Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.2 Earthquake hits the southern Mid-Atlantic ridge.
5.1 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.
5.1 Earthquake hits north of Ascension island.
5.1 Earthquake hits eastern New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Hindu Kush, Afghanistan.
5.0 Earthquake hits Sulawesi, Indonesia.
5.0 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.
Local Protests against Ebola Health Workers
Crowds destroyed an Ebola facility and attacked health workers in central Guinea on rumours that the Red Cross was planning to disinfect a school, a government spokesman said on Saturday.
Red Cross teams in Guinea have been attacked on average 10 times a month over the past year, the organisation said this week, warning that the violence was hampering efforts to contain the disease.
During the incident on Friday in the town of Faranah, around 400km east of the capital Conakry, angry residents attacked an Ebola transit centre and set ablaze a vehicle belonging to medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres.
A Red Cross burial team was also targeted and forced to flee, said Fodé Tass Sylla, spokesman for the government campaign against the disease.
The number of new cases in Guinea nearly doubled last week to 64, according to World Health Organisation data, jeopardising a government plan to get to zero new cases by early March.
Scarlet Fever in Britain
Bristol could be facing an outbreak of scarlet fever - with reports today saying that the disease is spreading faster in Britain than at any time in half a century.
More than 300 new cases of the bacterial infection were reported in England last week, with 1,265 cases registered since the beginning of the year, the Independent reports.
Scarlet fever was often deadly in the Victorian era, but during the 20th century it became milder and more rare.
But now the disease – which causes a sore throat and fever accompanied by a distinctive rash on the chest or stomach – is on the rise again.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.8 Earthquake hits the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge.
5.9 Earthquake hits Taiwan.
5.4 Earthquake hits the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge.
5.2 Earthquake hits Reykjanes ridge.
5.1 Earthquake hits eastern New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Bismarck sea.
Stable Sun Not Responsible for Global Warming
New analysis of solar observations dating back to 1610 indicate that the sun is no more active now than in most other times, debunking claims that it is responsible for global warming.
While sunspots virtually disappeared during a period from 1645 to 1715 known as the Maunder minimum, there have also been times in the past 400 years when the sun has been as fired up as in recent decades, scientists point out.
"A proper estimate of the past and present activity of the sun, our main source of light and heat, is crucial in understanding numerous phenomena that occur on Earth, especially to rule out the role of the sun in global warming,” said José M. Vaquero, a researcher at Spain’s University of Extremadura.
"It has been a huge surprise to observe that in the 18th century, the levels of the sun's activity were practically the same as they are now,” said Vaquero.
Writing in the journal Space Science Reviews, Vaquero and colleagues from the United States and Europe outline how discrepancies in the earliest solar records from North America and Europe were resolved to allow the comparison.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
No current tropical storms.
El Niño?
Has there been an El Niño over the past few months or not? While some global weather patterns have been similar to what would be expected during an El Niño, the main characters of the phenomenon have not really set in.
This has baffled scientists since computer models had consistently predicted a major El Niño warming event would develop in 2014.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology says that temperatures across the Pacific have recently returned to a “neutral” level between what would be considered an El Niño and a La Niña.
But the Japan Meteorological Agency says the atmospheric jury is still out. It predicts there is a 50 percent chance that El Niño will re-emerge during the Northern Hemisphere summer.
Wildfires - Chile
The government of Chile on Friday requested international help to douse 63 wildfires that have already razed 4,981 hectares (12,310 acres).
Guillermo Maza, acting director of the National Emergencies Bureau, or Onemi, told reporters the government has requested assistance from neighboring Argentina to battle the fires.
Chile has also contacted Brazil to obtain additional help should it become necessary, the official said.
Sixteen of the 63 wildfires raging in four of Chile's regions are expanding, according to Onemi.
The situation is most serious in the southern region of Bio Bio, where three active wildfires have burned more than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres), though those blazes no longer threaten populated areas, Maza said.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – The Philippines
On 12 February 2015, the IHR National Focal Point of the Philippines notified WHO of 1 laboratory-confirmed case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Kliuchevskoi (Kamchatka): Strombolian activity continues. Occasional larger explosions produce moderate ash plumes such as this morning, when Tokyo VAAC reported a plume to 20,000 ft (6 km) altitude extending N.
Chirinkotan (Northern Kuriles): Weak steam-and-gas emissions were detected in satellite images on 6 and 8 February.
Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): The volcano has been comparably active during the past days. Yesterday, 8 vulcanian explosions were reported. Today, an explosion occurred producing a plume rising to 10,000 ft (3.6 km) altitude.
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): The currently weak, sporadic strombolian activity from the summit vents increased during the past night when explosions became more frequent. A small peak in otherwise low tremor occurred a day earlier.
Reventador (Ecuador): A new lava flow seems to be active on the southwestern flank. Occasional explosions continue from the summit vent where a lava dome is growing. From the thermal webcam images, it seems that the lava flow began yesterday.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.5 Earthquake hits offshore Jalisco, Mexico.
5.1 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
No current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
Epic Sandstorm Suffocates Middle East - For the third day in a row, the Middle East awoke to the wind whipping and sand flying. A massive dust belt is moving from the Sahara Desert all the way up to Turkey.
Peru - Heavy rains cause flooding in more than 100 homes in Lima’s eastern districts. Mudslides destroyed buildings in Lima on Monday after rivers burst their banks. Six houses collapsed and 96 were seriously damaged after strong rains caused flooding in the capital’s eastern Chaclacayo and Luriganco-Chosica districts. Earth covered a 2.5-mile (4-kilometre) tract of a main highway to the Andean country’s central regions for three hours, while areas lost power.
Northwest Seabirds Pitted Against Endangered Fish Species
Two sets of conservationists in the western United States are at odds over plans to kill 11,000 double-crested cormorants on Oregon’s East Sand Island to protect endangered juvenile salmon and steelhead trout from the Columbia River.
The Army Corps of Engineers is preparing to cull the live birds with shotguns and pour oil on the nests of about 26,000 birds to prevent their eggs from hatching.
The move has drawn criticism from the Audubon Society of Portland and Care2.
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission counters that it's hard enough for the fish to make it through a network of dams on the river without being eaten up by a large number of cormorants at the river's mouth.
“This is a difficult situation,” said Corps spokeswoman Diana Fredlund. “We are trying to balance the salmon and steelhead versus the birds.”
Global Temperature Extremes
The week's hottest temperature was 116.1 degrees Fahrenheit (46.7 degrees Celsius) at Mandora, Western Australia.
The week's coldest temperature was minus 69.0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.1 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Siberian community of Kyusyur.
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.
Human infection with avian influenza A(H5N6) virus – China
On 9 February 2015, the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) of China notified WHO of 1 laboratory-confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N6) virus.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Suwanose-jima (Ryukyu Islands): The volcano has been more active during the past days, with frequent, sometimes intense strombolian activity visible from neighboring islands. Small ash plumes rose to 6,000 ft (1.8 km) altitude.
Soputan (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): The eruption continues with an active viscous lava flow on the upper western flank. Occasional explosions such as this morning produce ash plume that rise to 3-4 km altitude, i.e. 1.5-2 km above the volcano.
Dukono (Halmahera): An ash plume to 12,000 ft (3.6 km) altitude was emitted this morning and observed on satellite data extending 35 km to the south (VAAC Darwin).
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
No current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
Nepal - At least two persons have gone missing following an avalanche in Humla in west Nepal.
Namibia - Several families in three villages in the Omusati Region have been left in despair following heavy flooding in the area. Villagers have been forced to relocate and saw their crops ruined after floodwaters ravaged their homesteads. The villages are Omuthitu, Okanya and Okaloko in Okahao Constituency. The flooding began last week.
Almost the end for Kenya's northern white rhino
This is what extinction looks like.
No meteor from outer space, no unstoppable pandemic, no heroic, ultimately futile last stand. Instead poor sperm, weak knees and ovarian cysts mark the end of a lifeline cut short by human greed, ignorance and indifference.
With just five northern white rhinos left on earth, the animal’s end is inevitable.
Scientists and conservationists hope that advancements in genetics and in vitro fertilisation might allow for its test tube resurrection in the future, but before that the northern whites will die, one by one, over the next few years.
“We are down to five, so they are very close to extinction, perhaps in a few years,” said Jan Stejskal of the Dvur Kralove Zoo in Czech Republic which, thanks to acquisitions in the 1970s, owns all the remaining northern whites.
“I still believe there is a hope we will be able to save them. The best we can do now is harvest sperm and egg samples for future in vitro fertilisation, and wait until the time the techniques are developed enough to give us a good chance of reproduction,” said Stejskal.
The last living male, named Sudan, is found on a 36 400-hectare reserve of savannah and woodlands in central Kenya, along with two of the remaining females. The other two females live alone in zoos in the Czech Republic and the United States. Two other males – Angalifu and Suni – died last year.
At 43, Sudan is elderly by rhino standards and vets say his sperm is low quality. Nola at San Diego Zoo is also beyond reproductive age while Nabire at Dvur Kralove Zoo is 31, but suffers from ovarian cysts. In Kenya, Najin (25), cannot mate because of her weak hind legs, while her daughter Fatu (14) is infertile.
Modern rhinos have plodded the earth for 26-million years. As recently as the mid-19th century there were over a million in Africa. The last northern whites disappeared from the wild a decade ago and will soon follow the western black rhino, declared extinct in 2011.
To deter poachers the northern whites are escorted by armed wardens at night and their horns are trimmed back to uneven stumps.
The horns are worth more than $65 000 a kilo on the Asian black market, and sought after by Asian consumers who are falsely convinced that the ground-up keratin – the same substance as human fingernails and toenails – contains powerful medicinal properties.
USA Measles outbreak spreads to Canada
Ten individuals in Quebec are confirmed to have been infected with measles in an event health officials are linking to a large outbreak in California.
And another case has been reported in the Toronto region, bringing to eight the number of cases discovered in the past few weeks in southern Ontario.
In a statement, the Lanaudière health authority said the first Quebec case contracted the virus during a visit to a park in California that has been the source of other recent infections. Though they do not name it, it would appear that it is Disneyland.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.6 Earthquake hits Jujuy, Argentina.
5.5 Earthquake hits the Carlsberg Ridge.
5.4 Earthquake hits the Pacific-Antarctic ridge.
5.3 Earthquake hits the Philippine Islands.
5.2 Earthquake hits Jujuy, Argentina.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Andaman Islands off India.
5.1 Earthquake hits Luzon in the Philippines.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical Storm (TS) 02w (Higos), located approximately 456 nm east-northeast of Andersen AFB, Guam and is tracking northwestward at 06 knots.
Ebola - West Africa
The number of new Ebola cases rose for the second week in a row in West Africa, nearly doubling in Guinea, suggesting declines in the disease seen earlier this year had stalled, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
Efforts to wipe out the deadly virus were being hampered by people's mistrust of health workers, and the number of people continuing to hide sick friends and relatives from authorities, particularly in Guinea's capital Conakry, officials said.
West Africa recorded 144 new confirmed cases of Ebola in the week to Feb. 8 compared with 124 the previous week, the WHO said in a report.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)
Between 27 January and 4 February 2015, the IHR National Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (SAU) notified WHO of 10 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 1 death.
On 2 February 2015, the IHR National Focal Point of Qatar notified WHO of 1 additional case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection.
On 3 February 2015, the IHR National Focal Point of the United Arab Emirates notified WHO of 1 additional fatal case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical Storm (TS) 02w (Higos), located approximately 424 nm north-northeast of Chuuk and is tracking northwestward at 07 knots.
NewsBytes:
Jakarta, Indonesia - Flooding in Jakarta after heavy rains has displaced close to 6,000 people in the nation’s capital city. Around 15,517 people were affected directly by the floods as their houses were inundated. Many parts of Jakarta were still submerged Tuesday, making traffic worse in a city already notorious for such problems. Rain started up Tuesday morning again after stopping Monday evening. Many shops were closed as workers were unable to get to work. More rain was forecast.
Boston, USA - Boston is in the cross hairs again as the third major winter storm approaches, but winter storm warnings are in place across large portions of the Northeast, including Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The National Weather Service forecasts 12 to 16 inches of snow by the time the storm ends Tuesday. For Upstate New York, the numbers are 8 to 14 inches. Schools in parts of the Northeast, including Boston, will be closed Monday and Tuesday. "These storms that we're getting are unprecedented. We've never seen this type of snow in the city of Boston at any other time in the history of our city." The storm was snarling air traffic again, but not as bad as in past weeks. FlightAware.com showed more than 1,500 flights into and out of the United States canceled for Monday, on top of the more than 700 flights scrubbed Sunday. Two other storms have hit the Northeast in the past two weeks, closing airports, cancelling classes and creating mountains of snow along cleared roadways. Boston has set a record for the snowiest seven-day period in history, with over 40 inches, the National Weather Service said last week. The city is way past its average annual snowfall of 47 inches.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Sinabung (Sumatra, Indonesia): Another large pyroclastic flow occurred yesterday morning. The flow traveled 2-3 km to the base of the mountain and produced an impressive coignimbrite ash plume that rose to approx. 4 km altitude. The volcano's eruption continues mostly quietly to effuse viscous lava, feeding a flow emplaced on the upper southeastern flank. At times, such as yesterday, it becomes too unstable and smaller or larger parts of it can collapse, generating dangerous pyroclastic flows.
Fuego (Guatemala): The recent, strong paroxysm ended Sunday. It had lasted 22 hours. CONRED reported that the volcano now returned to its typical intermittent strombolian activity with weak to moderate explosions. The lava flow towards the Trinidad and Ceniza canyon on its upper flank remains weakly active, although seems to be decreasing. Guatemala's international airport has resumed operations.
Piton de la Fournaise (La Réunion): The eruption continues without major changes. The volcano observatory OVPF reports low, but stable tremor levels. Webcam imagery from last night (before clouds obscure views) show that the eruption is mainly effusive with only weak explosive activity (weak spattering) at the vents. Currently, a small lava flow is active that extends approx 500 m from the base of the Dolomieu cone, enlarging the new lava field of partially overlapping flows at its base. The middle section of the lava flow is through a lava tube, making it invisible to the webcams.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.3 Earthquake hits north of Ascension Island.
5.2 Earthquake hits Sulawesi, Indonesia.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone (tc) 11s (Fundi), located approximately 840 nm south of Antananarivo, Madagascar, and is tracking southward at 25 knots.
Tropical Storm (TS) 02w (Higos), located approximately 658 nm east of Andersen AFB, Guam and is tracking northwestward at 04 knots.
NewsBytes:
Queensland, Australia - Flash floods hit North Queensland. Residents in Far North Queensland are being urged to keep clear of flooded rivers after a weekend of torrential rain. Up to 450mm has fallen between Cairns and Tully. Residents say it's the worst flooding they've seen in nearly 50 years.
Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – China
On 4 February 2015, the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) of China notified WHO of 83 additional laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus. Onset dates ranged from 20 December 2014 to 27 January 2015.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Shiveluch (Kamchatka): A possibly strong eruption seems to have occurred this morning. An ash plume to 30,000 ft (10 km) altitude was reported by Tokyo VAAC. Webcam images are cloudy.
Soputan (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): Activity remains elevated. An explosion produced an ash plume to 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude this morning.
Fuego (Guatemala): A new paroxysm, a drastically stronger phase of activity, began at the volcano yesterday, characterized by increased strombolian-type explosions, effusion of lava flows and moderate to large pyroclastic flows that traveled to the southeastern side threatening the road between Antigua and Escuintla. According to the observatory of INSIVUMEH, the surge in lava effusion produced two lava flows of 2000 m length from the summit towards the Trinidad and El Jute drainages, causing forest fires. Several pyroclastic flows were generated by partial collapses of the lava masses from the upper slopes and traveled several kilometres.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.3 Earthquake hits the Molucca Sea.
5.1 Earthquake hits Papua, Indonesia.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone (tc) 11s (Fundi), located approximately 570 nm south-southwest of Antananarivo, Madagascar, and is tracking southward at 13 knots.
Tropical Storm (TS) 02w (Higos), located approximately 724 nm east of Andersen AFB, Guam and is tracking northwestward at 03 knots.
Measles Outbreak in Germany
The United States has been shocked by a surge in measles cases with more than 100 incidents in January alone.
This, however, is much less worrisome than a current outbreak in Germany.
While authorities there had hoped to completely eliminate the disease this year, 254 new cases emerged in January, primarily in Berlin. If we consider that the German population is only one fourth of the United States', the German measles surge was about 10 times worse than the one in the United States in January, relative to the total population.
Wildfires - California, USA
A wildfire at the foot of the Sierra Nevada has damaged homes after growing to more than 10 square miles and prompting the mandatory evacuation of two small Northern California towns near the Nevada state line.
The unusual winter blaze on the border of Inyo and Mono counties near the Mammoth Lakes resort is 30 percent contained, Cal Fire Capt. Liz Brown said Saturday. Dying winds and rain have helped crews stop the fire's growth.
Twenty structures, including homes and outbuildings, have been damaged or destroyed, Brown said. One firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Suwanose-jima (Ryukyu Islands): An eruption from the volcano was reported this morning by Tokyo VAAC.
Soputan (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): The eruption continues at the volcano. It feeds a viscous lava flow about 500 m long on the volcano's upper western flank. Intermittent explosions and incandescent rockfalls accompany this activity.
Pacaya (Guatemala): Small ash emissions continue, probably from mild, deep-seated strombolian activity in the new pit inside Mackenney crater described a week ago.
Fuego (Guatemala): Explosions remain frequent and often strong, producing ash plumes that rise 1-1.3 km above the crater and are accompanied by shock waves that rattle roof and windows in nearby villages.
Villarrica (Central Chile): Magma has reached the surface of the inner summit crater. Strombolian activity has formed a new small cone containing a small lava lake in its open vent. This followed a strong increase in volcanic tremor to about 20 times background level starting since Thursday. Glow from the volcano's top has become visible at night. An overflight confirmed the presence of lava inside the deep pit at the summit crater. SERNAGEOMIN raised the alert level of the volcano to yellow. So far, this activity represents a very typical state of the volcano. If it remains like this, it does not pose significant threats to the surroundings unless activity strongly increases, which could result in the generation of lahars (mud flows due to meltwater from the summit) in particular. These could threaten the areas of the towns of Villarrica, Pucón, Curarrehue and Panguipulli. Chile's civil protection ONEMI has issued a pre-alert, still coded as green, as a precaution.
Barren Island (Indian Ocean): As the Culture Volcan blog pointed out, a weak thermal anomaly was detected on satellite data above the volcano yesterday. The hot spot is weak, but could indicate some sort of activity occurring at the volcano. What could be a plume is visible on other satellite imagery, but for now, there is no confirmation of volcanic activity.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.2 Earthquake hits near the coast of Nicaragua.
Injection Well Shuttered Because of Quakes
State regulators shut down an injection well in north-central Oklahoma following a series of quakes suspected to be related to its operation.
Injection wells are used to dispose of wastewater, laden with salt and toxic chemicals, that is produced by oil and gas wells.
The use of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, has allowed a huge expansion of gas wells across Texas, Oklahoma and southern Kansas in recent years.
All three regions have experienced a sudden emergence of tremors that coincided with the new wells and their accompanying disposal operations.
Dozens of studies have shown a link between the injection wells and earthquakes.
Under a system established by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, wells within a six-mile radius of a magnitude-4.0 earthquake are placed under operating restrictions.
If additional earthquakes occur within six miles of an active well in that area, the commission can order the operator to halt injection while tests are conducted.
The well, operated by SandRidge Energy in Alfalfa County near the Kansas border, is the second active wastewater injection well directed to halt operations by the commission since it began a new monitoring system was established in 2013.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone (tc) 11s (Fundi), forms near the southern tip of Madagascar, is located approximately 330 nm southwest of Antananarivo, Madagascar, and is tracking southeastward at 05 knots.
NewsBytes:
Balkans, Europe - Snowfall and heavy rain are hammering Europe and bringing deadly floods to the Balkans. Hundreds of families have been evacuated from their homes in Albania and one woman drowned after being swept away by floodwaters. Snow continues to blanket parts of Italy and Spain, where hundreds of motorists were trapped on roadways.
Malawi Update - Unicef says that more than 300,000 people have been displaced by the flooding in Malawi, almost twice as many as previously estimated.
Python Capture Patrols Set Up in Infested South Florida, USA
Florida wildlife officials are asking for volunteers to help control the population of invasive Burmese pythons, which have now spread across the state to the point that it’s impossible to eradicate them.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will hold monthly sessions to train the general public on how to identify and even capture the troublesome snakes.
But not everyone thinks the civilian python patrols are a good idea.
“This is ridiculous,” University of Florida senior herpetologist Kenneth Krysko told Reuters. “You can’t have Joe Schmo grabbing these snakes.”
He told the news agency that civilian patrols are likely to be ineffective in reducing the python population.
The snakes became the leading predator in Florida’s ecologically sensitive Everglades after some were released as unwanted pets or managed to escape into the wild on their own.
It’s believed that there are now about 150,000 Burmese pythons living in the southern half of the state.
Wildfires - Australia
Hundreds of firefighters battling two bushfires in the state are working to strengthen existing containment lines ahead of expected hot and dry windy conditions over the next two days.
Both the Northcliffe and Boddington fires have now been downgraded to watch-and-act alerts after conditions eased on Friday. Firefighters around Northcliffe, in the state's south-west, worked through the night to build new control lines on the eastern side of the blaze, which still presents a possible threat to lives and homes. The Boddington fire, about 120 kilometres south-east of Perth, was downgraded early this morning, although it was still not contained or controlled.
An earlier emergency warning for another fire burning in parts of Wattleup, Hammond Park and Success Creek in the City of Cockburn, about 30 kilometres south of Perth, was downgraded to a watch and act about 6:00pm.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.2 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.
5.0 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.
5.0 Earthquake hits Kepulauan Barat Daya, Indonesia.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
No current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
Malawi - A fresh wave of flooding has hit Malawi, which has still not recovered from an earlier spate of devastating floods. Heavy rainfall has caused fresh flooding in Chikwawa and Nsanje, another southern district.
Albania - The floods in Albania are the second worst on record – only a disaster in 1971 was worse. Deforestation and soil erosion has exacerbated flooding in Albania that has forced the evacuation of hundreds of families, the country’s prime minister has said when declaring a state of emergency. Over the last two decades, many Albanian trees close to powerful rivers such as the Vjosa, Osum and Shkumbin have been chopped down by poor villagers desperate for wood, and by entrepreneurs clearing the way for buildings and dams in a construction boom that has largely benefitted foreign firms. The trees had held soil in place for centuries – acting as a sponge during rainfalls – but without them, soil erosion has accelerated flood damage.
Warming Oceans Bring Big Challenges for Fish
Marine researchers have found that many species of fish around Australia are moving southward or otherwise shifting their ranges and egg-laying patterns in response to warming ocean waters.
Using a network of 62 GPS stations across the volcanic island, lead researcher Kathleen Compton of the University of Arizona found that some sites are rising as much as 1.4 inches per year.
“We found a mixed bag—some positive and some negative,” lead researcher Gretta Pecl told The Guardian. “Some species are shifting south and increasing their range while others are already at their tolerance for temperature, and as it warms, their range will shrink.”
The University of Tasmania scientist said that ocean temperatures off southeastern Australia are warming four times faster than the global average.
Other warming hotspots include the Atlantic off Brazil, parts of the Indian Ocean and the North Sea.
Pecl says species that are highly sensitive to temperature, will see their rate of growth and amount of energy needed for oxygen consumption will be altered by the warming.
Research published in 2013 found that fish species were being pushed towards the poles by warming oceans at a rate of about 4.3 miles every year, chasing climates in which they can survive.
Smoke From Australian Bushfires Blown Almost to Antarctica
The image above was created using data from the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite instrument, or OMPS, on the Suomi NPP satellite. The big magenta-colored spot to the south of Western Australia shows the highest concentration of aerosols from the wildfire smoke. When you follow the lighter blue plume from there to the south and east, you can see some aerosols just off the coast of Antarctica.
Global Temperature Extremes
The week's hottest temperature was 106.0 degrees Fahrenheit (41.1 degrees Celsius) at Julia Creek, Queensland, Australia.
The week's coldest temperature was minus 67.0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 55.0 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Siberian community of Oimyakon.
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.
Plague Spreads in Madagascar Following Cyclones
One of the most deadly infectious diseases on the planet has spread across parts of Madagascar in the wake of last month’s cyclones Chedza and Bansi.
Plague has killed at least 57 people out of the 213 known cases after rats that carry the disease emerged from the storm’s flooding and took refuge in populated areas.
The bacterial disease is passed on to humans by fleas that earlier bit an infected rodent.
Once infected, people can die from the bubonic and other forms of plague within 24 hours if not treated.
The Madagascar government says it is organizing a response to the epidemic, including free treatment with antibiotics.
Officials warn that the species of flea that carries the plague across the island nation has developed an immunity to the insecticide used to control it.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Colima (Western Mexico): After being a bit lower during the past week, activity has picked up again today. The volcano had a series of small to moderate explosions ejecting ash plumes reaching up to 2-3 km above the crater.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.0 Earthquake hits south of Panama.
5.3 Earthquake hits Tachira, Venezuela.
5.2 Earthquake hits the Molucca Sea.
5.1 Earthquake hits western Xizang, China.
5.1 Earthquake hits Sucre, Venezuela.
5.1 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.
5.0 Earthquake hits Tachira, Venezuela.
5.0 Earthquake hits Guatemala.
5.0 Earthquake hits the south Indian Ocean.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
No current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
USA -Sky River to Bust Northern California Drought This Week
California forecasters are prepping the state's northern cities for a switch from extreme drought to drenching rain and damaging winds starting today.
An incoming atmospheric river could deliver at least 10 inches (25 centimetres) of rain in coastal and inland mountains, and 5 inches (13 cm) in valley areas, according to the National Weather Service. Atmospheric rivers are narrow currents of warm, moist air that transport huge amounts of water vapour from the tropics toward cooler latitudes. The water is nearly invisible, just concentrated vapour that later condenses into rain and snow. That happens when the current hits land and the air is lifted and cooled over mountains like California's Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada.
Zimbabwe - A single bolt of lightning has claimed lives of six children and a woman in Zimbabwe. The seven were sheltering in two thatched huts when the lightning struck in Mugwinyi village in Bikita districton Monday.
Greece Update - Experts on Wednesday continued assessing the damage done by flash floods in Epirus, northwestern Greece, over the last few days. By Wednesday afternoon they had recorded damage to 329 buildings, 229 of which are homes, in Arta. Another 43 buildings, of which 16 are homes, were damaged in Ioannina. The floods, as well as rockfalls, caused widespread damage to the road network in the area.
Turkey - Turkish authorities blame Bulgaria for failing to take measures in its reservoirs after the country's floodgates opened following torrential rains that inundated the neighbouring Turkish province of Edirne. Turkey is at odds with Bulgaria after floodwaters from neighbouring Bulgaria engulfed the country's northwestern border province of Edirne. Authorities told reporters that three rivers in the province broke their banks as water levels suddenly increased in the wake of the opening of reservoir floodgates in Bulgaria after last week's heavy rainfall. Floodgates in Bulgarian dams have frequently caused problems for Edirne, situated right next to the Balkan country, but this time, Turkey has adopted harsh rhetoric against the neighbouring country.
Wildfires - Australia
A fire that started in Lower Hotham about 180km south of Perth, in the Shire of Boddington, is now threatening nearby Quindanning.
The out of control blaze has become intense and is quickly moving east, authorities say. It is burning in forest on both sides of the Murray and Hotham rivers.
It was confirmed on Thursday one home had been lost in the area.
Residents in the tiny Western Australian town of Windy Harbour were evacuated to the beach as a bushfire that has been burning in the state’s south-west for six days threatened the town.
They may have to be rescued by boat, emergency authorities said.
Bushfires burning south of Perth have destroyed two houses and three sheds, and firefighters near Northcliffe have been putting in 30-hour shifts.
The Northcliffe fire was finally quelled by favourable weather, water bombing and the mammoth efforts of hundreds of firefighters.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Piton de la Fournaise (La Réunion): A new eruption has started at the volcano, following a brief seismic crisis that started early this morning.
According to OVPF, the new (fissure) vent should be located between Bory, Dolomieu and Rivals craters on the upper flank of the Dolomieu main cone. A lava flow is descending SSW and has already reached the base of the Dolomieu crater, i.e. the floor of the enclos. Its length is more than 1 km.
Karangetang (Siau Island, Sangihe Islands, Indonesia): Since 10 Jan 2015, the volcano has been active again. A lava dome is growing at the summit, producing incandescent avalanches.
Our correspondent Andi who visited the volcano during the pst days wrote: "Mt Karangetang spews lava flows and the status has been raised again into level 3. According to the seismic recordings from the observatory post, there are harmonic tremor and volcanic quakes, indicating the ongoing dome building. A warning was issued to the local population to prepare for possible evacuations."
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.4 Earthquake hits south of Tonga.
5.3 Earthquake hits the Russia-Xinjiang border region.
5.0 Earthquake hits Tonga.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
No current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
USA - A second winter storm has blasted Chicago with heavy snow and strong winds that created near-whiteout blizzard conditions, bringing the city its fifth heaviest snow on record - 19.3". More than 18" of snow plastered Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan, with a storm-maximum snowfall amount of 20" observed in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In Southeast Michigan, the 16.7" the storm dumped on Detroit was the city's third heaviest snowfall on record. The storm then moved on to Ohio, hitting Cleveland with 4.7". The biggest totals during the remainder of the storm's trek are expected in snow-weary Massachusetts, with snow amounts near 12" expected in Boston. That city received 24.4" of snow from last week's blizzard; several locations in Central Massachusetts near Worcester received 36" of snow, and are expecting another 12" from this storm.
Turkey - At least eight people have been killed by a storm caused by a strong southwesterly wind known in Turkey as lodos. The storm hit the Marmara, Aegean, Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea regions of the country. The huge storm also caused flooding in province of Edirne close to the border with Greece. The storm destroyed the roofs of more than 300 buildings and around 100 vehicles were damaged in Bursa province. Turkish Airlines said it had canceled more than 100 flights due to the adverse weather.
Philippines - A landslide in Zambo Norte, Philippines has claimed the lives of two persons, including a nine year old child. The landslide occurred in Roxas town in Zamboanga del Norte Monday morning.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Saudi Arabia
Between 14 and 22 January 2015, the IHR National Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (SAU) notified WHO of 9 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 4 deaths. Cases are listed by date of reporting, with the most recent case listed first.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.5 Earthquake hits the Fox Islands in the Aleutian Islands.
5.4 Earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
5.4 Earthquake hits Cataduanes in the Philippines.
5.3 Earthquake hits offshore Antofagasta, Chile.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Sunda Strait, Indonesia.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Fox Islands in the Aleutian Islands.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone 10p (Ola), is located approximately 415 nm southwest of Noumea, New Caledonia, and is tracking south-southwestward at 10 knots.
NewsBytes:
Indonesia - The villages of Simbatan and Gondang in Gondang district, Bojonegoro regency in East Java, have suffered flash floods, inundating dozens of homes and rice fields.
Mozambique Update - The floods that have ravaged northern and central parts of Mozambique have now killed 159 people and affected nearly 160,000.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Bardarbunga (Central Iceland): The eruption, now going on for more than 150 days, continues with little changes. Although it has started to decrease, very slowly, in intensity, it remains impressive and magma discharge is still an impressive approx. 100 cubic meters per second. Caldera subsidence and seismicity continue as well, but a slow decreasing trend of subsidence rate - from initially 50 cm a day to now about half of that now - is visible as well and seems to correlated with the decrease in magma effusion. Icelandic scientists think therefore that subsidence (and hence, the eruption,) might go on for another 5 to 16 months.
Shishaldin (United States, Aleutian Islands): A small eruption was seen last night from a ship, VAAC Anchorage reports. Aviation color code remains orange. According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, elevated surface temperatures at the summit continue and small steam emissions are visible on clear webcam images, as well as "a wispy, low-level ash emission from the summit drifting west-southwest" on one image.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.3 Earthquake hits San Luis, Argentina.
There were no immediate reports of damages or casualties.
5.9 Earthquake hits the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea.
5.6 Earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
5.6 Earthquake hits the southern Mid-Atlantic ridge.
5.4 Earthquake hits the Pribilof Islands, Alaska.
5.3 Earthquake hits south of Panama.
5.3 Earthquake hits the Santa Cruz Islands.
5.2 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.
5.2 Earthquake hits northern Peru.
5.1 Earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits off the west coast of northern Sumatra.
5.0 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.
5.0 Earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone 10p (Ola), is located approximately 245 nm west-southwest of Noumea, New Caledonia, and is tracking south-southwestward at 10 knots.
Tropical cyclone (tc) 09s (Eunice), is located approximately 945 nm southwest of Cocos Island and is tracking east-southeastward at 29 knots.
NewsBytes:
Greece - Flash floods caused by heavy rains have hit northwestern Greece and southern Albania, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of villagers Sunday and destroying a famous 18th-century stone bridge. No casualties were reported in either country.
Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – Canada
On 27 January 2015, the IHR National Focal Point of Canada notified WHO of 1 laboratory-confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus. On January 30, 2015 a second individual, travelling to China with the index case, was laboratory confirmed to also have influenza A(H7N9) infection.
The two individuals flew from Hong Kong, SAR China to British Columbia, Canada after travelling together through China. During their travels, they were exposed to live poultry, although they had no direct contact with poultry.
Ebola Not the Only Dangerous Virus in African Wild
Scientists studying the source of the somewhat waning West Africa Ebola outbreak say they have found 16 other animal-borne viruses that threaten to infect the human population.
Presenting their findings at a conference in London on tackling infectious disease, researchers from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa said they were unsure how serious a threat the newly identified viruses pose.
It’s believed the current outbreak started when a child became infected after coming in contact with a bat or its droppings, or snacking on one.
Eating the meat of monkeys, bats and other wild animals, known as bush meat, is thought to be a way people can become infected.
Africans have supplemented their diet with bush meat for thousands of years, making efforts to end the practice virtually impossible.
Health officials have recently begun to provide information on how to safely prepare and cook bush meat to prevent infection.
Nigel Lightfoot of the London-based Centre on Global Health Security told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the animals should be prepared well-done, “so it’s monkey stew, not monkey tartare.”
Wildfires - Australia
The Western Australian town of Northcliffe is now indefensible and authorities are urging people to leave immediately as a wind change forces an out of control bushfire towards the town.
The fire, started by lightning on Friday in the Shannon National Park, is burning out of control and threatening properties in subdivisions on the outskirts of the town of about 280 people, in the state's south.
A watch and act has also been issued for a blaze at Lower Hotham, near Boddington, that has been burning since Saturday. About 2,000 hectares have been burnt and 70 firefighters are at the scene, along with helitankers. The fire, also sparked by lightning, is moving fast in a southerly direction and has broken containment lines.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Etna (Sicily, Italy): More details start to emerge about the new eruptive phase. Strombolian activity from the SE crater accompanies important lava effusion, feeding an impressive lava flow. The lava flow has been taking a path to the SW, passing the 2002 cones on their western side and descending already to approx. 2000 m or less altitude, a few km west of the provincial road to La Sapienza.
Shiveluch (Kamchatka): A powerful explosion occurred this morning, at 02:08 local time, at the volcano. It seems a large-volume pyroclastic flow of several km length and an ash plume rising to approx. 33,000 ft (10 km) altitude were generated. The eruption occurred from the same area of the active lava dome as the ones during the past weeks, i.e. from the north side of the dome's cone near the 1964 caldera wall.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.7 Earthquake hits the Saipan region in the North Mariana Islands.
5.4 Earthquake hits the Pribilof Islands, Alaska.
5.3 Earthquake hits the Banda Sea.
5.3 Earthquake hits the Pribilof Islands, Alaska.
5.2 Earthquake hits the Pribilof Islands, Alaska.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Pribilof Islands, Alaska.
5.1 Earthquake hits south of Africa.
5.1 Earthquake hits south of Panama.
5.1 Earthquake hits the east Siberian Sea.
5.0 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
5.0 Earthquake hits Nepal.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Pribilof Islands, Alaska.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone 10p (Ola), forms approximately 233 nm west-northwest of Noumea, New Caledonia, and is tracking southeastward at 08 knots.
Tropical cyclone (tc) 09s (Eunice), forms in the southern Indian Ocean, is located approximately 847 nm south-southeast of Diego Garcia and is tracking eastward at 17 knots.
NewsBytes:
Switzerland - An avalanche in the Swiss Alps has claimed lives of four people and injured three others. The victims were part of a group of nine skiers that was swept away by the avalanche on the eastern slope of Piz Vilan in the eastern Swiss district of Landquart.
Iceland’s land is rising 1.4 inches annually due to climate change
Iceland’s land is rising, by 1.4 inches each year in many parts of the country, as glaciers melt and the crust below and nearby rebounds, researchers from the University of Arizona and the University of Iceland reported in a new study.
In other words, as glaciers melt there is less weight pushing down on the land, which subsequently rises.
The geoscientists warned that volcanic activity is likely to increase as it did during the last deglaciation roughly 12,000 years ago.
The team members say their study is the first to show the current rapid uplift of the Icelandic crust resulting from the accelerated melting of the country’s glaciers and coincides with the current global warming that started about 30 years ago.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Etna (Sicily, Italy): After a few days of apparent calm, new activity resumes on Etna: Seismic tremor started to rise steeply this morning about 6:00 (local time). At the moment it is still elevated with an overall increasing tendency. Unfortunately, the weather is very bad to see what is going on. Ash fall was reported in the east sector of the volcano.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.0 Earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
5.1 Earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits south of Africa.
5.0 Earthquake hits Tonga.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone 10p (Ola), forms approximately 354 nm northwest of Noumea, New Caledonia, and is tracking southeastward at 04 knots.
Tropical cyclone (tc) 09s (Eunice), forms in the southern Indian Ocean, is located approximately 710 nm east-northeast of Port Louis, Mauritius and is tracking south-southeastward at 09 knots.
NewsBytes:
China - A coal mine flooding in east China's Anhui Province has claimed the lives of seven people. Thirty four miners were working underground when flooding happened. Twenty-seven miners managed to escape while seven others were trapped, according to the Huaibei Mining (Group) Co. Ltd., the owner of the coal mine.
Borneo - Heavy rainfall starting and strong winds caused flash floods in the city centre of Miri slowing traffic and flooding buildings.
Tanzanian Villagers Fear Lion 'Revenge'
The killing of six lions near northern Tanzania’s Olasiti village has residents living in fear of “revenge” attacks by the predators. Six lions were killed by Tanzanian villagers who say they lost livestock to the protected predators.
The Arusha Times reports the lions were killed by young warriors “proving their manhood,” while also eliminating the threat of future attacks on the village’s livestock.
People now venturing outside their homes are staying in groups, armed with traditional weapons such as sticks, machetes and spears.
Five of the warriors who were injured while slaughtering the lions later fled into the bush out of fear of being arrested once they were treated for their wounds.
Villagers complained to the daily that the government doesn’t react when humans or livestock are killed by wild animals, but said it does respond quickly and decisively when any wildlife is killed.
A resident of Olasiti, Saning'o Ole Nigi, said that communities surrounding wildlife areas have always been guardians of the animals by preventing poaching. However, it does not seem that the villagers took any steps to protect their livestock from the predators - choosing rather to kill the lions.
Taps May Soon Run Dry in Drought-Plagued Brazil
Brazil’s worst drought in 80 years is causing an acute water shortage in the country’s three most highly populated states.
The company that provides São Paulo’s water warned that taps could run dry except for just two days a week if the level of the main reservoir continues to drop.
“If the rains insist on not falling, we’ll have to start rationing in a very burdensome way to save the water we need (and) to keep the dam levels from continuing to drop the way they are,” said the firm’s director, Paulo Massato.
The Cantareira reservoir, which serves Brazil’s largest city, has dwindled to about 5 percent of storage capacity following two consecutive dry years.
In an odd twist of fate, lightning from severe thunderstorms on Jan. 23 knocked out two pumping stations, halting delivery of what little water remains available to São Paulo.
A view of what’s left of southeastern Brazil’s Rio Jacarei following two consecutive years of drought.
Wildfires - Australia
Several homes have been destroyed by a bushfire south of Perth after strong easterly winds pushed the blaze into Waroona town.
The fire was sparked by lightning and began in the steep terrain of the Darling range to the town’s east.
About 325 hectares have been burnt by the fire, which remains out of control and unpredictable.
Norway reports 1st case of ‘mad cow disease’
For the first time, Norway has reported a case of Bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE) in a cow on a Nord-Trøndelag county farm. Dre Kristina Landsverk, Chief Veterinary Officer, Norwegian Food Safety Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Brumunddal, Norway notified the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) Thursday.
The farm is a beef cattle farm with a herd of 27 Scottish Highland cattle, according to the report. The affected cow’s carcass has been completely destroyed.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Bardarbunga (Central Iceland): A small earthquake swarm at 1 km below the eastern rim of the Bardarbunga caldera occurred yesterday evening at 21:22 local time, accompanied by a rise in tremor. John Friman who closely follows the events in Iceland suspects on his blog that a minor subglacial eruption could have taken place. If so, a meltwater flood should be expected in the course of the day.
Kliuchevskoi (Kamchatka): The volcano's activity today consisted of continuing mild to moderate strombolian activity. Probably the lava flow on its upper flank is still active, but seems to have decreased. Frequent incandescent avalanches occurred, accompanied by mild ash emissions. VAAC Tokyo issued a warning about a possible ash plume rising to 34,000 ft (10 km) altitude at 02:57 UTC, although it stated that no ash was visible on satellite imagery, and no such plume is visible on webcam imagery, only a rather diluted ash plume at much lower altitude.i
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.2 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits the southern Mid-Atlantic ridge.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone (tc) 09s (Eunice), forms in the southern Indian Ocean, is located approximately 608 nm east-northeast of port Louis, Mauritius and is tracking south-southeastward at 08 knots.
NewsBytes:
Fiji - Parts of Labasa experienced flash flooding yesterday as heavy rain pelted parts of the Northern Division.
Malawi Update - Malawian floods have killed at least 79 people, forced over 170,000 from their homes and cost about 160,000 people their livelihoods. A state of emergency has been declared in 15 of Malawi’s 28 districts, and 63,000 hectares of land are under water.
England's First Wild Beavers in Centuries Can Stay
England’s first beavers to live in the wild for more than 400 years will not be evicted from a Devon river and taken to a zoo, thanks to the efforts of locals, tourists and wildlife campaigners.
But Natural England says that the approximately nine beavers living in the River Otter must be proven to be of Eurasian origin and free of disease.
The nongovernmental public body also licensed the Devon Wildlife Trust to conduct a five-year study on the returning beavers' impact on the environment.
Results of the study could eventually lead to the reintroduction of the toothy dam builders in other waterways across England.
Beavers were hunted to extinction during the reign of Henry VIII in the 16th century.
But last January, night-vision footage revealed that a few had set up home along the river.
Plans to remove them prompted a public outcry. If the small group of wild beavers being studied in the River Otter doesn't pose environmental risks, the animals could later be reintroduced elsewhere in England.
Rare Red Fox Reappears in Yosemite Park
The elusive and rare Sierra Nevada red fox has been spotted in Yosemite National Park for the first time in nearly a century, park officials said yesterday.
Camera traps caught the sleek animal in a remote northern corner of the park on Dec. 13, 2014, and again on Jan. 4 of this year.
here hasn't been a verified sighting of the Sierra Nevada red fox inside Yosemite National Park since 1916, said Ben Sacks, director of the University of California, Davis Veterinary School's Mammalian Ecology and Conservation Unit. That year, two animals were killed in Yosemite's Big Meadows, northeast of El Portal, for the University of California, Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology.
Until recently, only a handful of Sierra Nevada red foxes were thought to still exist in the wild, in a remnant population near Lassen Volcanic National Park in northeastern California. The subspecies, which is genetically distinct from other red foxes, once ranged more widely, across the snowy high mountains from Oregon to California.
Global Temperature Extremes
The week's hottest temperature was 112.1 degrees Fahrenheit (44.5 degrees Celsius) at Nyang, Western Australia.
The week's coldest temperature was minus 64.3 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53.5 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Siberian community of Verkhoyansk.
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.
Bird Flu in Nigeria
The Ogun state branch of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PANOG) has destroyed over 2, 500 birds suspected to have been infected with the avian influential virus, popularly called the bird flu, across the state.
Wildfires - Australia
Two bushfires across Western Australia are continuing to test the mettle of the state's firefighters and volunteers.
Bushland is burning in Waroona in Perth's south. Twenty volunteer firefighters are pitched against the blaze near Lyons road in Waroona. It is moving north at 300 metres an hour. While the fire is moving away from the township and not threatening homes, some roads are closed in the area and drivers have been advised to avoid the area or reduce speed and drive carefully.
In the state's northwest a deliberately lit fire at a rubbish tip in Gap Ridge, near Karratha, was burning out of control overnight. Thirty Fire and Rescue volunteers were on the scene between Exploration Drive and Madigan Road fighting the outbreak that was slowly moving east. There is no threat to homes or lives overnight but residents are advised to stay alert, keep headlights on and be careful when driving through the area.
Meanwhile firefighters north of Perth continue to mop up a blaze which has burned more than 1300 hectares in the Pinjar pine plantation in the city of Wanneroo.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Kilauea (Hawai'i): The June 27th lava flow remains active, but its advance is slow. The leading edge is currently stalled roughly 500 meters from Highway 130 at Pahoa. Breakouts remain active a short distance upslope of the leading tip of the flow, and continue to slowly widen the flow.
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai (Tonga, Tonga Islands): (29 Jan) An exceptional satellite image taken by the European Pléiades satellite from 19 January shows the new island that formed during the eruption near Hunga Ha’apai island (left in images) earlier this month and joined it by forming a new peninsula, composed of a broad, flat ash cone with a water-filled crater. The image also shows that activity seems to have already stopped by 19 Jan when the image was taken. Most likely, the new land addition will be eroded within months, because it seems mainly to be composed of loose materials, as opposed to more resistant solid lava flows.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.7 Earthquake hits offshore northern California.
5.2 Earthquake hits Tonga.
5.2 Earthquake hits off the west coast of South Island, New Zealand.
5.1 Earthquake hits the west Chile rise.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Molucca Sea.
5.0 Earthquake hits west of the Galapagos Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits the southern east Pacific rise.
5.0 Earthquake hits Crete.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone 08s (Diamondra), located approximately 936 nm south-southeast of Diego Garcia, is tracking south=southeastward at 05 knots.
Tropical cyclone (tc) 09s (Eunice), forms in the southern Indian Ocean, is located approximately 637 nm south-southwest of Diego Garcia, and is tracking south-southeastward at knots.
Measles Outbreak in Beijing
A measles outbreak has hit a major office building in the capital, with at least 23 people infected, according to the city's health authorities.
The Beijing Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said it had ordered quarantine and emergency vaccinations in Beijing's downtown Chaoyangmen neighbourhood since receiving reports of infections last Thursday.
The centre did not name the building but it has been identified as the "Kaiheng Centre", which houses the Beijing branch of Bank of China.
"To prevent the epidemic from spreading, [we have] already vaccinated the 3,462 workers in the building," the disease control centre said yesterday.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Bardarbunga (Central Iceland): The visible intensity of the eruption continues to decrease gradually. The Icelandic Met office conducted air-borne measurements of the lava field last week, showing that it has significantly thickened (rather than expanded laterally) during the past weeks, and is now estimated to contain approx. 1.4 cubic kilometers of lava. Effusion rates, although decreasing, are still close to an impressive 100 m³ per second.
Fogo (Cape Verde): The eruption still continues although most of the time visible activity is very low and restricted to degassing. Minor lava effusion and sporadic flares of strombolian activity of mild to moderate size occur from time to time. Scientists from the Cabo Verde volcano observatory (OVCV) who climbed the volcano on 25 January observed small ash emissions, and published a detailed report about the most recent significant activity during 20-23 January, when explosions produced a short-lived ash plume that rose up to 1200 meters on the morning of 20 Jan, as well as a small lava flow on the following day.
Kliuchevskoi (Kamchatka): The eruption continues and a lava flow is active on the southeastern upper flank. A collapse of lava from the flow and violent snow-lava interaction produced a pyroclastic flow that descended to the base of the steep mountain yesterday afternoon around 17:40 local time. From webcam images, it can be estimated that the flow traveled approx 2000 meters in about 2 minutes, resulting in a mean velocity of around 16 meters per second.
Karymsky (Kamchatka): Moderate explosive activity continues. Ash plumes from strombolian to vulcanian eruptions were reported by KVERT, reaching approx. 14,000 ft (4.2 km) altitude and drifting north and later east from the volcano. Aviation color code remains "orange".
Shishaldin (United States, Aleutian Islands): A faint thermal signal remains visible on satellite imagery. According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, weak eruptive activity likely continues in the summit crater.
San Miguel (El Salvador): A small explosion occurred last Monday at 06:43 morning. Probably phreatic in nature, it was the first eruptive activity since minor ash emissions past July. According to MARN, falling blocks from the eruption could be heard from people in the vicinity of the volcano. No further eruptions have followed so far, and no significant temperature signal can be detected at the summit, only constant degassing reaching 150-250 m height. Seismic activity remains relatively low, but sudden explosions of small to moderate size remain a possibility.
Sangay (Ecuador): Eruptive activity of some sort is likely in progress at the volcano. Along with pilot reports of spotted plumes relayed through the Washington VAAC, thermal signals detectable on satellite data have been more and more frequent since early January, Culture Volcan points out in his blog. It is unknown what kind of activity is occurring, but the most likely scenario is mild to moderate strombolian activity, which is typical for Sangay,- an extremely remote, but at the same time very active, that often has this type of activity. In many ways it is similar to its Kamchatka counterpart Klyuchevskoy currently in eruption as well.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.1 Earthquake hits Fiji.
5.3 Earthquake hits the north Pacific Ocean.
5.3 Earthquake hits Fiji.
5.0 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone 08s (Diamondra), located approximately 827 nm south-southeast of Diego Garcia, is tracking southeastward at 09 knots.
Tropical cyclone (tc) 09s (Eunice), forms in the southern Indian Ocean, is located approximately 626 nm southwest of Diego Garcia, and is tracking southeastward at 08 knots.
NewsBytes:
USA - The blizzard across the north-east USA began to loosen its grip on New England late Tuesday, after dumping more than two feet of snow in parts of the region and flooding coastal areas. Providence, Rhode Island, had well over a foot of snow. Sixteen inches had piled up in Portland, Maine, and 23 inches in Waterford, Connecticut. At least 30,000 homes and businesses were without power in the Boston-Cape Cod area, including the entire island of Nantucket. By mid-morning Tuesday, roads in New York and New Jersey were opened and bus and train service, suspended overnight, had resumed. The snowstorm affected air traffic across the US. FlightAware reported that about 5,200 flights were canceled due to the storm, and more than 2,500 were delayed.
Interesting Images:
North Indian Landslide Creates New Dam
Recent satellite images taken by the Indian Space Research Organization's CartoSat-2 have shown a gigantic landslide in Northern India.
The landslide believed to have occurred sometime around December 31 last year in Northern India has sent enough debris into the Tsarap River, creating an obstruction about 2,000 feet (600 meters) long, and a brand new 300-acre lake.
As of January 20, 2015, that dam was about 600 meters (2,000 feet) long, according to an analysis of satellite imagery. The artificial lake that formed behind the dam was nearly 8 kilometres (5 miles) long and covered about 55 hectares (300 acres).
After surveying the situation on January 18, a team of civilian and military engineers recommended that people who live downstream move to higher ground. They also discouraged authorities from using explosives to clear the blockage as doing so could trigger additional landslides.
Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – China
On 23 January 2015, the Department of Health, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region notified WHO of 1 additional laboratory-confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus.
California measles outbreak grows
California has reported more measles cases. The number of cases has increased to 73, with 50 of those cases linked to an outbreak at Disneyland, the California Department of Public Health reported Monday.
Last week, public health officials reported 59 cases since December; 42 with a Disney connection.
In addition, 13 cases linked to the outbreak have been reported in six other U.S. states: five in Arizona, three in Utah, two in Washington, and one each in Nevada, Oregon and Colorado. Also, one case linked to it has been reported in Mexico.
The disease outbreak apparently surfaced when visitors reported coming down with measles after visiting the park from December 15 to December 20. At least five Disney employees have been diagnosed with measles, Disney said.
Measles is a highly communicable respiratory disease caused by a virus and spread through the air, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Measles starts with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes and sore throat, the CDC said.
Wildfires - Australia
Firefighters are battling 10-metre high flames as two bushfires tear through suburbs in Perth's south.
An alert for a bushfire that was burning out of control on Tuesday in Kwinana and Rockingham, in Perth's south, has been downgraded.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) issued a watch and act for people in the area as more than 200 firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control.
The Kwinana Freeway northbound between Safety Bay Road and Mortimer Road remained closed.
Earlier, flames from a bushfire that threatened homes in the southern Perth suburbs of Baldivis and Wellard reached 10 metres in height, and a fire in Pinjar in the city's north was downgraded.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 Earthquake hits the Nias region, Indonesia.
5.5 Earthquake hits the MacQuarie islands.
5.3 Earthquake hits Tonga.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Nias region, Indonesia.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone 08s (Eight), forms in the southern Indian Ocean and is located approximately 732 nm south-southeast of Diego Garcia, and is tracking south-southeastward at 06 knots.
NewsBytes:
Mozambique - The death toll from flooding in parts of Mozambique has risen to 117, with more than 157 000 people affected, official figures showed on Monday. The deaths in the centre and north of the southern African nation were caused by drowning, lightning strikes, or construction collapses caused by the floods.
USA - A blizzard dropped more than a foot (30 cm) of snow across the northeastern United States on Tuesday, falling short of the massive predicted snowfall that prompted officials across the region to close schools and order travel bans. High winds and heavy snow were set to persist throughout the day, with another foot forecast to fall in parts of Boston. Wind-driven seas caused flooding along some low-lying roadways in coastal Massachusetts, state police said.
Asteroid flyby yields startling discovery
The asteroid that flew close to Earth Monday didn't come alone.
NASA images released Monday reveal the asteroid, officially known as 2004 BL86, has its own small moon. The grainy, black and white photos show the asteroid, about a third of a mile in size, spinning through space, with its 230-foot-wide moon trailing behind.
Plague in Madagascar - Update
The head of the World Health Organization is warning about an “alarming” plague outbreak in Madagascar that could worsen, particularly as fleas that transmit the disease to humans have developed immunity to insecticide.
Plague is “endemic in Madagascar,” where seasonal outbreaks can be exacerbated by poverty and an increasing number of people living in close urban settings. Plague responds well to treatment when detected early, which is possible with a “cheap and reliable” diagnostic test that provides results within 15 minutes.
However, the current outbreak has managed to establish a foothold in the capital Antananarivo, and could spread easily through the city’s densely populated slums. Earlier this month, the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) issued a statement to say that the plague epidemic had reached Madagascar’s capital with 10 suspected cases.
A recent tropical storm has exacerbated the threat of the disease spreading from “untold numbers of rats” that have been displaced by flooding.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.2 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.
5.1 Earthquake hits Negros in the Philippines.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Izu Islands off Japan.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Loyalty Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits southern Peru.
5.0 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Russia-Xinjiang border region.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
No current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
Australia - A tornado hit Bombala town of south-eastern New South Wales, Australia on Saturday afternoon, leaving considerable damage in its wake. The tornado mainly caused damage to roofs and sheds.
France - An avalanche in the Queyras mountain range in the French Alps has claimed the lives of six skiers.
USA - Winter Storm Juno will be a major snowstorm for the Northeast Monday and Tuesday. Parts of the region could see blizzard conditions and more than a foot of snow.
Philippines - The town of Kabacan on Friday was placed under a state of calamity due to the extent of damage brought by flash floods that submerged low-lying villages and displaced thousands of residents last week.
Warm ocean melting East Antarctica's largest glacier
The largest glacier in East Antarctica, containing ice equivalent to a six-metre (20-foot) rise in global sea levels, is melting due to warm ocean water, Australian scientists said on Monday.
The 120-kilometre (74.4 mile) long Totten Glacier, which is more than 30 kilometres wide, had been thought to be in an area untouched by warmer currents. But a just-returned voyage to the frozen region found the waters around the glacier were warmer than expected and likely melting the ice from below. “We knew that the glacier was thinning from the satellite data, and we didn't know why,” the voyage's chief scientist Steve Rintoul told AFP.
He said that up until recently the East Antarctica ice sheet had been thought surrounded by cold waters and therefore very stable and unlikely to change much. But the voyage found that waters around the glacier were some 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than other areas visited on the same trip during the southern hemisphere summer. “We made it to the front of the glacier and we measured temperatures that were warm enough to drive significant melt,” Rintoul said. “And so the fact that warm water can reach this glacier is a sign that East Antarctica is potentially more vulnerable to changes in the ocean driven by climate change than we used to think.”
Previous expeditions had been unable to get close to the glacier due to heavy ice, but Rintoul said the weather had held for the Aurora Australis icebreaker and a team of scientists and technicians from the Australian Antarctic Division and other bodies.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Kliuchevskoi (Kamchatka): The eruptive activity has weakened a bit, but remains near-continuous. Small ash emissions from strombolian activity occurred yesterday and bright glow from this activity illuminates the volcano's summit at night.
No lava flow seems to be active at the moment.
Shiveluch (Kamchatka): A strong vulcanian-type explosion occurred this morning. An ash plume rose to approx. 25,000 ft (7.5 km) altitude and a pyroclastic flow seems to have descended to the SE.
Zhupanovsky (Kamchatka, Russia): Intermittent ash emissions continue. A plume at 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude was detected extending SSE on satellite imagery this morning (Tokyo VAAC).
Suwanose-jima (Ryukyu Islands): Occasional strombolian eruptions occur from time to time. An explosion was reported yesterday (Tokyo VAAC).
Dukono (Halmahera): Significant ash emissions were observed again this morning. Tokyo VAAC reported a plume extending 20 nautical miles to the SW, at estimated 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
No current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
Florida, USA - A tornado touched down in Sarasota County, Florida around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, The National Weather Service confirmed. The tornado touched down in Myakka State Park and destroyed a camper. The camper was lifted from its original position and thrown several yard away. Luckily, no one was in the camper at the time The tornado’s winds were between 70 and 100 miles per hour, making it an EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
Humans Send Planetary Boundaries into "Danger Zones"
An international team of 18 researchers warns that a potent combination of human activities has pushed four of the planet’s nine ecological boundaries into “danger zones,” threatening life on Earth.
The four boundaries that have been crossed are climate change, loss of biodiversity, improvident land use and an altered nitrogen cycle due in part to fertilizer use.
“For the first time in human history, we need to relate to the risk of destabilizing the entire planet,” study author Johan Rockström of Stockholm University told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The five other boundaries not yet pushed into the danger zone are ozone depletion, ocean acidification, freshwater use, microscopic particles in the atmosphere and chemical pollution, the study concludes in a report published in the journal Science.
The findings should be a wake-up call to policymakers that “we’re running up to and beyond the biophysical boundaries that enable human civilization as we know it to exist,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher Steve Carpenter.
Just because we are not seeing a collapse today doesn’t mean we are not subjecting humanity to a process that could lead to catastrophic outcomes over the next century.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Kliuchevskoi (Kamchatka): Moderate to strong strombolian activity continues at the summit crater, producing a sustained plume that rises approx. 1500 m above the summit and drifts eastwards. Incandescent avalanches descent the southwestern and western flanks. From webcam and MODIS thermal images, it seems, however, that no (or only a shorter) sustained lava flow is currently active.
Colima (Western Mexico): Eruptive activity continues at moderate levels with effusion of viscous lava at the summit, producing frequent smaller and sometimes larger rockfalls and avalanches. Small to moderate explosions occur a few times per day.
Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): An unusually strong explosion occurred yesterday at 20:36 local time. VAAC Tokyo reported an ash plume to 16,000 ft (5 km) altitude. Today, the volcano has been much calmer with only a few smaller eruptions and phases of ash emissions.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.1 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.
5.1 Earthquake hits the southwest Indian ridge.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone (tc) 07p (Niko), located approximately 608 nm south-southeast of Papeete, Tahiti, is tracking south-southeastward at 11 knots.
