February 8, 2016 - FAIRBANKS, ALASKA - What's happening behind those houses?
Pictured here are not
auroras but nearby
light pillars,
a nearby phenomenon that can appear as a distant one.
In most places on
Earth, a lucky viewer can see a
Sun-pillar, a column of light
appearing to extend up from the
Sun caused by flat fluttering
ice-crystals reflecting sunlight from the
upper atmosphere.
Usually these
ice crystals
evaporate before reaching the ground.
They form when two layers of air or liquid of different densities move past each other at different speeds, creating shearing at the boundary.
When these two layers move past each other, a Kelvin-Helmholz instability is formed that is sort of like a wave.
Parts of the boundary move up and parts move down.
Because one layer is moving faster than the other, the shear causes the tops of the waves to move horizontally, forming what looks like an ocean wave crashing on the beach.
It really is like breaking waves.
A wave breaks when the water on top moves so much faster than the water below that it kind of piles up on itself.
And with those sunrise colors, we have a beautiful and weird sky phenomenon. - Strange Sounds.
January 23, 2016 - COLORADO, UNITED STATES - The tower-like strange cloud formation was photographed by Mike Herrman at Lakewood, Colorado, USA on January 18, 2016.
Lenticular clouds (Altocumulus lenticularis) are stationary lens-shaped clouds that form in the troposphere, normally in perpendicular alignment to the wind direction. Lenticular clouds can be separated into altocumulus standing lenticularis (ACSL), stratocumulus standing lenticular (SCSL), and cirrocumulus standing lenticular (CCSL). Because of their shape, they have been offered as an explanation for some Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sightings.
As air flows along the surface of the Earth, it encounters obstructions.
These are man-made objects, such as buildings and bridges, and natural
features, like hills, valleys, and mountains. All of them disrupt the
flow of air into eddies. The strength of the eddies depends on the size
of the object and the speed of the wind. It results in turbulence
classified as ‘mechanical’ because it is formed through the “mechanical
disruption of the ambient wind flow”. Where stable moist air flows over a
mountain or a range of mountains, a series of large-scale standing waves may form on the downwind side. If the temperature at the crest of the wave drops to the dew point,
moisture in the air may condense to form lenticular clouds.
As the
moist air moves back down into the trough of the wave, the cloud may
evaporate back into vapor. Under certain conditions, long strings of
lenticular clouds can form near the crest of each successive wave,
creating a formation known as a "wave cloud."
The wave systems cause large vertical air movement, enough that water
vapor may condense to produce precipitation. The clouds have been
mistaken for UFOs (or "visual cover" for UFOs), particularly the round
"flying saucer"-type, because these clouds have a characteristic lens
appearance and smooth saucer-like shape; also, because lenticular clouds
generally do not form over low-lying or flat terrain, many people have
never seen one and are not aware clouds with that shape can exist.
Bright colors (called irisation) are sometimes seen along the edge of lenticular clouds. These clouds have also been known to form in cases where a mountain
does not exist, but rather as the result of shear winds created by a
front.
December 31, 2015 - MEXICO - Luis Felipe Gaspar, a photo and video journalist in Mexicali, Mexico
captured this amazing firenado during a blaze in a city's dump transfer
unit on 28th December 2015.
A fire whirl – also colloquially known as a fire devil, fire tornado, firenado, or fire twister – is a whirlwind induced by a fire and often made up of flame or ash.
Fire whirls may occur when intense rising heat and turbulent wind conditions combine to form whirling eddies of air.
These eddies can contract into a tornado-like structure that sucks in burning debris and combustible gases.
Rarely, however, do fire whirls grow to become actual tornadoes, which are violently rotating vortices connecting the surface to a cumuliform (such as pyrocumulus or pyrocumulonimbus) cloud base.
Bizarre: Residents in the area were terrified by the weather phenomenon. YouTube / elliberal.com.ar
December 16, 2015 - ARGENTINA - A strange cloud formation has left residents in Argentina terrified
after it rolled over a city - then suddenly disappeared minutes later.
The video has been uploaded to YouTube by Diario El Liberal and has had more than 3,000 views since December Sunday.
Rolling: It is thought the clouds disappeared within minutes. YouTube / elliberal.com.ar
One journalist, who witnessed the bizarre weather phenomenon , told
local media: "It was a matter of two or three minutes from when it
formed in the sky to when it disappeared.
"We believe that this may have occurred when there was a sudden drop in temperature over Santiago del Estero.
"We need an expert to tell us what happened," the journalist continued.
WATCH: Strange cloud formation spotted in sky terrifies residents in Argentina.
"Residents say that it was the tail end of a tornado but we do not know."
"It was very large, covering the whole sky, we do not know what to call it," they added. "We were afraid." - Mirror.
WATCH: Changes in clouds worldwide now affecting Earth's temperatures.
December 7, 2015 - INDIANA, UNITED STATES - Travis Branum from North Vernon shared these beautiful, but eerie photos
of giant vertical beams of colored light that appeared over North
Vernon Indiana early this morning.
So what is it?
These are called "light pillars" and are pretty rare around these parts.
What caused it?
Light pillars are created through the reflection of light off of numerous tiny ice crystals .
According to Wikipedia:
"The crystals responsible for light pillars usually
consist of flat, hexagonal plates, which tend to orient themselves more
or less horizontally as they fall through the air.
Their collective
surfaces act as a giant mirror, which reflects the light source upwards
and/or downwards into a virtual image.
As the crystals are disturbed by
turbulence the angle of their surfaces deviates some degrees from the
horizontal orientation, causing the reflection (i.e. the light pillar)
to become elongated into a column.
The larger the crystals, the more
pronounced this effect becomes. More rarely, column-shaped crystals can
cause light pillars as well"
The combination of a dense fog and air temperatures in the 20's
allowed the water droplets in the fog to freeze into ice crystals
allowing the phenomenon to occur.
Red sand from the Sahara will be mixed with rain which falls on Britain at the beginning of the weekendPhoto: AP/Ian Jones
April 9, 2015 - BRITAIN - ‘Blood rain’ will fall on Britain this weekend
staining cars and pavements a rusty brown as red dust blows in from the
Sahara desert.
Parts of the UK are
facing soaring levels of air pollution as African dust mingles with
city pollution, prompting health officials to issue warnings to
vulnerable people.
Much of the South
East and eastern England will see high levels of pollution, although
the problem is expected to be short-lived, with Atlantic winds
dispersing the murky air by Saturday, the Environment Department (Defra)
said.
"Blood rain" is the term
used when rain mixes with sand from deserts. Storms in the Sahara desert
whip up sand into a fine dust which is carried for more than 2,000
miles to Britain.
When the rain
falls it looks a reddish colour and when it dries it leaves a thin layer
of dust capable of coating houses, cars and garden furniture.
Although it is more common in Spain and the South of France, it has
been known to travel longer distances and fall in areas like
Scandinavia. In some parts of India the colour has been vibrant enough
to stain clothing.
Met Office forecaster Dan Williams said:
“People could find yellow or brown dust from the Sahara on their cars on
Saturday morning.”
In ancient times ‘blood rain’ was believed
to be actual blood and considered a bad omen, heralding death and
destruction. It is mentioned in Homer’s Iliad and in Geoffrey of
Monmouth’s tales of King Arthur.
The Anglo Saxon Chronicle
records that in 685, "there was a bloody rain in Britain. And milk and
butter were turned to blood. And Lothere, king of Kent, died"
The historian William of Newburgh also claimed that Richard the Lionheart was caught in a shower of 'blood rain'.
Richard the Lionheart was covered in a shower of 'blood rain'
MeteoGroup forecaster Mario Cuellar added: “Spain saw ‘blood rain’ on Wednesday as the Saharan dust moved north.”
“Some of this dust currently in the UK’s polluted air could be found on cars after rain on Friday night.”
Health officials have issued a warning about the high level of
pollution in Britain in the coming days. Adults and children with lung
or heart problems, and older people have been advised to avoid strenuous
activity.
People are also advised to reduce physical exertion,
particularly outside, and asthma sufferers were warned that they may
need to use their inhaler more frequently.
A Defra spokeswoman said: "Locally generated air
pollution, combined with pollution from the continent and Saharan dust,
could cause high or very high levels on Friday.
Cars were covered in Saharan dust in London in 2012
"This is expected to clear on Saturday and pollution levels will return to low throughout the morning."
Temperatures on Friday are expected to 72F (22C) which is due to be the
hottest day since last year’s Halloween heatwave saw conditions peak at
73F (23.6C) on October 31.
In fact, conditions on Friday could
nudge the record for the hottest ever April 10, 73F (23.3C) which was
set in Devon in 1909.
The high temperatures have already sparked
dozens of blazes including a two square mile grass fire in Darwen,
Lancashire and a 20-acre grass fire in Cheddar, Somerset.
However the hot and humid conditions will break overnight with rain and windy conditions in the North.
Temperatures will plummet on Saturday to usual conditions for
mid-April. The Met Office forecast 46F (8C) highs in Scotland, 50F (10C)
in the Midlands and 59F (15C) in the South-East.
Forecaster Brian Gaze of The Weather Outlook said: “Decent summer weather will be followed by weekend rain - typical.”
Two inches of snow is expected at Scottish ski resorts on Saturday and
wind gusts will nudge a gale-force 40mph in the West, 45mph in the North
and 50mph in Scotland.
Dan Williams from the Met Office added:
“Saturday will see temperatures drop and breezes increase, feeling
noticeably added with windchill and more cloud.
“Sunday’s showers will turn wintry on higher ground in Scotland, where weekend gales are expected in exposed parts.” - Telegraph.
February 7, 2015 - EARTH - The following stories constitutes some of the latest incidents of Earth changes across the globe.
Ice halo around the moon seen in the UK
Last night many observers in the UK reported seeing an odd halo of light around the moon.
The remarkable phenomenon was captured in stunning images, showing the moon surrounded by a bright ring of light.
The spectacle is caused by ice crystals in the atmosphere, specifically
when thin cirrus or cirrostratus clouds are present at an altitude of
about 20,000 feet (6,100 metres).
During cold weather these
clouds can contain millions of hexagonal ice crystals, and as light from
the moon - which is just reflected sunlight - passes through the
atmosphere, it refracts in a particular way within the crystals.
Specifically, the light refracts at angles no smaller than 22° -
sometimes leading the phenomenon to be called a 22° halo - which results
in a ring around 44 times larger than the moon itself.
Different colours of light are bent at different angles, resulting in
the inner edge of the halo being slightly red, and the outer edge having
a slightly bluer tint.
Pictured is the moon halo over the, Isle of Wight.
The moon halo is formed by a high-altitude ice crystal cloud that
gathers around the moon
The light refracts at angles no smaller than 22°
in the ice crystals (illustrated) - sometimes leading the phenomenon to
be called a 22° halo - which results in a ring around 44 times larger
than the moon itself
The reason that it forms as a ring is because of
the angle of refraction. The only light that reaches your location is
that which is located at the right distance away from the moon to form a
ring. Here, a vapour trail from a plane is seen cutting through the
halo above Herefordshire
The effect is not exclusive to the moon, however. It can also occur around the sun, for the same reasons described above.
On some occasions the halos are accompanied by sundogs - bright spots
either side of the moon or sun as the crystals sink through the air,
causing the light to be vertically aligned.
'Ice halos are
atmospheric phenomena that can occur around the sun or the moon, when
tiny crystals of ice in the atmosphere refract and reflect light,
creating a halo around the solar or lunar source,' Ben Biggs, Editor for
All About Space magazine, told MailOnline.
'Visually,
they can range from the one we could see last night in parts of the UK,
which was a cool and slightly creepy perfect circle around the moon, to
a bright and ethereal display featuring multiple arcs and 'sundogs'
(also known as parhelia), which appear as bright spots at the corners of
the halo when the sun is near the horizon.'
'Even the more
ordinary halos are fairly uncommon in the UK but in particularly bright
and bitter conditions, such as in the US, absolutely spectacular ice
halo displays can appear.'
Ice halos were once said to be a
sign that a storm was approaching, as cirrus or cirrostratus clouds
often come before a large storm front.
However, the clouds can
also occur without a large storm approaching, so their use as an
accurate weather prediction tool is not entirely accurate. - Daily Mail.
Homes evacuated as mudslide, flooding hit rural Jefferson Co.
Dozens
of homes were engulfed by floodwaters Friday in the small town of
Brinnon after extremely heavy rain overnight in rural Jefferson County
forced the Duckabush River over its banks near Hood Canal.
A
mudslide also damaged homes and three people were rescued after their
truck became stranded as they were fleeing the rushing floodwaters.
Evacuations are under way in the area, but so far there are no reports
of injuries. A swift water rescue team is in the area. Several vehicles
also were stranded in floodwaters from the rain-gorged Duckabush River,
including a Jefferson County sheriff's patrol car.
"It's pretty bad," said Assistant Fire Chief Ben Andrews. "There are a lot of homes that have water in them."
A National Weather Service spotter reported that 4.43 inches of rain
fell in the area between 4 p.m. Thursday and 7:30 a.m. Friday.
Emergency responders initially rushed to the area near Shorewood Road
and Kelly Road in Brinnon, off Duckabush Road, at about 1 a.m. Friday
after receiving reports of a mudslide, said a spokeswoman for the
Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management. The slide
reportedly blocked the road and damaged five or six homes.
Now
crews are going to door to door to check on residents stranded by
floodwaters from the Duckabush River, which flows from the Olympic
Mountains. Many homes are completely surrounded by floodwaters.
Nicole
Black, whose home is located just above the flood zone, said the area
occasionally experiences minor flooding when it rains heavily, but "this
is different."
"This is a lot more than we're used to," she
said. "This is beyond our comfort zone." She said the flooding may have
been worsened by a mudslide on a bank that was logged about two years
ago.
She said crews are going door-to-door with Zodiac boats and a large dump truck to evacuate residents.
"It wasn't very fun," said Elyssa Brown. "This is the second time it's happened."
The last time was in December when the Duckabush also went over its banks.
"It's horrible," said Keri Nelson. "We've already had it happen and we haven't even recovered from the last time."
WATCH: Severe flooding in Brinnon, Jefferson County.
Marlene Standerfer and her husband are staying put, even though the
water is up to their doors, and their house is surrounded by water. They
say they're not nervous.
"We've come out a lot of times and sat at the picnic table and watched all the logs come down," said Marlene Standerfer.
The fire crews say the evacuations are advisable, but not mandatory...
At least not yet. Even along Kelly Road on the north side of the river,
we saw smoke from a chimney -- a family deciding to ride it out despite
water around -- and probably inside their home.
Flood Watches and warnings
remain in effect for much of Western Washington, including rivers in
Grays Harbor, Clallam, Jefferson, Skagit, Whatcom, Mason, Pierce and
Snohomish counties.
More heavy rainfall is forecast through the weekend, with significant rainfall in the Mount Rainier area as well.
Several Cascade Mountain rivers also are threatened by potential
flooding, including the Nooksack, Skagit, Stillaguamish and Puyallup
rivers.
"This is only the beginning of things getting worse,"
Black said. "If this rain continues like it is projected to everybody
here needs to get out and we need to make sure these banks don't fall." -
Komo News.
Orange snow covers Russian city, bewilders residents
Residents
of the city of Saratov, some 858 km from the Russian capital, have been
shocked as they looked out of the windows and saw their neighborhoods
covered with orange snow.
The residents shared the news in social
networks as the colorful snow appeared to be seen in almost all parts of
the city. Its color varied from light yellow to intensive orange.
Such
unconventional snowfall caused numerous concerns among the city people.
Some social network users were worried that could be radioactive or
could contain harmful chemical substances. Others were afraid they had
problems with eyes and color vision.
Local residents contacted the Svobodnye Novosti news agency, which quizzed an expert on the phenomenon.
Saratov
weather forecast service director Mikhail Boltukhin said it was quite a
common event and it was absolutely harmless for people and animals. He
said the orange snow was caused by a cyclone from the Western Sahara
which brought some sand from the African desert to Russia.
WATCH: Orange snow in Russia.
“The air coming from the West contains tiny particles of sand, which give the falling snow an orange hue,” Boltukhin said. “Similar
phenomena have been observed recently in various districts of the
region and in other parts of the country, particularly in Crimea.”
There are no toxic substances, as it is natural sand, the expert added. - RT.
Cluster Of 7 Small Earthquakes Hit Bay Area From North To South
(CBS)
A
swarm of seven small earthquakes hit the Bay Area Wednesday evening,
according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s automated seismograph alert
network.
The quakes ranging from magnitude 0.4 to 1.6 struck shortly before 8 p.m. Pacific Time at an estimated depth of 5km below the earth’s surface. Deeper quakes are less noticeable while a shallow quake–in the 0 to 40 mile depth range–can feel much stronger than their actual reported magnitude. Quakes just below the earth’s surface, in the 0 to 10 miles range, can cause even more damage at lower magnitudes.
The quakes hit from the Hollister area in the south to as far north as Napa. - CBS.
Mercury levels on the rise in Hawaiian yellowfin tuna
Mercury
concentrations in tuna are increasing by nearly four percent a year,
according to a new University of Michigan-led study, which suggests
rising atmospheric levels of toxin are to blame.
Researchers came
to this conclusion using the findings from three previously published
reports, which studied yellowfin tuna caught near Hawaii in 1971, 1998
and 2008. In the studies, scientists tested the tuna’s muscle tissues,
finding that nearly all of the mercury they detected was the toxic
methylmercury.
As part of their reexamination of these studies,
scientists included yellowfin tuna between 48 and 167 pounds and used a
computer model that controlled for the effect of body size.
In
total, data from 229 fish was analyzed: One hundred and eleven from
1971, 104 from 1998 and 14 from 2008. The researchers found that mercury
concentrations in the yellowfin tuna did not change between the 1971
and 1998 datasets. However, concentrations were higher in 2008 than in
either 1971 or 1998. Between 1998 and 2008, the mercury concentration in
yellowfin tuna increased at a rate greater than or equal to 3.8 percent
a year, according to the new study.
Reuters/Tony Gentile
We crunched the data & looked at mercury levels in an ocean of popular fish. Top 4= off limits
http://lnitup.co/1lwhd1U
“The take-home message is
that mercury in tuna appears to be increasing in lockstep with data and
model predictions for mercury concentrations in water in the North
Pacific,” said Paul Drevnick, an assistant research scientist at the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment, in a statement. “This study confirms that mercury levels in open ocean fish are responsive to mercury emissions.”
Mercury
is a potent toxin that can accumulate to high concentrations in fish
and pose health risks to people who eat large, predatory marine fish
such as swordfish and tuna. The US Food and Drug Administration and
Environmental Protection Agency advises women of a child-bearing age,
nursing mothers, and young children to avoid swordfish, shark and king
mackerel, and to limit their consumption of tuna to 6 ounces per week.
Consumption of large amounts of polluted fish can result in coronary
heart disease and brain damage in children.
The principal source
of mercury pollution in the oceans comes from emissions from coal-fired
power plants and artisanal gold mining.
For decades, scientists
have expected to see mercury levels in open-ocean fish increase in
response to rising atmospheric concentrations, but evidence for that
hypothesis has been hard to find.
“Mercury levels are
increasing globally in ocean water, and our study is the first to show a
consequent increase in mercury in an open-water fish,” Drevick said. “More
stringent policies are needed to reduce releases of mercury into the
atmosphere. If current deposition rates are maintained, North Pacific
waters will double in mercury by 2050.” - RT.
Electric Universe: Two 'rare' observations of red sprites over South America - a few days apart
At
the ESO's observatories located high in the Atacama Desert of Chile,
amazing images of distant objects in the Universe are captured on a
regular basis. But in January 2015, ESO photo ambassador Petr Horálek captured some amazing photos of much closer phenomena: red sprites flashing in the atmosphere high above distant thunderstorms.
The photo above was captured from ESO's Paranal Observatory. A few days earlier during the early morning hours of Jan. 20 Petr captured another series of sprites from the La Silla site, generated by a storm over Argentina over 310 miles (500 km) away.
Add caption
Sprites spotted from ESO’s La Silla observatory by Petr Horálek (left horizon)
So-named because of theirelusive nature,
sprites appear as clusters of red tendrils above a lighting flash,
often extending as high as 55 miles (90 km) into the atmosphere. The
brightest region of a sprite is typically seen at altitudes of over
40-45 miles (65-75 km).
Because they occur high above large
storms, only last for fractions of a second and emit light in the
portion of the spectrum to which our eyes are the least sensitive,
observing sprites is notoriously difficult.
These furtive
atmospheric features weren't captured on camera until 1989. Continuing
research has since resulted in more images, including some from the
International Space Station. When they are spotted, sprites - and their
lower-altitude relatives blue jets - can appear as bright as moderate
aurorae and have also been found to emit radio noise. It has even been
suggested that looking for sprite activity on other planets could help
identify alien environments that are conducive to life.
Find
out more about sprite research from the University of Alaska Fairbanks,
and check out the PBS NOVA program "At the Edge of Space" below about a
sprite hunt in the skies over Denver, CO conducted by a team of American
scientists and Japanese filmmakers.
Storm Of The Century: At least eight killed as huge storm batters Turkey
At least eight people have been killed and many more rescued from high winds and flooding caused by a huge storm that has battered Turkey since Sunday.
The storm, a southwesterly known locally as a Lodos, hit the Marmara, Aegean, Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea regions of the country, causing roofs of houses to collapse and forcing residents in some areas to flee the rising waters.
In the northwestern province of Edirne close to the border with Greece, the flooding of the Meric and Tunca rivers cut off the Karaagac neighborhood, home to 5,000 people.
Military vehicles and helicopters were dispatched to rescue the inhabitants, with Edirne governor Dursun Ali Sahin describing the flooding as the disaster of the century.
No casualties were reported in the area, but Sahin warned the situation could worsen, with water levels expected to rise further.
"Rescue efforts will continue in the coming hours. We know for a fact that road transportation across the river will be closed for 10 days," he told local television reporters.
Four people in different provinces were killed by collapsing buildings on Monday. A taxi driver died when high winds brought a crane down on his cab.
In the southeastern province of Gaziantep, three young children from the same family were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, after high winds forced fumes back down the house's chimney.
The storm brought down the roofs of more than 300 buildings and around 100 vehicles were damaged in Bursa province.
Local media footage showed huge waves slamming into the shore, and a mosque's stone minaret being blown down.
Turkish Airlines said it had canceled more than 100 flights over the weekend due to adverse weather. - Reuters.
Heavy snowfall disrupts normal life in Kashmir
Heavy snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir hit electricity, water and blocked national highway, disrupting normal life.
Roads
in Ramban area were filled with snow making it difficult for vehicles
to ply due to which people had to walk long distances carrying their
luggage. National Highway-44 was completely blocked, restricting
transportation.
Srinagar on Sunday had received season's first
snowfall bringing cheers to residents. However, snowfall did not bring
much delight to residents of Ramban district.
"This may be the
season's first snowfall (in this area) and it has caused a lot of
problems to everybody here as all the roads are closed. Since morning it
has increased and causing a lot of troubles," said a resident, Sunder
Singh.
As per local media reports, the weather department has
predicted snowfall for next three days. The minimum temperature recorded
was minus 0.2 degree Celsius.
Reportedly, an avalanche warning has also been issued in higher reaches of the valley.
Meanwhile, Shimla also received three to 90 centimeters of fresh snowfall.
"Since
yesterday it is snowing heavily here and this will increase the
business of hotels, restaurants and taxis as more tourists will visit
this place," said a resident, Rakesh Kumar.
Minimum temperature recorded was two degree Celsius. Forest officials arrange food for animals in Kashmir's national park following snowfall
With
thick blanket of snow covering Kashmir, officials in Srinagar's
Dachigam national park are busy arranging food material for birds and
animals, deprived of natural vegetation due to snow.
Kashmir has been receiving heavy snowfall for the last four days, disrupting normal life.
According to wildlife officials, animals especially the endangered
Hangul deer wander outside their safe havens in search of food. The
officials have placed huge chunks of dry willow salt in various parts of
the national park to feed the endangered species of animals.
WATCH: Heavy snowfall sweeps Jammu and Kashmir.
"So
our responsibility increases that these wild animals in search of food
and natural habitat do not go out of forest and we try to supply with
alternative food for these animals so that they do not face any
problems," said wildlife official, Nazir Ahmed.
According to
2009 census, the population of the Hangul, also known as the Kashmiri
stag, was estimated to be between 201 and 234, against 117-180 in March
2008.
The preventive steps come in the wake of state
meteorological department warning of an avalanche in the higher reaches
of the Valley.
Snowfall in states like Jammu and Kashmir and
Himachal Pradesh has a direct impact in other states like Punjab,
Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
- Times of India | Yahoo.
Air in 90% of China’s cities still not safe for breathing, despite ‘war on pollution’
Woman wear face masks on the Bund in front of the Oriental Pearl TV
Tower during a hazy day in downtown Shanghai January 26, 2015.
(Reuters/Aly Song)
Air
pollution in China is still incredibly high – 90 percent of its cities
stand below the threshold for air safety standards in 2014.
The “war on pollution” started a year earlier is having some effect, but hazardous emergencies are still in the hundreds.
Only
eight of China’s 74 large cities have managed to meet official air
safety standards in 2014, according to the Environmental Protection
Ministry. This is five cities more than in 2013, when only three cities –
Haikou on the island of Hainan, the Tibetan capital of Lhasa and the
coastal resort city of Zhoushan – officially met air quality standards.
Seven of the 10 most polluted Chinese cities are around Beijing, despite the capital’s efforts to combat the situation.
There were also “471 environmental emergencies in total in 2014, down 241 from a year earlier,” the ministry also said.
The
particles considered to be most harmful to health – PM2.5 – are slowly
decreasing, down to 93 micrograms per cubic meter from 106 this year in
Beiging, Hebei and Tianjin region last year.
But that’s still
three times the approved limit of 35 micrograms. China, however, does
not expect to reach the safety standard before 2030.
A government
official in mid-January blamed the pollution in the southwestern Sichuan
province on bacon, of all things. Apparently, levels spiral out of
control as locals engage in the age-old tradition of smoking bacon on
the eve of the Chinese lunar New Year, which this year will fall on
February 19.
Coal production remains another contributor to air pollution – a dirty industry that has earned China a lot of notoriety.
The
Hebei province worries the government more than any other place, as six
of its cities have all scored off the charts for smog and coal
pollution. They alone account for 60 percent of the entire pollution.
But the sticking point is to find alternative sources for energy. So far
the government has only been shutting down factories.
The one
bright spot in all this is the Pearl River Delta: its PM2.5 levels are
within the legal and health limits. But the No. 1 pollutant there is
ozone. - RT.
Mysterious "dirty rain" falling in Eastern Washington, Oregon
While
it's been a routine, rainy day in Seattle, those over in southeastern
Washington and northeastern Oregon have had a strange phenomenon: A
dirty, milky rain.
Several reports have come in from Spokane,
Walla Walla, Pendleton -- and really across much of that region. The
rain has left a dirty residue on cars and has flooded social media over
there with people wondering what is causing the odd rain.
So far,
the official cause remains a mystery, but officials with the National
Weather Service offices in Spokane and Pendleton are looking into it.
The Walla Walla emergency management office posted photos of their area,
which show much more of an ashen look to their rain. Their office
suggests it all could be ash washing out from an eruption of Volcano
Shiveluch in Kamchatka Krai, Russia. Their office says it spewed an ash
plume to about the 22,000-foot level in late January and has deposited
ash in a widespread area across parts of the Northwest.
The Spokane office of the National Weather Service posted a new photo Friday afternoon showing the cloudy rain that collected in their rain gauge.
"Definitely much cloudier than the typical rain water we see," they wrote on their Facebook page. "We
have heard a few theories thus far including; volcanic ash from Mexico
or Russia, dust picked up from last night's strong winds, or perhaps ash
from last year's wildfires over SE Oregon/SW Idaho. We still don't have
a definitive answer."
We'll let you know when we indeed do get more definitive answers. - Komo News.
Seismologists find 2-mile fault line in Irving, Texas
Seismologists studying the recent earthquakes in Irving and Dallas have found a fault line.
The scientists from Southern Methodist University gave a report on their finding to local leaders Friday morning.
Initial
results from 20 new seismic monitors installed in the area show the
earthquakes are relatively shallow. That explains so many people as far
away as Plano can feel them.
They've also been concentrated along a narrow, two-mile line.
That
suggests a fault line extending from Irving into West Dallas. It runs
from Highway 114 to Walnut Hill Road along the Trinity River.
"This
is a first step, but an important one, in investigating the cause of
the earthquakes," said SMU seismologist Brian Stump. "Now that we know
the fault's location and depth, we can begin studying how this fault
moves - both the amount and direction of motion."
The next step is looking for the triggers and determining whether they are natural or manmade.
“Sometimes
what triggers an earthquake can be very small, so all of these factors
have to be considered when looking for that trigger,” said Heather
DeShon, another seismologist from SMU.
The report notes two
inactive gas wells in the area and one wastewater injection well about
eight miles to the northwest. But, the scientists have not yet
determined if those wells are causing the quakes.
WATCH: SMU seismologist identify fault line in Dallas and Irving.
The U.S.
Geological Survey previously pinpointed the locations of the earthquakes
in a circular pattern around the old Texas Stadium site. The team from
SMU no longer believes that map is accurate.
The closest USGS monitor is 40 miles away and some are as far away as 900 miles, they said. - FOX4 News.
March 12, 2014 - NEW YORK, UNITED STATES- A measles outbreak in Manhattan and the Bronx has spread to Brooklyn and grown by three more cases to a total of 19 confirmed patients with the highly contagious virus, officials said Tuesday.
The new cases are all adults, for a total of 10 adults and nine children, the Health Department said.
The previous cases were in Inwood and Washington Heights in Manhattan, and in High Bridge, Morrisania and the Central Bronx, health officials say. The Health Department said Tuesday that cases had also been confirmed in Brooklyn.
The Health Department refused to say where in Brooklyn the cases were confirmed, but stressed that the outbreak is concentrated in northern Manhattan.
Authorities are working to identify the source of the outbreak, and are urging vaccinations for those who haven't had them. The first case was reported in February.
Four of the affected children were too young to have been vaccinated; three who had been vaccinated were 13 to 15 months old and two others had not been vaccinated by parental choice, the Health Department said. The affected adults range in age from 22 to 63 years.
Measles is a viral infection characterized by a generalized rash and high fever, accompanied by cough, red eyes and runny nose, lasting five to six days. The illness typically begins with a rash on the face and then moves down the body, and may include the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
People who contract the measles virus can spread the infection for four days before developing a rash, and for four days after that. Measles can spread easily through the air to unprotected individuals, and the Health Department is urging all New Yorkers to make sure they and their families are vaccinated.
The Health Department said it is working with city hospitals to prevent additional exposure to the virus in emergency departments. It's also asking pediatric facilities to vaccinate any children who haven't already been vaccinated. Children should normally get a second dose of the vaccine between the ages of 4 and 6, but the Health Department says those who live in the affected communities should get their second dose immediately, regardless of whether they fall within that age range.
As many as one in three people with measles develop complications, which can be serious and may include pneumonia, miscarriage, brain inflammation, hospitalization and death. Infants, people who have a weakened immune system and non-immune pregnant women are at highest risk of severe illness and complications. - NBC New York.
May 07, 2013 - EARTH - The proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is set to break 400 parts per million this month, levels not seen in 3 million years, according to one of the best climate records available.
The Keeling Curve, a daily record of atmospheric carbon dioxide, has been running continuously since March 1958, when a carbon dioxide monitor was installed at Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. On its first day, the observatory measured a carbon dioxide concentration of 313 parts per million (ppm). That number means there were 313 molecules of carbon dioxide in the air for every 1 million air molecules.
Mauna Loa, the Hawaiian Volcano from which researchers have been monitoring
atmospheric carbon dioxide for decades.
NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory
The number continued to climb through May 1958 and then slowly started to drop, reaching a minimum in October that year. This maximum-minimum pattern, repeated seasonally, reveals how trees withdraw carbon dioxide from the air in summer to grow and then release it through dead, decaying leaves and wood in the winter.
But humans release carbon dioxide into the air, too, by burning fossil fuels. This activity has caused the Keeling Curve to creep ever upward since 1958: The lows get a little higher each year, as do the highs.
Because carbon dioxide typically peaks in May, researchers are expecting the Keeling Curve to break a milestone of 400 ppm this year. (If not, the number will almost certainly be reached in May 2014.) As of May 1 of this year, the last day data was available, the Mauna Loa observatory recorded 399.39 ppm of carbon dioxide in the air.
There will be no huge atmospheric or climatic shift once carbon dioxide hits 400 ppm, but the milestone has symbolic significance, said Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University.
"It is a reminder of just how uncontrolled this dangerous experiment we're playing with the planet really is," Mann told LiveScience.
The Keeling Curve shows that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are increasing, and at a faster rate each year.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
What 400 ppm means
In the 1,000 years that occurred before the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, atmospheric carbon dioxide held steady at around 270 to 280 parts per million.
Scientists believe that the most recent period to reach 400 ppm was the Pliocene Epoch, between 5 million and 3 million years ago, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which keeps track of the Keeling Curve.
Back then, it was a different world. Global average temperatures during the period were between 5.4 and 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit (3 to 4 degrees Celsius) higher than today, and sea level was as much as 131 feet (40 meters) higher in some places. Even the least-affected regions saw sea levels 16 feet (5 meters) higher than today's.
A major difference between then and now, though, is the speed at which carbon dioxide is rising today. Typically, in the last 40 to 50 years, the Keeling Curve shows increases of 2 to 2.5 ppm a year, Mann said. In the 1950s and 1960s, carbon dioxide increased by less than 1 ppm each year, according to Scripps.
"We're on course for more than 450 ppm in a matter of decades if we don't get our fossil fuel emissions under control quite soon," Mann said. - Discovery News.
March 13, 2013 - EUROPE - Snow has been causing travel mayhem in parts of Europe, leaving passengers stranded at airports, railway stations, on the roads and at sea. Frankfurt Airport - Europe's third busiest - was shut down by heavy snowfall until further notice. The airport had already cancelled more than 100 flights and reported many delays after the German city saw about 12cm (5ins) of snow. It was not immediately clear how many more of the scheduled 1,200 flights would be cancelled due to the closure.
Rescue workers walk past the wreckage of cars following an accident on
highway A45 between Giessen and Hanau near the city of Woelfersheim.
More than 100 cars were involved in a multiple pile-up.
More than 100 cars were involved in a multiple pile-up.
Travel in France was also affected, with a quarter of flights out of Paris cancelled by the city's two main airports - Charles de Gaulle and Orly. The nearby Beauvais airport, serving mainly low-cost airlines, cancelled all flights. At Orly, a Tunisair flight carrying 140 people from Djerba skidded off the runway on landing but no one was injured, an airport source said. Several roads in the capital were closed too, while the French rail network SNCF advised rail users to stay at home because of "unfavourable weather conditions".
Scenes from the massive pile-up.
Scenes from the massive pile-up.
Scenes from the massive pile-up.
Scenes from the massive pile-up.
The unseasonable snowfall - coming only eight days before the official start of spring - also knocked out power to thousands of people in France and left hundreds of motorists stranded in their cars. About 80,000 homes in the north and northwest of France were without power, following snowfalls of up to 60cm (24ins). More than 2,000 people were stranded in their cars overnight as heavy snow paralysed roads in Normandy and Brittany, with many spending the night in emergency shelters. "There are cars in front, there are cars behind. We're in a film, it's like the end of the world," said one trapped driver. A traffic accident near Lille injured 14 people and a 58-year-old homeless man was found dead, presumably from the cold, outside a building in the town of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany. Across the border in Belgium, motorists were hit by record traffic jams with many caught in treacherous conditions and battling icy roads, strong winds and reduced visibility due to snowdrifts.
Tailbacks on the E429 highway near in Belgium.
A blanket of snow covers Paris.
Rail services were also affected - many cancelled - including some of the Thalys high-speed trains to Paris, Germany and the Netherlands, leaving thousands of commuters stranded on snowed-in platforms. Long traffic jams because of snow and ice also snaked along motorways in the southern Netherlands, hampering travel to and from Belgium after more than 10cm (4ins) of snow overnight. Eurostar suspended cross-Channel train services between London and Paris following heavy snow. "Due to extremely difficult weather conditions in northern France and Belgium, with a major part of the high-speed train tracks closed, Eurostar trains have been suspended until further notice," it said. "Our advice to passengers is not to travel today and not to come to our stations. Exchanges and refunds will be available to affected passengers."
People walk under heavy snow falls on Place de la Concorde in Paris.
Many flights hsve been cancelled at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
About 500 passengers on a ferry from Ireland to France were forced to spend the night anchored off shore after the vessel failed to dock due to high seas. A number of French children on a school trip to Ireland were among those on board Irish Ferries vessel Oscar Wilde, which made numerous attempts to dock in Cherbourg in the north west of France Passenger Caroline Mulreany told Sky News: "This boat, I feel, is in danger of a serious accident. "Maybe more help is needed and they are not asking for it. The boat right now is swaying really, really bad and crashing in and out of the water. "Everyone on board is violently sick and they don't have a doctor or anti-sick tablets."
Pedestrians walk through the snow in Cologne, western Germany.
The company said the vessel had attempted to dock four times without success. "The vessel remains off the port and it is expected that a further attempt will not be made until circa lunchtime today when some weather improvement is expected (or earlier, if possible)," it said. "To complicate matters further, it is understood that the port area and roads around Cherbourg are gripped by snow and icy conditions. "Save for the obvious discomfort of being delayed from going ashore, everyone on board is safe and reported to be in good spirits, are comfortable and are being well catered for on board. In the docking attempt yesterday, one crew member suffered what is understood to be a fractured leg. It was not possible to evacuate him to hospital. He is being attended to by two doctors who were travelling as passengers. The vessel is not due to make its scheduled return sailing to Rosslare until later today and no Ireland-bound passengers have yet been affected by the delay," it added. - SKY News.
