Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 earthquake hits the central east Pacific rise.
5.1 earthquake hits the western Indian-Antarctic ridge.
5.0 earthquake hits the Babuyan Islands in the Philippines.
5.0 earthquake hits El Salvador.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Southern Hemisphere: Tropical cyclone (tc) 19s (Faraji), located approximately 888 nm southeast of Diego Garcia, is tracking south-southeastward at 03 knots.
Tropical cyclone 20p (Twenty), located approximately 566 nm south-southeast of Suva, Fiji, is tracking southward at 16 knots.
Longer Pollen Season
Human-caused climate change has both worsened and lengthened pollen seasons across the U.S. and Canada, a new study reports.
Climate change has two broad effects, according to the study. First, it shifts pollen seasons earlier and lengthens their duration. Second, it increases the pollen concentrations in the air so pollen seasons are, on average, worse. The new research shows that pollen seasons start 20 days earlier, are 10 days longer and feature 21% more pollen than they did in 1990.
Covid-19
The countries with the 10 greatest number of Covid-19 cases:
Anthrax – Australia
Officials with NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) are urging producers to vaccinate their livestock following confirmation of the first case of anthrax of the year. In late January 2021, anthrax was detected in an unvaccinated mob of ewes and lambs on a Central West NSW property with a previous history of anthrax.
Bird Flu – China
The World Health Organization (WHO) in the Western Pacific Region announced recently two additional human avian influenza A(H5N6) virus infections in China.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.5 earthquake hits Taiwan.
5.5 earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
5.3 earthquake hits the Banda Sea.
5.1 earthquake hits eastern New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.
5.1 earthquake hits Tonga.
5.1 earthquake hits southern Peru.
5.1 earthquake hits northern Peru.
5.1 earthquake hits the Izu Islands off Japan.
5.0 earthquake hits Kyushu, Japan.
5.0 earthquake hits Palawan in the Philippines.
5.0 earthquake hits Taiwan.
5.0 earthquake hits Hokkaido, Japan.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Southern Hemisphere: Tropical cyclone (tc) 19s (Faraji), located approximately 769 nm east-southeast of Diego Garcia, is tracking eastward at 05 knots.
Newsbytes:
Morocco – At least 28 people have died as a result of flash flooding in northern Morocco. Flash floods struck in the city of Tangier on 08 February 2021, inundating streets and buildings including an illegal textile factory in a basement of house where over 40 workers were trapped. As of late 08 February, state media reported the bodies of 28 of the workers had been found. Around 17 people have been rescued and transferred to hospital. A search was ongoing for more survivors. Reports in local media speculate that the victims died from electrocution after power cables in the factory were submerged by flood waters.
Carpets of Plastic Waste
Flooding has sent carpets of waste plastic down river into Hungary over the past few days, officials say, despite earlier pleas to its upstream neighbours Ukraine and Romania for an end to the pollution.
As of Monday, floating garbage disposal units have removed 500 cubic metres of waste from the Tisza and Szamos rivers. While much of the debris flowing downstream is organic when water levels rise, household waste, including slippers and even televisions, appears alongside the plastic bottles.
Covid-19
The countries with the 10 greatest number of Covid-19 cases:
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 earthquake hits the Philippines.
5.3 earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.
5.2 earthquake hits Nicaragua.
5.0 earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Southern Hemisphere: Tropical cyclone (tc) 19s (Faraji), located approximately 680 nm southeast of Diego Garcia, is tracking eastward at 06 knots.
Newsbytes:
France – The flood situation continues in south-western France, with more evacuations reported as a result of overflowing rivers in Lot-et-Garonne and Charente-Maritime Departments. Flooding has affected wide areas of the country after heavy rainfall from late January.
India – Dozens of people are feared missing after a Himalayan glacier broke and smashed into dams in the state of Uttarakhand, northern India, early on 07 February 2021. Media in India reported that a portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off causing floods that destroyed the Rishiganga hydropower project near Raini village and a dam under-construction on the river Dhauliganga near Tapovan. Many of those missing are thought to be workers from the construction site and residents of nearby villages. Police in Uttarakhand reported on 08 February 2021 that about 202 people have been reported missing in yesterday’s accident, while the bodies of 19 have been recovered from different places.
Jordan & Saudi Arabia – At least 4 people died and several were rescued after flash floods in Jordan and western Saudi Arabia on 04 to 05 February 2021. Flash floods struck in Jordan from 04 February after heavy rainfall. Civil Defence reported that 4 people died when a vehicle was swept away by flood waters in Ruwaished in Mafraq Governorate on 05 February. Flooding was also reported in Ma’an Governorate, where Civil Defence teams were also called on to help rescue motorists swept away by flood waters. Over the border, heavy rainfall caused severe flooding in Tabuk Province, Saudi Arabia. Streets of Tabuk City were inundated, causing traffic disruption. Four people were rescued by Saudi Civil Defence teams and a helicopter after their vehicle was swept away in flood waters in the province.
Covid-19
The countries with the 10 greatest number of Covid-19 cases:
Ebola – DR Congo
On Sunday, February 7, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health reported a new case of Ebola has been detected in Butembo, a city in North Kivu Province, where a previous outbreak was declared over in June 2020.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.0 earthquake hits the Bismarck Sea.
6.0 earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.
5.6 earthquake hits Fiji.
5.5 earthquake hits Taiwan.
5.1 earthquake hits Alaska.
5.1 earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.
5.0 earthquake hits the Pacific-Antarctic ridge.
5.0 earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
5.0 earthquake hits Tonga.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Southern Hemisphere: Tropical cyclone (tc) 19s (Faraji), located approximately 639 nm southeast of Diego Garcia, is tracking east-southwestward at 02 knots.
Newsbytes:
Australia – A slow moving tropical low caused widespread flooding and road closures in northern parts of Western Australia (WA), in particular the Gascoyne Region, from 05 February, 2021.
England – Heavy rain has led to flooding across Yorkshire, leaving cars stranded, roads closed and rail services disrupted. Some railway lines were blocked between Leeds and Wakefield Westgate due to flooding.
China Expands Protected Wildlife List
China has added 517 new species to a list of nationally protected animals, marking the first major update of the inventory since its introduction in 1989.
The additions, which include the wolf, large-spotted civet and golden jackal, take the number of species on the List of Wildlife under Special State Protection – an adjunct to the Wildlife Protection Law – to 980. Among the other additions were the Skywalker (or Gaoligong) hoolock gibbon and Bailey’s (or hot-spring) snake, which is endemic to Tibet.Among the other additions were the Skywalker (or Gaoligong) hoolock gibbon and Bailey’s (or hot-spring) snake, which is endemic to Tibet.
‘Drastic’ Declines in Cambodia’s Endangered Wildlife
Cambodia’s last two wildlife sanctuaries have seen a drastic decline in wildlife populations. The estimated banteng population (ungulates) plummeted by 72%, from about 3,013 in 2010 to just 856 in 2020, within both sanctuaries, which have a combined area of 5,955 square kilometers – slightly larger than Brunei Darussalam. The population of red muntjacs, also known as barking deer, had declined to about 3,350 in 2020, half the number that had been found in 2010. Between the late 1960s and the early 1990s, Cambodia’s total banteng population fell by 95%, according to the WWF.
Rampant poaching and deforestation due to overseas business interests are responsible for the drop in wildlife numbers.
Covid-19
The countries with the 10 greatest number of Covid-19 cases:
Yellow Fever – Brazil
In a follow-up on epizootic yellow fever situation in Paraná state, Brazil, the State Department of Health reported three more deaths of infected monkeys (epizootics) that occurred in the municipality of Palmas. The State has so far registered 104 reports of animal diseases in 23 municipalities. There were 14 monkey deaths confirmed due to the yellow fever virus; 7 are under investigation, 41 were discarded and 42 occurred for undetermined causes.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.4 earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
5.2 earthquake hits the Virgin Islands.
5.1 earthquake hits Azerbaijan.
5.0 earthquake hits the Molucca Sea.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Southern Hemisphere: Tropical cyclone (tc) 19s (Faraji), located approximately 597 nm southeast of Diego Garcia, is tracking southwestward at 04 knots.
Newsbytes:
Guadeloupe – Heavy rainfall triggered flash flooding in Basse-Terre Island, Guadeloupe from 03 February 2021, leaving at least 3 people missing. Météo-France Antilles-Guyane said the highest accumulation of rain was measured in Pointe-Noire and Petit-Bourg with 86.5 mm and 64.9 mm respectively during a 6 hour period between 12:00 and 18:00 on 03 February, 2021. Météo-France Antilles-Guyane added that the intensity of the rainfall was unusual. The passage of severe weather over Basse-Terre Island on 03 February 2021, caused the sudden rise of rivers in areas of Petit-Bourg, Pointe-Noire, Vieux-Habitants and Capesterre-Belle-Eau.
Global warming found to be culprit for flood risk in Peruvian Andes
As the planet warms, glaciers are retreating and causing changes in the world’s mountain water systems. For the first time, scientists at the University of Oxford and the University of Washington have directly linked human-induced climate change to the risk of flooding from a glacial lake known as one of the world’s greatest flood risks.
The study examined the case of Lake Palcacocha in the Peruvian Andes, which could cause flooding with devastating consequences for 120,000 residents in the city of Huaraz.
The new study first calculated the role of human emissions in the observed temperature increase since the start of the industrial era around Palcaraju Glacier. It finds that human activity is responsible for 95% of the observed 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) warming in this region since 1880.
In a desert seared by climate change, burrowers fare better than birds
In the Mojave Desert, small mammals are weathering the hotter conditions triggered by climate change much better than birds, finds a new study. Using computer models, the study team showed that small mammals’ resilience is likely due to their ability to escape the sun in underground burrows and their tendency to be more active at night. This gives small mammals lower ‘cooling costs’ than birds, which have less capacity to escape the heat.
Covid-19
The countries with the 10 greatest number of Covid-19 cases:
Dengue Fever – Ethiopia
Global and local health authorities are reporting a dengue fever outbreak in the Somali Region of eastern Ethiopia. Close to 160 confirmed cases have been recorded in Warder Woreda of Dolo Zone and 47 suspected cases in Dolo Ado Woreda of Liban Zone.
Measles – DR Congo
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports measles has resurfaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) provinces of North and South Ubangui with cases rising to 4,500 since the outbreak mid-December 2020, affecting mostly children under five years. Many of the cases are complicated and associated with malnutrition.
Swine Flu – USA
On 13 January, 2021, a child under 18 years of age in Wisconsin developed respiratory disease. Sequencing of the virus by CDC revealed it is similar to A (H3N2) viruses circulating in swine in the mid-western United States during 2019-2020.
