Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.4 Earthquake hits east of the Izu Islands off Japan.

5.3 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

Pacific Ocean:

Severe tropical cyclone Ian category 4 was located about 180km south of niuafo'ou or about 230km northwest of Vava'u at 10:00am this morning. Tropical cyclone Ian has estimated winds of 90knots near its centre with momentary gusts up to 125knots The cyclone is now moving southeast at 6knots.

On its current track, tropical cyclone Ian may bring:

Damaging gale force winds to Vava'u in the 3-6hrs, destructive storm force winds in the next 6-12hrs and very destructive hurricane force winds in the next 12-18hrs

For the Ha'apai group tropical cyclone Ian may bring damaging gale force winds in the next 6-12hrs, destructive storm force winds in the next 12-18 and possible very destructive hurricane force winds in the next 24 to 36hr.

For Tongatapu and Eua the cyclone may bring damaging gale force winds in the next 24-48hrs.

Neutral El Nino

US weather forecaster said on Thursday that it maintains its forecast for neutral El Nino and La Nina conditions in the Northern Hemisphere through summer 2014.

NewsBytes:

Rain in parts of Mindanao in the Philippines may result in flooding in low-lying areas as a low pressure area moved closer to the Philippine Area of Responsibility.

Wildlife

Bats Fall Dead From Sky During Australian Heatwave

A spell of scorching summertime weather in Australia’s southern Queensland state killed as many as 100,000 bats in an environmental disaster officials called unprecedented.

Many of the flying foxes, or fruit bats, fell dead from the sky while the carcasses of others hung on branches.

Local residents said the stench of decay was unbearable as temperatures reached nearly 110° F in Brisbane.

At least 16 people were reportedly receiving anti-viral treatment after coming into close contact with a bat.

The animals sometimes carry lyssavirus, which can cause paralysis and even death in humans.

But wildlife officials say the flying foxes are a key part of the ecosystem, and such a massive loss to their populations will have consequences.

“I don’t necessarily like the bats, but I don’t like seeing them dead,” Dayboro resident Murray Paas told Guardian Australia.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was caring for many young bats left orphaned by the heat disaster.

Disease

Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – update

The Centre for Health Protection, China, Hong Kong SAR, notified WHO on 8 January 2014 of an additional laboratory-confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus.

Cholera in Nigeria - Update

No fewer than 71 deaths have been recorded in a cholera outbreak in Kano, Nigeria since the outbreak was first noticed in the State on November 6th, 2013. Kano state has recorded 2165 official cases of cholera from 22 local government areas of the state.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:

Etna (Sicily, Italy): Activity remains unchanged. The Northeast crater produces a weak ash plume currently drifting east. Tremor levels are fluctuating, but generally low. Interestingly, a few shallow (6-7 km) earthquakes of magnitudes around 1.7-1.8 occurred along a W-E line over the past days.

Shiveluch (Kamchatka): The volcano continues to extrude viscous lava, generating explosions and hot avalanches. An ash plume to estimated 23,000 ft (7 km) altitude and drifting east was detected on satellite imagery yesterday. Cloud cover prevents more detailed observations.

Sinabung (Sumatra, Indonesia): The volcano continues to be very active with viscous lava extruded at the new dome, which frequently collapses to form hot avalanches (pyroclastic flows) that generate ash plumes rising up to a few km. The direction of the path of the latest pyroclastic flows has shifted a bit to the east (right) of the previous flow path, possibly due to the obstacle formed by the accumulated latest deposits themselves. These are the gray areas visible on the flank and at the base of the volcano, where a broad delta of hot deposits has formed (that has destroyed everything that used to be there - farmland, scattered houses etc).

Cleveland (Aleutian Islands, Alaska): No new volcanic activity has been observed at the volcano since the 3 brief explosions on December 28 and 30 and January 2. Satellite views since January 2 suggest that no new lava has effused at the summit crater. AVO lowered the Level of Concern Colour Code to YELLOW and the Alert Level to ADVISORY. (AVO / USGS)

Pacaya (Guatemala): A strong increase in activity began last night at the volcano. Accompanied by steeply rising tremor, the so-far mild strombolian activity picked up to become intense enough to produce pulsating lava fountains that eject glowing material to several hundred meters height and is visible from tens of kilometres distance (e.g. the Pacific coast at 50 km to the west). The new surge of lava (or paroxysm) has also generated a new lava flow, which for the time being is confined to the inside of the Mackenney crater, but might soon be able to pour outside of the cone. As a response, CONRED has closed access to the park and civil aviation authority has limited the number of flights in and out of Guatemala airport because of the presence of ash plumes.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

Pacific Ocean:

Severe tropical cyclone Ian, a category four storm was located 170 km South-SouthWest of Niuafo'Ou and 295 km NorthWest of Vava'U at 1:00 AM Friday morning.

Following the current track, Tropical cyclone Ian is predicted to bring destructive storm force winds to the Vava'U group in the next 12-18 hours followed by a very destructive hurricane force winds in the next 18-24 hours.

Tropical cyclone Ian updates issued at 4:30 Am Friday morning (January 10, 2014) has kept Ha'apai and Niuafo'ou under gale warning. A storm alert remains in force for the Ha'apai group. Similarly, a tropical cyclone alert remains in force for Tongatapu and 'Eua. A hurricane warning has also been issued for the Vava'u group in Tonga.

NewsBytes:

An avalanche in Kashmir, India has claimed the life of an army jawan and left other missing.

Lightning strike in Argentina has claimed the lives of at least three people and injured 22 others. The lightning bolt hit Villa Gesell, Argentina on Thursday afternoon and injured 16 adults and six children. Villa Gesell is a seaside village in Villa Gesell Partido on the Atlantic coast located around 400 kilometres from Buenos Aires.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.3 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits Fiji.

5.1 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.

5.0 Earthquake hits Java, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits Colombia.

5.0 Earthquake hits Cuba.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Caspian Sea, offshore Azerbaijan.

Environment

Atomic Testing Contamination Lingers in Stratosphere: Study

Earth’s upper atmosphere is still littered with radioactive particles from the more than 500 above-ground nuclear tests that took place decades ago, according to a new Swiss study.

Most of the plutonium and cesium isotopes from those blasts have since been rinsed out of the lower levels of the atmosphere by falling in rain or snow, or by being brought down by gravity.

The stratosphere was also thought to be relatively fallout-free before the Swiss team found its contamination to be about 1,000 to 1,500 levels higher than in the troposphere, the layer just above the surface.

Jose Corcho of the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Protection told AFP that the contamination probably poses no danger to humans, and is "comparable to the levels measured at ground level air at the end of the sixties and in the seventies."

“Most of the radioactive particles are removed in the first few years after the explosion, but a fraction remains in the stratosphere for a few decades or even hundreds or thousands of years,” said Corcho.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, used aerosol samples taken by Swiss military aircraft over the past several decades.

A previous study, conducted by the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute, concluded that nuclear fallout from atmospheric testing might have led to approximately 11,000 deaths, mainly from thyroid cancer.

Environment

Global Temperature Extremes

The week's hottest temperature was 119.0 degrees Fahrenheit (48.3 degrees Celsius) at Onslow, Western Australia.

The week's coldest temperature was minus 68.1 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 55.6 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Siberian community of Selagoncy.

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.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:

Etna (Sicily, Italy): Activity and tremor have decreased for now, but weak ash emissions continue to be observed from the NE crater.

Fuego (Guatemala): Seismic activity has decreased at the volcano, suggesting that the latest surge in lava emission (both as larger-than-usual strombolian explosions and lava flow) is over.

Disease

Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – update

WHO has been informed by Canada of a laboratory-confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus in a previously healthy adult, who was first symptomatic on 27 December 2013 and died 3 January 2014.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.8 Earthquake hits the Santa Cruz Islands.

5.3 Earthquake hits the southwestern Ryukyu Islands, off Japan.

5.1 Earthquake hits Hokkaido, Japan.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits southern Iran.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

Pacific Ocean:

Tropical cyclone 07p (Ian), is located approximately 302 nm east-northeast of Suva, Fiji and is tracking east-southeastward at 02 knots. Interaction with the mid-latitude westerlies will lead to a weakening trend which is forecast to begin extra-tropical transition.

Frost Quakes in Canada

Loud booms startled sleeping Canadians last week when bitterly cold temperatures triggered an unusual weather event called frost quakes.

Frost quakes typically strike after a rapid temperature drop, such as the big chill that hit Ontario when the polar vortex swept through on last week. The quick freeze makes ice in the ground swiftly expand and crack, producing thunder-like booms. These "frost quakes" were reported throughout Ontario, with the first complaints of cracks and booms starting on Twitter around 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 2 and peaking about 2 a.m. ET Friday, Jan. 3.

Though frost quakes can shake the ground, their effects are so localized that the tremors are rarely caught on earthquake monitors. Natural Resources Canada did not record any shaking on its seismometer network, said Allison Bent, a seismologist with Earthquakes Canada in Ontario.

NewsBytes:

A wave of extremely cold weather in Nepal has claimed the lives of two persons in Mahottari and Jhapa districts on Wednesday. Dozens of flights from various western Terai districts have been cancelled including the flights from Bhairahawa, Dhangadhi, and Nepalgunj.

Communities across storm-battered England and Wales are braced for yet more flooding misery as another band of heavy rain heads from the Atlantic.

Wildlife

Lions Face Extinction in West Africa

Lions in West Africa are on the brink of extinction, new research suggests.

Fewer than 250 adults may be left in West Africa, and those big cats are confined to less than 1 percent of their historic range.

The new study, detailed in the journal PLOS ONE, suggests that without dramatic conservation efforts, three of the four West African lion populations could become extinct in the next five years, with further declines in the one remaining population, study co-author Philipp Henschel, the lion program survey coordinator for Panthera, a global wildcat conservation organization wrote.

The West African lions are genetically distinct from their brethren in other regions of the continent and are closely related to Barbary lions of North Africa and the few Asiatic lions left in India.

Environment

“Most Threatened” Tribe in Brazil Gains Respite

A tribe of indigenous Brazilians dubbed the world's most threatened are getting some breathing room in a new government effort to remove illegal loggers and ranchers from tribal lands.

The Awá, a group of about 450 men, women and children who are among the 800,000 or so indigenous residents of Brazil have been in a long legal battle over the rights to their lands in northeastern Brazil. The forested territory is of great interest to loggers, ranchers and miners, who have staked out claims in the area despite court decisions granting it to the Awá.

Now, Brazil's indigenous affairs department, known as FUNAI, has sent police and special agents to the territory to evict illegal squatters.

Space Events

Sun Unleashes 1st Major Solar Flare of 2014

A massive solar flare erupted from the sun on Tuesday (Jan. 7), rising up from what appears to be one of the largest sunspot groups seen on the star's surface in a decade, NASA officials say.

Tuesday's big flare was an X1.2-class solar event on the scale used to classify sun storms. It occurred at 1:32 p.m. EST (1832 GMT) and came just hours after an M7.2-class flare. Space weather officials at the the Space Weather Prediction Center overseen by NOAA are expecting the flare to spark geomagnetic storms in Earth's magnetic field when a wave of super-hot solar plasma associated with the flare - known as a coronal mass ejection - reaches Earth in the next few days.

Disease

Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – update

The National Health and Family Planning Commission of China has notified WHO of seven additional laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus.

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

WHO has been informed of an additional laboratory-confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Oman.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:

Etna (Sicily, Italy): The activity of the volcano has remained similar to the previous days: so far, relatively weak but more or less steady ash emissions are occurring at the North-East crater, and tremor continues its slow rise. Whether this is a precursor to more vigorous activity (from the New SE crater?) remains to be seen probably in the coming days.

Shiveluch (Kamchatka): A series of ash plumes to altitudes around 20,000 ft (6 km) from the volcano were reported by VAAC Tokyo, suggesting that the lava dome is currently in a relatively active phase with frequent explosions and/or rockfalls / pyroclastic flows.

Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): Following an unusually long interval with no real explosions, two small to modest vulcanian eruptions have again occurred on 6 January and today, with ash plumes reported to 10,000 ft (3 km) and 6,000 ft (1.8 km) altitude.

Marapi (Western Sumatra, Indonesia): The volcano (not to be confused with MErapi in Central Java) erupted again yesterday (Thu) morning, producing a series of small (probably phreatic?) ash explosions, with ash plumes that rose to a few 100 m above the crater. According to local newspapers citing PVMBG, the new eruptions were preceded by an increase in seismic activity under the volcano since 1 January and there were 5 explosions at 05:34, 05:53, 05:59, 06:12 and at 07:14 am local time, as well as some weaker ash emissions at 08:07. The current alert status of Mount Marapi, a popular climbing destination, still stays at level 2 (out of 4), but it is recommended not to approach the crater within a radius of 3 km.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.7 Earthquake hits Tarapaca, Chile.

5.5 Earthquake hits the central east Pacific rise.

5.1 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

Pacific Ocean:

Tropical cyclone 07p (Ian), forms in the Pacific and is ocated approximately 275 nm east-northeast of Suva, Fiji, tracking northward at 02 knots.

NewsBytes:

An avalanche in the backcountry near Vail. Colorado, USA has claimed the life of one person. The avalanche occurred at around 11:30 am in East Vail Chutes, an area between Vail Mountain and Vail Pass.

Several parts of central Oxford in the UK have flooded in storms described as “the worst in two decades”.