A rare 'recurrent nova' event is visible to the unaided eye in the constellation of Ophiuchus this week. RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) is a recurrent nova system, located about 5 000 light-years away from Earth, with a recurrence rate of about 15 – 20 years. Its…
Power supply demand in New Zealand reached a nationwide all-time high on Monday, August 9, 2021, after a rapidly deepening low-pressure system moved east across central parts of the country, bringing heavy snow, severe gale southerlies, and frigid temperatures. As a…
A massive wildfire burning in the northern part of the island of Evia, Greece since August 3, 2021, has forced more than 2 500 people to evacuate their homes. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed but the full extent of the damage caused by the fire burning for 7…
Heavy monsoon rains affecting the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh over the past couple of days have inundated at least 357 villages across 21 districts, as of August 9, 2021. The worst-affected are the districts of Hamirpur and Jalun in the region of Bundelkhand,…
A massive heat dome over the Mediterranean Sea is set to bring another long-lasting, intense heatwave across parts of southern Europe this week. High temperatures are expected to spread into central Europe and continue through August 22. Southern Italy, especially…
Tropical Storm "Lupit" combined with seasonal southwesterly winds to bring extremely heavy rains to parts of Taiwan from August 5 to 7, 2021, causing destructive floods and landslides. Lupit made 2 landfalls in China — the first in Shantou, Guangdong…
Heavy rains hit the border region between the Mexican states of Coahuila and Durango early August 5, 2021, causing destructive flash floods. Ragging floodwaters swept away numerous cars and severely damaged at least 50 homes. One of the worst affected areas was the…
A rapidly deepening low is moving east across central New Zealand on Sunday, August 8, 2021, into early Monday. This low is bringing heavy snow to low levels and severe gale southerlies across the central and northern districts of the country. The heaviest snow is…
At least 7 pyroclastic flows descended down the slopes of Merapi volcano, Indonesia starting at 21:58 UTC on August 7, 2021, with ash rising up to 3.6 km (12 000 feet) above sea level. No casualties were reported. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange….
A bright fireball associated with the alpha-Capricornid meteor shower was recorded over Spain at 00:22 UTC on August 5, 2021. The event was produced by a fragment from comet 169P/NEAT that impacted the atmosphere at about 90 000 km/h (55 900 mph), according to an…
