceans for tiny bits of food in seawater, with mouths large enough to hold 100 people.

Blue whales, along with many other whales, became endangered due to commercial whaling. Their numbers have been slow to grow, despite rules protecting them established by the International Whaling Commission in 1966, and scientists have suggested that one reason for this slow recovery may be collisions with ships that injure, or even kill, the whales.

A blue whale killed by a ship strike near Santa Barbara, California, next to Oregon State University's 85-foot research vessel called Pacific Storm:

Disease

Ebola virus disease, West Africa – update

WHO continues to monitor the evolution of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. Between 18 – 20 July 2014, 45 new cases and 28 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. These include suspect, probable, and laboratory-confirmed cases. The respective Ministries of Health continue to work with WHO and its partners to implement outbreak containment measures.

The doctor leading the response to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone has been infected with the highly lethal virus, according to news reports.

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

Washington Wildfires

Mother Nature resisted firefighters battling the worst wildfires in Washington state history Wednesday as crews fought through thunderstorms that authorities said could make matters even worse.

The massive fire — called the Carlton Complex Fire because it's the spawn of several fires that merged into one enormous blaze — spread over a quarter-million acres of north-central Washington on Wednesday. It was 52 percent contained Wednesday night as crews made significant progress along the fire's east and south sides.

But firefighters had to be pulled off the line on the north side because of the danger posed by strong thunderstorms causing 50-mph winds and flash floods. While the rain was slowing the progress of the fire, "it takes a lot more than that," said Andrew Sandri, a spokesman for the combined state and federal incident response team.

One person has been killed and almost 500 homes have been evacuated by the massive fire, which has drawn more than 2,500 firefighters from across the country.

Colorado Wildfires

A blaze in northwest Colorado exploded Wednesday to an estimated 8,000 acres.

On Thursday, two 20-person Colorado State Wildfire crews will join local firefighters in battling the Alkali fire, which has burned down a home and barn, jumped county roads and started spot fires.

A firefighter suffered from minor smoke inhalation and three people were evacuated because of the fire, which was first reported at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday on private land 13 miles north of Maybell in Moffat County.

Northern Utah Wildfires

Fire crews in northern Utah worked Wednesday to control a handful of fast-growing blazes as the state's central and western regions braced for strong winds, thunderstorms and low humidity likely to start new fires, according to the U.S. Weather Service.

The Anaconda Fire five miles northeast of Tooele had burned about 2 square miles of brush. Fire investigators said they believe lightning ignited the blaze, which was 25 percent contained.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.4 Earthquake hits Fiji.

5.1 Earthquake hits southern Iran.

5.0 Earthquake hits Fiji.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Carlsberg ridge.

5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Guerrero, Mexico.

Tsunami rumour in the Philippines

A Tsunami rumour in Quezon province in the Philippines has claimed life of an elderly woman who died after she had a heart attack on hearing the rumour.

Some 5,000 people also fled their homes after receiving text messages indicating a tsunami was coming from Batangas.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), it is impossible to have a tsunami alert at this time in any part of the country as there was no significant earthquake in the past 24 hours.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Typhoon Matmo is located approximately 106 nm south-southwest of Taipei, Taiwan.

In the Atlantic:

Tropical depression Two is located about 800 mi (1290 km) E of the Lesser Antilles. The Depression is expected to weaken as it approaches the Lesser Antilles.

NewsBytes:

India - Monsoon rains over the past week have caused floods in eastern India, killing three people and forcing thousands of families from their homes. Around 10,000 people have been evacuated to cyclone shelters in Odisha state's worst-hit district of Jajpur after a major river burst its banks, flooding 30 villages. The deluge has also washed away roads, disrupted public transport, and inundated low-lying crop fields.

Wildlife

Largest-Ever U.S. 'Critical Habitat' Set for Loggerheads

Earlier this month, sea turtles gained a huge victory when the U.S. federal government announced the largest designation of critical habitat in the nation's history for the loggerhead sea turtles on the Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. The National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made a joint announcement last week to designate 685 miles of beaches and more than 300,000 square miles of ocean as protected habitat for the creatures and their ecosystem.

Loggerheads spend most of their lives in the water, where they migrate tens of thousands of miles over their lifetimes to feed, grow, mate and nest. Unfortunately, fulfilling those basic needs puts them in harm's way.

From birth, hatchling loggerheads are already at risk from being trampled by beach traffic or disoriented by artificial lighting, as they are hardwired to navigate by the moon's light. If they safely reach the water, they find cover and food in mats of Sargassum algae, but must be careful not to ingest the millions of small pieces of plastic that also accumulate in the floating plants. As the young sea turtles grow into adults over the next twenty years, they can be captured in fishing gear, hooked on longlines, hit by speeding boats or coated in oil. Threatened by human activities throughout their entire lives, it is no surprise that this and other sea turtle populations have precipitously declined over the last decades.

Disease

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update

On 12 July 2014, the National IHR Focal Point of the Islamic Republic of Iran reported to WHO an additional laboratory-confirmed case of infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Brain disease kills scores in India's east

An outbreak of encephalitis has killed 60 people in two weeks in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, a top health official has said, calling the situation "alarming".

Hundreds of mainly children die across India each year from the mosquito-borne virus, but West Bengal is not normally one of the worst-hit states.

Only five people died last year in West Bengal from Japanese encephalitis, one form of the virus which normally hits during the monsoon season when mosquitos breed.

West Bengal health services director Biswaranjan Satpathy said late on Monday there had been a sudden rise in cases and deaths between July 7 and 20.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Askja (Central Iceland): A large landslide occurred from the southern wall of the Askja caldera yesterday night. The slide caused a large flood wave in the Öskjuvatn lake that also swept into the famous Viti crater. There are no reports of victims. Although there have been speculations that the slide could have been triggered by magmatic processes, it is most likely a result of summer warming, melting frozen soil in the caldera walls, destabilizing it.

Zhupanovsky (Kamchatka, Russia): Several small ash emissions occurred at the volcano during 16-21 July. The resulting plumes dissipated quickly. Aviation color code is at orange.

Aso (Kyushu): Activity remains elevated at Asosan volcano. Although no new ash emissions were reported recently, the Nakadake crater shows intense degassing and bright glow from hot fumaroles is visible at night. It seems that the crater lake which usually occupied the bottom of the crater has evaporated.

Semeru (East Java, Indonesia): Activity, weak during the past months, seems to have picked up. A new lava flow has started to slowly descend the southeastern slope. Since the intense explosive phase of activity in February 2012, accompanied by pyroclastic flows down the southern slope, a lava dome has been growing slowly inside the breached summit crater. This dome now started to form a more or less coherent lava lobe that began descending through the notch onto the upper southern slope. Weak glow is visible at night.

Shishaldin (United States, Aleutian Islands): According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, weak activity continues. MODIS data show elevated surface temperatures in the summit crater, but there are no visual or other indicators of eruptive activity available.

Semisopochnoi (United States, Aleutian Islands): Earthquakes have decreased but are still above background levels. No eruptive activity has been recorded. Alert level remains yellow.

Santiaguito (Guatemala): No explosions were observed since yesterday, but the lava flow at the eastern rim of the Caliente dome remains active, producing rockfalls into the Nima 1 river canyon. Strong degassing is occurring from the dome.

Fuego (Guatemala): No significant changes in activity have occurred at the volcano. The observatory reported 8 weak and one moderate strombolian-type explosion since yesterday. Ash plumes rose up to 800 m above the crater, and produced avalanches of glowing material on the upper slope. No lava flow was active.

San Miguel (El Salvador): The volcano continues to produce important gas emissions as well as occasional small ash explosions. Tremor remains at very high levels (20 times above normal), caused by internal fluid movements. The likelihood of new eruptive activity in the near to medium future remains elevated.

Cerro Negro de Mayasquer (Colombia): Seismic unrest continues at the volcanic massif of Chiles and Cerro Negro. However, it decreased during the past week with less than 700 events recorded, compared to 1500-1800 per week during the month before. Most earthquakes were associated with internal rock fracturing and located at shallow 1-7 km depth in an area 4 km SW of the Chiles dome. Magnitudes reached 2.7 and some quakes were felt. Slight deformation has been detected at the Chiles dome as well.

Reventador (Ecuador): Intermittent small explosions continue as well as slow lava extrusion at the summit, evidenced by thermal hot spots visible on satellite data.

Ubinas (Peru): The volcano has been relatively calm over the past days, producing mostly a very weak gas plume with dilute ash, as well as sporadic small explosions.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.8 Earthquake hits Fiji.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Mariana Islands.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Tropical Storm Matmo is located approximately 203 nm south-southeast of Taipei, Taiwan, and is tracking northwestward at 15 knots.

Typhoon Matmo is bearing down on Taiwan with landfall to occur Tuesday evening local time. Matmo is approaching the east coast of Taiwan with maximum wind gusts over 160 kph (100 mph). Landfall is expected in the next six hours along the central coast.

The heaviest rain thus far has fallen across Lanyu Township, just east of the main island of Taiwan. Rainfall of 250-300 mm (10-12 inches) has been reported. Also wind gusts over 100 mph have pelted the small island for several hours as the eye of the storm passed just to the northeast.

Heavy rain and strong winds will worsen across much of Taiwan through Tuesday night and Wednesday morning as the storm crosses the island and moves into the Formosa Strait (Taiwan Strait).

Since mountains cover much of the island, heavy rainfall will likely create dangerous and life-threatening mudslides, while flooding will be a major concern across all areas.

Impacts from Matmo will be well to the north of southern China and northern Vietnam, areas that were recently impacted by Rammasun just days ago.

In the Atlantic:

A tropical depression has formed in the north Atlantic moving westwards 1 645 km east of the Lesser Antilles. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Wildlife

First Litter of Wild Wolf Pups Born in Mexico

For the first time in more than 30 years, a litter of wolf pups was born in the wild in Mexico, wildlife authorities announced last week.

The Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), also known as the lobo, went extinct in the wild about three decades ago. But in recent years, breeding pairs of the species have been raised in captivity and reintroduced into the mountains of western Mexico as part of a national conservation effort.

An expedition to the area in June verified that there were five wolf pups in good health.

The birth of the first wild litter is an "important step in the reintroduction program" and it expands the possibilities of the species' recovery in Mexico.

Mexican wolves were also pushed to the brink of extinction in the southwestern United States by the 1970s, but they've been reintroduced in New Mexico and Arizona. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) reported that they had counted at least 83 Mexican wolves in the experimental population in those two states by the end of 2013. FWS officials documented five breeding couples and 17 newborn pups among the 14 known packs in the region.

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

Washington Wildfires

The largest wildfires burning in central Washington are over four times larger than the size of Seattle and they're 16 percent contained.

The Carlton Complex Fires in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest are 379 square miles. They have destroyed at least 200 homes and one person has died while trying to protect his home from the flames.

Another fire, the Mills Canyon Fire, also in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, is 22,571 acres. The Chiwaukum Complex is 11,051 acres and is slowly making its way down the Tumwater Canyon toward Icicle Ridge and Leavenworth.

Oregon Wildfires

Crews have made good progress against the wildfire that's been raging in southeast Oregon, spreading across 396,000 acres and leaving dead cattle on the blackened rangeland.

Firefighters joined with local ranchers in a battle against the Buzzard complex, which is now 75 percent contained thanks to cooler temperatures over the weekend.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Kilauea (Hawai'i): Kīlauea continued to erupt at its summit and within the East Rift Zone, and gas emissions in both areas remained elevated. There was no significant change in tilt recorded at the summit, and the lava lake level was relatively steady over the past week leveling at ~30m (98ft).

At the middle East Rift Zone, lava flows continued to erupt from the northeast flank of Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone, spreading to the northeast. The June 27th breakout continued to spread toward the northeast in two main lobes, reaching about 2km (1.2m) from the vent on the northeast flank of Puʻu ʻŌʻō. Small lava ponds were present within the two southeastern pits in the crater floor, and glow above the other two pits indicated lava was at least close to the surface there as well.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Tropical Storm Matmo is located approximately 500 nm south-southwest of Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan and is tracking northwestward at 11 knots.

NewsBytes:

Nepal - Massive flooding of the Mahakali River in Nepal has claimed the lives of at least eight people and submerged more than 500 houses.

UK - A number of roads and homes were flooded across Essex, following intense storms. Flooding was also reported in Derbyshire.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.5 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Tarapaca, Chile.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Tropical Storm Matmo is located approximately 500 nm south-southwest of Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan and is tracking northwestward at 11 knots.

NewsBytes:

Nepal - Massive flooding of the Mahakali River in Nepal has claimed the lives of at least eight people and submerged more than 500 houses.

UK - A number of roads and homes were flooded across Essex, following intense storms. Flooding was also reported in Derbyshire.

Disease

Ebola virus disease, West Africa – update

WHO continues to monitor the evolution of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. New cases and deaths attributed to EVD continue to be reported from the three countries. Between 13 – 14 July 2014, 18 new cases and 11 deaths were reported from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. These include suspect, probable, and laboratory-confirmed cases. The occurrence of community deaths, still being reported in Guinea, remains a serious concern. The respective Ministries of Health are working with WHO and its partners to step up outbreak containment measures.

The current epidemic trend of EVD outbreak in Sierra Leone and Liberia remains serious, with 67 new cases and 19 deaths reported from 15 – 17 July 2014. The EVD outbreak in Guinea continues to show a declining trend, with no new cases reported during this period.

HIV - USA

The number of people diagnosed with HIV each year in the United States has declined overall in the last decade, but there have been increases in young gay men, according to a new study.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.5 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits Cjiapas, Mexico.

5.1 Earthquake hits the southern Yukon Territory, Canada.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Tropical Storm Matmo is located approximately 487 nm east of Manila, Philippines, and is tracking north-northwestward at 09 knots.

Global Warming

Northern Canada is On Fire, And It's Making Global Warming Worse

For the past few weeks, dry and warm weather have fueled large forest fires across Canada's remote Northwest Territories. The extent of those fires is well above average for the year to-date, and is in line with climate trends of more fires burning in the northern reaches of the globe.

Of the 186 wildfires in the Northwest Territories to-date this year, 156 of them are currently burning. That includes the Birch Creek Fire complex, which stretches over 250,000 acres.

The amount of acres burned in the Northwest Territories is six times greater than the 25-year average to-date according to data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center.

Boreal forests like those in the Northwest Territories are burning at rates "unprecedented" in the past 10,000 years according to the authors of a study put out last year. The northern reaches of the globe are warming at twice the rate as areas closer to the equator, and those hotter conditions are contributing to more widespread burns.

The combined boreal forests of Canada, Europe, Russia and Alaska, account for 30 percent of the world's carbon stored in land, carbon that's taken up to centuries to store. Forest fires like those currently raging in the Northwest Territories, as well as ones in 2012 and 2013 in Russia, can release that stored carbon into the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. Warmer temperatures can in turn create a feedback loop, priming forests for wildfires that release more carbon into the atmosphere and cause more warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's landmark climate report released earlier this year indicates that for every 1.8 degree Fahrenheit rise in temperatures, wildfire activity is expected to double.

In addition, soot from forest fires can also darken ice in the Arctic and melt it faster. The 2012 fires in Siberia released so much soot that they helped create a shocking melt of Greenland’s ice sheet. Over the course of a few weeks in July that year, 95 percent of the surface melted. That could become a yearly occurrence by 2100 if temperatures continue to rise along with wildfire activity.

Forest in other parts of the globe are also feeling the effects of climate change. In the western U.S., wildfire season has lengthened by 75 days compared to 40 years ago. Additionally, rising temperatures and shrinking snowpack have helped drive an increase in the number of large forest fires. In Australia, fire danger is also increasing, if not the total number of fires, due to a similar trend of hotter, dryer weather.

Perhaps not surprisingly then, the current Northwest Territories fires have been fueled by hot and dry weather. Yellowknife's June high temperatures were 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal highs while rainfall was only 15 percent of normal. Through July 15, high temperatures have been running 4 degrees Fahrenheit above July averages and the city has only seen 2 percent of its normal rainfall for the month. While these conditions can't be tied specifically to climate change, they're in line with those trends.

The fires have shut down parts of territory's Highway 3, a main thoroughfare, and inundated Yellowknife with a thick haze of smoke and ash. The city's 19,000 residents are also under a health warning. At points last week, the smoke plume was whisked south across the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan and even reaching the Dakotas, 2,000 miles away.

Birch Creek Complex Fires, as glimpsed on July 15, 2014:

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): Overall, activity remains similar. Several smaller and larger, but all short-lived lava overflows occurred from the second NE vent over the past days. The most significant of these lava flows was in the evening of 17 July.

Slamet (Central Java): Ash emissions were observed again today, producing plumes rising a few 100 m above the volcano's summit. The strombolian activity in the summit crater is continuing, at least intermittently.

Ubinas (Peru): A relatively powerful explosion occurred yesterday at 08:15 local time, producing an ash plume rising 5 km above the volcano's crater.

Wildlife

Poaching Tragedy

Four more elephants have been poisoned with cyanide by poachers in Zimbabwe, this time in the country’s Zambezi National Park.

More than 100 of the jumbos died in convulsions from the poison last September at Hwange National Park, the country’s largest.

Some of the 14 people arrested for the slaughter were given sentences of up to 16 years along with stiff fines.

According to authorities, a well-coordinated poaching syndicate, targeting the animals’ ivory tusks, laced water and salt licks with the poison at main drinking sites for the animals.

While elephant populations have dropped sharply across many parts of Africa as poaching activity accelerated in recent years, Zimbabwe still has one of the continent’s largest surviving populations.

The surge in poaching is blamed on a still growing demand for ivory in Asia and even the United States at a time when there is a global moratorium on ivory trade.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.0 Earthquake hits Tonga.

5.8 Earthquake hits the Owen Fracture Zone region.

5.8 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.

5.6 Earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.

5.5 Earthquake hits the Izu Islands off Japan.

5.3 Earthquake hits the Hindu Kush, Afghanistan.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Loyalty Islands.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Typhoon Rammasun islocated approximately 250 nm east of Hanoi, Vietnam.

Tropical Storm Matmo is located approximately 225 nm north of Koror, Palau.

In the Central Pacific:

Tropical storm Wali is located about 925 mi (1490 km) ESE of Hilo, Hawaii. With the cyclone already feeling the ill effects of increasing vertical wind shear, the window for Wali to intensify has closed.

NewsBytes:

UK - 12 hours of lightning strikes in the United Kingdom from 21:00 Thursday to 9:00 Friday. Parts of south-east England have recorded the hottest day of the year after dramatic electrical storms. Temperatures in Gravesend, Kent, nudged 32C (90F), beating the previous high of 29.5C, recorded on Thursday, as much of the country enjoyed the sun. The sweltering heat came after lightning struck the UK more than 3,000 times in the early hours of Friday.

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

Washington Wildfires Burn Homes, Force Evacuations

A cluster of four Washington wildfires swelled Friday morning has burned up to 100 homes and swelled to more than 260 square miles.

The Carlton Complex fires were ignited by lightning on Monday, and the four wildfires — fueled by dry timber and grass — ballooned overnight. The worst of the four fires forced closure of highways 20 and 153 and cut power to the Methow Valley, a premier resort area. The entire town of Pateros — along the Columbia River — was evacuated late Thursday, and the 700 residents were ordered not to return to their homes Friday. Evacuation warnings were also issued for parts of Brewster, northeast along the river.

Seventy miles to the south, another stretch of wildfires has chased people from nearly 900 homes near the Bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth. More than 45 square miles have burned in the Mills Canyon Complex — three separate blazes including the Chiwaukum Creek Fire that prompted the evacuations. More than 800 firefighters backed by large aerial water tankers were battling the flames. Smoke from that fire has been visible from Seattle.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Typhoon Rammasun is located approximately 288 nm south of Hong Kong.

Super typhoon Rammasun left one person dead, forced thousands of evacuations and the closure of airports and railways as it hit the southern Chinese provinces of Hainan and Guangdong.

The island province of Hainan shut all its airports, ports, trains and bus stations, Xinhua News Agency reported, with more than 6,900 passengers affected from canceled flights. More than 70,000 residents near the area where the typhoon landed were evacuated, the agency reported, citing the provincial command centre for flood prevention, drought control and typhoon response.

China is bracing for the storm, which left at least 40 dead and millions without electricity in the Philippines earlier this week. Rammasun, which hit the island with wind speeds up to 216 kilometers an hour around 3.30 p.m. today, will be the strongest typhoon to hit southern China in four decades, according to Xinhua, citing the country’s National Meteorological Centre forecast.

In the Central Pacific:

The first tropical storm of the 2014 Central Pacific hurricane season formed on Thursday, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Centre.

At 5 p.m. Thursday, Tropical Storm Wali was about 970 miles east-southeast of Hilo. Maximum sustained winds were at 45 mph.

Its present movement is northwest near 12 mph. This motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours with a slight turn to the west on Saturday, according to forecasters.

NewsBytes:

Papua New Guinea - More than 45,000 people have been affected in the Gulf and Southern Highlands provinces as torrential rain continues.

China - At least 18 people have been killed and millions of others affected by floods triggered by the week-long torrential rains in China, state media reported Thursday. Seven people were killed in the southwestern province of Guizhou by building collapses and lightning strikes.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.2 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.

5.2 Earthquake hits Papua, Indonesia.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Bougainville region, Papua New Guinea.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.

Earthquake map highlights rising U.S. risks

A new federal earthquake map dials up the shaking hazard just a bit for about half of the United States and lowers it for nearly a quarter of the nation.

The U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS) updated its national seismic hazard maps on Thursday for the first time since 2008, taking into account research from the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami off the Japanese coast and the surprise 2011 Virginia temblor.

Global Warming

Australian Drying Linked to Greenhouse Gas Emissions

U.S. scientists have directly linked a decline in fall and winter rainfall across southwestern Australia to greenhouse gas emissions by using a new high-resolution climate model.

The finding came after NOAA researchers conducted several climate simulations that looked at long-term changes in rainfall for various regions of the world.

“This new high-resolution climate model is able to simulate regional-scale precipitation with considerably improved accuracy compared to previous generation models,” said Tom Delworth, a research scientist at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey.

The model simulated both natural and man-made climate influences.

Since no natural variations could be linked to the Australian drying, the scientists concluded the trend is due to human activity.

Southern Australia’s rainfall began declining around 1970 and has since accelerated.

The model projects a continued decline in rainfall there for the rest of the 21st century.

This would have significant implications for regional water resources.

The agreement between observed and model simulated rainfall changes supports the idea that human activity contributed to the drying of southwestern Australia and that the drying will increase in the 21st century.

Disease

Update on polio in Equatorial Guinea

As of 16 July 2014, Equatorial Guinea has reported a total of 5 wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases, with onset of paralysis between 28 January 2014 (first case) and 3 May 2014 (most recent case). Genetic sequencing indicated that the cases are linked to the ongoing outbreak in Cameroon.

A national emergency action plan to respond to the polio outbreak was developed by the Ministry of Health and polio partner agencies and is being implemented. Three nationwide campaigns with bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) have already been conducted in the country - two campaigns targeting children under 15 years old in April 2014 and early May 2014, and one in late May 2014 targeting children under 5 years old. Two nationwide bOPV campaigns are planned for mid-July 2014 and mid-August 2014; the July 2014 round will target the entire population, and the August 2014 round will target children under 15 years old.

Chikungunya Disease in Puerto Rico

Health officials declared chikungunya an epidemic in Puerto Rico on Thursday and warn the majority of these mosquito-borne virus cases have been reported in the capital of San Juan and its surrounding areas.

There have been more than 200 reported cases of the virus on the island as of June 25, according to Health Secretary Ana Rius. While Puerto Rico declared an official epidemic, health officials in Jamaica reported their island has just confirmed its first case. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kevin Harvey said the infected person had recently traveled to a country where the disease has been transmitted locally.

Cholera outbreak in South Sudan - Update

The cholera outbreak in South Sudan has now claimed 60 lives and there are fears more people will die.

The disease is spreading beyond the nation's capital of Juba and into remote areas where it is difficult to get health care.

The sickness is described as just another symptom of the civil war, as many people live in internal displacement camps where the illness spreads quickly.

With heavy rains expected in South Sudan, the outbreak is expected to get worse.

Environment

Global Temperature Extremes

The week's hottest temperature was 126.0 degrees Fahrenheit (52.2 degrees Celsius) at Death Valley, California.

The week's coldest temperature was minus 105.9 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 77.1 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.

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

Worsening wildfire activity prompted the governor's offices in both Washington and Oregon to declare a state of emergency, a move that enables state officials to call up the National Guard.

Hot and dry weather has fueled a number of wildfires across Oregon, forcing evacuations and closing roadways.

Authorities in Central Washington State urged residents of nearly 900 homes to flee a wildfire fueled by strong winds that was tearing through timber in its path late Wednesday.

Firefighters could not contain the fire raging 10 miles (16 kilometres) north of the Bavarian-themed village of Leavenworth on Wednesday and hot and windy conditions were forecast for Thursday.

The fire's smoke plume was visible for miles as it rose 25,000 feet (7.6 kilometres) into the air.

Residents of 860 homes were told they should leave immediately, fire spokesman Rick Acosta said late Wednesday. Authorities said that another 800 homes were less seriously threatened.

Nearly 1,000 firefighters were battling three separate wildfires in the state.

Wildfires were also burning in Utah, Idaho, and California.

The California blaze was started on Friday by marijuana growing activity, authorities said.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Typhoon Rammasun is located approximately 114 nm west-northwest of Manila, Philippines.

NewsBytes:

Bulgaria - A state of emergency has been declared in Bulgaria's Black Sea municipality of Primorsko. Heavy rainfall caused the Dyavolska and Ropotamo rivers to burst their banks. The Sozopol - Primorsko and Primorsko - Yasna Polyana roads have been flooded and are closed for traffic.

Uruguay - Floods have displaced 1,884 people out of their homes in western Uruguay. Paysandu province in Bulgaria is reported to be worst hit by the floods displacing 1,082 people.

China - A landslide in Guizhou province in China has buried eight people.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.0 Earthquake hits the southern Yukon Territory, Canada.

5.3 Earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits Taiwan.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.

Global Warming

Global Warming Reaches New Records

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, average global temperatures in April, May and June this year were the highest since the beginning of official records, in 1891.

The Japanese records, released on Monday, show that this year’s second quarter was about 0.68 degrees Celsius warmer than the average for the whole 20th century.

U.S. space agency NASA uses different method for calculating average temperature, but its records, released Monday, show almost identical results.

In addition, the U.S. Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Mauna Loa Observatory reports that the monthly average of carbon dioxide levels in the earth’s atmosphere reached 400 parts per million, the highest in the last 800,000 years.

Disease

Black Fever Outbreak in Kenya

Two people have been confirmed dead and more than 150 others tested positive after an outbreak of Kala-Azar disease, also known as black fever, in Wajir North Sub County. Over 150 people diagnosed with the disease showcased high prolonged fever, swelling of the liver and spleen with massive weight loss. The Wajir County Health Department now says the disease is spreading fast to the neighbouring Garissa and Mandera Counties.

Ebola Outbreak in West Africa - Update

68 people have died in the last week alone, according to the World Health Organisation ebola-virus-epidemic Members of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF) putting on protective gear at the isolation ward of the Donka Hospital in Conakry, Guinea, where people infected with the Ebola virus are being treated. AFP The death toll from the world's worst ever Ebola outbreak in West Africa has risen to 603 since February, with at least 68 deaths reported from three countries in the region in the last week alone, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.

WHO said there were 85 new cases between July 8-12, highlighting continued high levels of transmission. International and local medics were struggling to get access to communities as many people feared outsiders were spreading rather than fighting Ebola.

Sierra Leone recorded the highest number of deaths, which include confirmed, probable and suspect cases of Ebola, with 52. Liberia reported 13 and Guinea 3, according to the WHO figures.

Wildfires

Wildfires

Washington, USA

A state of emergency has been declared following forest fire near Leavenworth, Washington which has threatened 1,200 homes.

The Chiwaukum Creek Fire about 10 miles north of Leavenworth had raced across more than 1,200 acres by Wednesday evening.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.3 Earthquake hits Tonga.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Loyalty Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Fox Islands in the Aleutian Islands.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Typhoon Rammasun is located approximately 114 nm west-northwestof Manila, Philippines, and is tracking northwestward at 15 knots.

The typhoon killed at least 10 people as it churned across the Philippines and shut down the capital, cutting power and prompting the evacuation of almost more than 370,000 people.

The eye of Typhoon Rammasun, the strongest storm to hit the country this year, passed south of Manila on Wednesday after cutting a path across the main island of Luzon, toppling trees and power lines and causing electrocutions and widespread blackouts.

Government offices, financial markets and schools closed for the day.

Major roads across Luzon were blocked by debris, fallen trees, electricity poles and tin roofs ripped off village houses. The storm uprooted trees in the capital where palm trees lining major arteries were bent over by the wind as broken hoardings bounced down the streets.

 

NewsBytes:

Philippines - Tornado in Maguindanao, in the Philippines has destroyed dozens of houses and three school buildings.

Wildfires

Wildfires

Oregon and Washington, USA

A handful of new wildfires, some started by lightning, grew dramatically Tuesday in central Washington, and several threatened homes even as firefighters made progress against a destructive Oregon blaze.

A brush fire that jumped containment lines Tuesday night temporarily closed a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 90 in the central part of the state, said Washington State Transportation Department officials. The highway reopened late Tuesday night.

State firefighting assistance has been ordered for the Stokes Road fire, burning in north-central Washington's Methow Valley. That lightning-caused fire has grown to 600 acres. Residents of seven homes were told to leave, fire spokesman Jacob McCann said.

Another fire 10 miles north of Leavenworth quickly raced across 200 to 500 acres in heavy timber, sending up a 20,000-foot column of smoke and spitting embers as far as a mile ahead of the main blaze, fire spokesman Daniel O'Connor said. Homes were threatened there too.

That fire, too, was caused by lightning, O'Connor said.

Washington's largest wildfire, the Mills Canyon blaze near the central Washington town of Entiat, was 40 percent contained Tuesday and holding steady about 35 square miles.

Kittitas Valley firefighters worked to protect farm homes in the Badger Pocket area near Ellensburg from a wildfire burning on the northern edges of the Army's rugged Yakima Training Center.

Winds forecast as high as 30 mph Wednesday could test the Washington firefighters on all fronts.

In southern Oregon, crews trying to save rural dwellings got help from a natural force they usually dread when winds turned around a spreading wildfire.

That kept the fire from breaking out of a 4-square-mile area near the ranching town of Sprague River where crews were trying to dig containment lines, fire spokeswoman Erica Hupp said Tuesday.

The fire claimed six houses when it broke out Sunday in the Moccasin Hill subdivision, and destroyed 14 other structures, such as barns and garages.

Hupp said it began expanding Monday afternoon, making a run that covered about half the length of a football field. It was in an area where bulldozers hadn't dug lines.

The flames were moving away from Moccasin Hill, Hupp said, but if the winds hadn't forced the fire back on itself, other homes in the area would have been threatened.

The fire, which has burned across nearly 4 square miles, or 2,500 acres, was 15 percent contained Tuesday. Hupp said many residents who had been evacuated were back at home.

Hupp said the cause hasn't been determined, but lightning has been ruled out. Elsewhere in Oregon, weekend lightning has been blamed for dozens of fires.

A stubborn wildfire in Northern California that authorities say was sparked by exhaust from a truck threatened dozens of additional homes on Tuesday.

The Bully Fire around the rural community of Igo in Shasta County was threatening more than 68 structures, said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Teresa Rea. Some of those homes were under mandatory evacuation orders, though she didn't know exactly how many.

Canada - British Columbia

Nearly 70 people have been evacuated as an uncontained wildfire rages in the Cariboo region west of Quesnel, but forestry officials say the Euchiniko Lakes blaze is not threatening any homes.

They say the lightning-caused fire grew significantly Sunday night and has scorched 20-square-kilometres of woodland 120 kilometres west of Quesnel since it was discovered last Tuesday.

Although homes are not in immediate danger, an evacuation order was issued Sunday for two people at the Euchiniko Lake Ranch Lodge, while 66 members of the Kluskus Indian Reserve agreed to evacuate to Quesnel because of fears the flames could cut off roads to the remote region.

Meanwhile, the eight-day-old Red Deer Creek fire, 61 kilometres southeast of Tumbler Ridge is now estimated to cover 38-square-kilometres and is uncontained, keeping three evacuated oil-and-gas camps shutdown.

Forestry officials are battling 63 wildfires across B.C., with 23 considered notable for their size, location or potential danger, and four, including the 62-square-kilometre Chelaslie River blaze in central BC, listed as interface fires threatening homes or properties.

Hot, dry, windy weather is complicating firefighting efforts and with lightning expected in many areas of the province, crews in all six B.C. fire centres remain on high alert.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Katla (Southern Iceland): An increased number of small earthquakes, up to magnitude 2.7, has been occurring near the surface or at very shallow depths under Katla's ice cap since yesterday. These quakes are most likely related to weight adjustments of the thick ice cap during the ongoing seasonal melting and unlikely to represent a true seismic swarm caused by (internal) volcanic activity. In the meanwhile, the alert (uncertainty level) for the areas around rivers from the Mýrdalsjökull glacier has been cancelled by Iceland authorities.

Zhupanovsky (Kamchatka, Russia): A new phase of ash emissions occurred this morning and was observed on satellite imagery. An ash plume rose to 23,000 ft (7 km) and drifted north.

Nishino-shima (Volcano Islands): The currently fastest growing island of the world remains active, with both effusive (lava flows enlarging the island) and explosive activity (strombolian and phreatomagmatic = water-magma explosions). Recent satellite images collected by Culture Volcan prove that over the past month, lava flows have been mostly active towards the eastern part and shore of the island, where a new platform has been built.

Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): During the past 10 days, activity at the volcano has been relatively low, with 1-2 small to moderate vulcanian-type explosions registered on average per day.

Santiaguito (Guatemala): Activity seems to have been a bit higher today, as the report of INSIVUMEH's volcano observatory suggests. A moderate explosion was observed this morning, causing light ash fall towards the SW in the area of Finca El Rosario Palajunoj. The active lava flow from the eastern rim of the Caliente dome continues to advance slowly within the 9 May collapse scar. A hot lahar descended yesterday through the Nima I river valley. For a great visualization of the topography and recent evolution of the viscous lava flow of Santiaguito, have a look at an excellent recent article on Culture Volcan.

Fuego (Guatemala): Strombolian activity continues at the volcano. Incandescent material is being ejected to up to 200 m height and ash plumes rise to up to 800 m. The recent, short-lived lava flow has disappeared.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.7 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

5.5 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

5.5 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

5.2 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Bonin Islands off Japan.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

Quiet in the Atlantic - None of the reliable models for predicting genesis of Atlantic tropical cyclones is predicting development over the next five days.

In the Western Pacific:

Typhoon Rammasun is located approximately 289 nm east-southeast of Manila, Philippines.

The Philippines are bracing for the impact of Typhoon Rammasun, the islands' first typhoon since the devastating strike by Category 5 Super Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013.

The main concern will be flash flooding and mudslides over Luzon and Samar, but wind damage also has the potential to be considerable, since the typhoon is passing over the most heavily populated part of Luzon. After crossing Luzon, Rammasun will have the opportunity to re-strengthen over the South China Sea before making a second landfall in China near Hainan Island on Friday.

NewsBytes:

USA - A strong line of damaging storms moved through western and central Pennsylvania Sunday evening and damage was reported in the town of Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. Strong storms also moved through Reading Centre, New York, and damage was reported, related to a possible tornado.

Canada - Manitoba flood: Rain, flood waters shut down oil industry. Oil workers go weeks without work, pay in Manitoba's soggy oilfields. Wet weather and flooding in Manitoba is hitting the oil industry hard. Much of the province's oil patch is in the same area, inundated with water from heavy rain and overland flooding that hit during the Canada Day weekend.

Australia - Tornado in Perth suburbs of Australia has claimed the lives of two people, cutting power to thousands of homes.

Brazil - The civil defence office in Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul says floods caused by torrential rains have displaced more than 18,000 people across more than 100 cities. Most of those who fled their homes were being sheltered by relatives and friends. Others were finding refuge in sports arenas, schools and other public buildings. The federal government declared a state of emergency Thursday for more than 124 cities. The declaration allows federal funds to be sent to the flooded areas. The amount of these funds has not been disclosed. The rains have stopped, but the Uruguay River and its tributaries remain swollen.

Disease

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update

On 3, 5, 6, 8 and 10 July 2014, the National IHR Focal Point for Saudi Arabia reported an additional 7 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and the death of a previously reported case.

On 10 July 2014, the National IHR Focal Point for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported 2 additional laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Wildfires

Wildfires

Canada - record-breaking heat wave, wildfires grip B.C. with efforts to combat 63 wildfires being complicated by dry and windy weather throughout the province Monday.

In Metro Vancouver, temperatures were expected to stay as high as 30 degrees Celsius until later in the week. Environment Canada says temperatures in northern B.C. are 8 to 10 degrees Celsius above normal, and more heat records are expected to be broken this week. Record-high temperatures were measured in four communities on the weekend — Lytton, Pemberton, Lillooet and Kamloops — with the average high around 40.5C.

Close to two dozen support staff from Ontario were sent to Kamloops Monday to help manage the logistics of fighting fires in the coming days, as B.C. families were told to stay away from their homes. With lightning expected in many areas of the province, crews in all six B.C. fire centres remain on high alert. Nearly 70 people have been forced to leave as an uncontained wildfire rages in the Cariboo region west of Quesnel, B.C., but the Euchiniko Lakes blaze is not threatening any homes.

The fire, caused by lightning, grew significantly Sunday night and has scorched 20-square-kilometres of woodland 120 km west of Quesnel, since it was discovered last Tuesday. Although homes are not in immediate danger, an evacuation order was issued Sunday for two people at the Euchiniko Lake Ranch Lodge, while 66 members of the Kluskus Indian Reserve agreed to evacuate to Quesnel because of fears the flames could cut roads to the remote region.

Meanwhile, the eight-day-old Red Deer Creek fire, 61 km southeast of Tumbler Ridge, B.C., is now estimated to cover 38-square-kilometres and is uncontained, keeping three evacuated oil-and-gas camps shut down. Twenty-three of the province’s 63 fires are considered notable for their size, location or potential danger, and four, including the 62-square-kilometre Chelaslie River blaze in central B.C., are listed as interface fires threatening homes or properties.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): Another lava overflow from the NE vent occurred this morning, starting around 10:00 local time. It followed a phase of increased activity from the summit vents. Being issued more towards the east from the vent itself, it took a through a gap between the N1 and N2 vents and traveled on the upper Sciara a bit more to the north compared to the previous lava flows. By the afternoon, it had already more or less stopped. Many rockfalls have been occurring on the Sciara during the whole day.

Etna (Sicily, Italy): The small effusive eruption continues with little variation. The northern branch of the lava flow slowly advances towards the Valle del Bove. Tremor fluctuates at moderately elevated levels.

Sinabung (Sumatra, Indonesia): No significant changes in activity have occurred, although some local media reported apparently stronger (rock-fall and pyroclastic flow) activity over the weekend: The extrusion of viscous lava from the volcano's summit vent continues to feed the second lava lobe on the steep, upper SE slope of the volcano. As it slowly grows and advances, it continues to produce avalanches of rocks that break off its front and sides, which sometimes generate small to medium-sized pyroclastic flows with associated ash plumes that can rise to a few km.

Dukono (Halmahera): The volcano has been particularly active during the past days and been producing many strong explosions with lots of ash emitted. Ash plumes to 7,000-10,000 ft (2-3 km) altitude and drifting up to 100 km to the NE have been spotted frequently by VAAC Darwin on satellite imagery.

Kilauea (Hawai'i): (14 Jul) The summit of Kilauea began to slowly inflate over the past 48 hrs, and the lava lake within Halemaumau crater rose slightly, its level fluctuating in response to changes in spattering. The lava lake remains around 45m (147ft) below the crater rim. Seismic tremor was low but rose and fell over hours-long periods in response to variations in the intensity of spattering on the lava lake surface.

At the middle East Rift Zone, lava flows continued to erupt from the northeast flank of Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone, spreading to the north. These new flows, which began June 27th, are stalled out in a flat area but are slowly making progress downhill and towards the ocean. Gas emissions remained elevated all along the East Rift Zone.

Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): No significant changes in the currently low activity at the volcano have occurred recently. The continued slow lava extrusion at its summit crater manifests itself in sporadic small explosions, glow visible at night, and a more or less important degassing plume rising up to approx. 1 km above the volcano.

Fuego (Guatemala): Yesterday's new lava flow was no longer active today. Explosive activity has been weak to moderate today.

Ubinas (Peru): Since some days ago, the volcano's activity has changed from intermittent, sporadic explosions followed by more or less long-lasting quiet intervals to producing near-constant emissions of low steam and ash plumes.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.0 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.

5.7 Earthquake hits Java, Indonesia.

5.6 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

5.5 Earthquake hits offshore Tarapaca, Chile.

5.5 Earthquake hits off the coast of southern Peru.

5.2 Earthquake hoots near Easter Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits Kepulauan Mentawai, Indonesia.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Tropical storm 09w (Rammasun) is located approximately 435 nm east-southeast of Manila, Philippines, and is tracking west-southwestward at 10 knots.

NewsBytes:

Nepal - Three houses collapsed following heavy rainfall in the Sindhupalchok district of Nepal, claiming the lives of at least six people. A landslide at Mahadev Khola, Lele-4 in the Lalitpur district of Nepal has claimed the lives of at least four people and injured three others.

Wildfires

Wildfires

Northern Lebanon

An enormous wildfire erupted in the forests near the northern village of Chekka Sunday, after several other blazes broke out around the country.

Civil Defense teams spent hours battling the blaze, which broke out in Al-Shaqaa hills of the Hiri village near the Lady of Nouriyeh Marian shrine.

Earlier, another fire started in an empty lot not far from fuel reservoirs and a main shopping center in Dora, on the northern outskirts of Beirut, but Civil Defense managed to extinguish it quickly.

Washington State

Firefighters made progress Sunday battling a large wildfire that has burned thousands of acres of mountain wilderness in Washington state.

The wildfire — the largest of numerous ones burning in the West — started July 8 in Mills Canyon in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, which encompasses more than 4 million acres along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range.

The fire has burned 34 square miles and is 25% contained, said Daniel O'Connor, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman at the fire command centre.

Siberia

The area of wildfires in Russia’s Siberia has increased from 20,500 hectares on Sunday to 52,300 hectares on Monday, where 158 wildfires have been registered, press service of the local forestry authority reports.

Most wildfires are registered in the Irkutsk region (51 fires at 34,200 hectares) and in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (73 fires at 17,500 hectares). Besides, wildfires were registered in Buryatiya, Tyva and in the Tomsk region.

On Sunday, 61 wildfires at 2,300 hectares were extinguished in Siberia. From the beginning of the season, the local authorities have registered 6,659 wildfires at 1.212 million hectares.

The most frequent reasons of wildfires are inaccurate handling of fire and lightning strikes.

Global Warming

Pacific Island Nation Buys Ocean-Rise Insurance

The low-lying Pacific nation of Kiribati has purchased 8 square miles of land in Fiji, about 1,200 miles away, in the event its population of 103,000 needs to be relocated because of rising sea level.

Other island nations that face the same threat are considering similar purchases abroad.

“We would hope not to put everyone on [this] one piece of land, but if it became absolutely necessary, yes, we could do it,” Kiribati’s President Anote Tong told The Associated Press.

Kiribati is said to already be suffering some effects of rising sea level, including the contamination of fresh water supplies, the destruction of crops and buildings and the swamping of an entire island.

Tong has so far been unsuccessful in his attempts to receive compensation from the industrialized nations he says are responsible for the rising tide.

The many islands of the Kiribati archipelago lie only a few feet above sea level, making them among the most vulnerable to ocean rises resulting from climate change.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Tropical storm 09w (Rammasun) is located approximately 324 nm northwest of Yap and is tracking westward at 20 knots.

NewsBytes:

Bangladesh - Dyke collapse floods five villages in Patuakhali. A flood control embankment in Charipara area under Kalapara upazila of the district collapsed in the last two days, inundating at least 300 dwelling houses and over 2000 acres of agricultural land. Locals said at least a 300 feet area of the dyke collapsed due to high tide under the impact of full moon. Aman cultivation on over 2000 acres of land at Lebukhali, Mollakhali, Algee, Pangashia and Moricherkhali villages have become uncertain as saline water is entering the agricultural land through the breached portion.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.5 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.

5.4 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.

5.3 Earthquake hits San Juan, Argentina.

5.1 Earthquake hits near the coast of Central Peru.

5.0 Earthquake hits Valparaiso, Chile.

5.0 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.

Tsunami Hits Fukushima

A minor tsunami of 20 centimetres (7.8 inches) has been observed in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, and Ofunato, Iwate prefecture of Japan after the magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit the region, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Tidal waves of 10 cm were also logged in the city of Soma located about 40 km north of the Fukushima No. 1 plant, the agency said.

Global Warming

Global warming map shows temperature of cities in 2100

A new report done by the organization Climate Central predicts the impact that global warming will have on 1,001 cities worldwide. They’ve compiled an interactive map that will show just how incredibly hot it will get in these cities in the year 2100.

If the map and data is correct, the impact that global warming will have on our weather is horrifying. Every city’s temperature will rise between 6 to 12 degrees Fahrenheit. Most cities will rise somewhere between 7 and 10 degrees, however.

The interactive map shows that in 2100, the city of Boston, MA will be as hot as the current temperatures of Miami, Florida. Meanwhile, an already warm city like Las Vegas, NV, could get as hot as the current temperatures of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which is around 111°F.

“Summer temperatures in most American cities are going to feel like summers now in Texas and Florida — very, very hot,” said Alyson Kenward, lead researcher of the analysis.

While the data looks at the impact that global warming will have on temperatures, it does not look at other key statistics. Missing are the expected humidity levels, pollution levels, sea levels, and frequency of storms, for starters. Still, it is interesting (and a bit scary) to see what the temperature of your city will be like in the future.

The map can be found here.