I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
Heavy rainfall affecting the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on March 19, 2024, caused extreme flooding in the Duhok Governorate, leading to the deaths of at least two people and damage to dozens of homes.
Category 3 Tropical Cyclone “Megan” made landfall near Borroloola, the southwestern Gulf of Carpentaria coast, at approximately 06:00 UTC on March 18, 2024. At the time of the landfall, the system had a minimum pressure of 976.1 hPa and 1-minute sustained winds of 185 km/h (115 mph). Megan is the 5th named storm of the 2023/24 Australian region cyclone season.
A strong solar flare measuring M6.7 erupted from a new region emerging on the SE limb (AR 3615) at 19:19 UTC on March 18, 2024. The event started at 19:02 UTC and ended at 19:28 UTC.
Devastating wildfires have swept through Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces in southern China since March 15, 2024, claiming four lives in Yunnan and leading to significant evacuations and damage. Reports from March 18 indicate that nearly 4 900 individuals have been evacuated in Sichuan’s Yajiang County alone, with the fires ravaging over 10 000 ha (24 710 acres) of land.
A bright green fireball streaked through the night sky over Spain at 01:54 UTC on March 16, 2024. The event was seen as brighter than the full moon.
A filament channel eruption, approximately 35 degrees in length, began at around 01:00 UTC on March 17, 2024, producing two coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
Guaratiba, a neighborhood on Rio De Janeiro’s west side, recorded a thermal sensation of 62.3 °C (144.14 °F) at 09:55 LT on Sunday, March 17, 2024, marking the highest value since the Rio Alert System’s inception in 2014. The intense heat, exacerbated by high humidity, has led to increased beach and pool attendance amidst reports of water shortages.
Scientists at the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas, announced the discovery of a vast volcano and a potential glacier ice sheet in Mars’ Tharsis volcanic province, near the equator. The finding, based on images from spacecraft orbiting Mars since 1971, highlights a volcano provisionally named “Noctis” and suggests the presence of glacier ice beneath a volcanic deposit. This discovery opens new avenues for studying Mars’ geological evolution and future exploration.
Tropical Cyclone “Megan” formed on March 16, 2024, in the Gulf of Carpentaria as the 5th named storm of the 2023/24 Australian region cyclone season. Megan has reached Category 3 intensity today and is forecast to cross the southwest coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, most likely on Monday, March 18, with wind gusts up to 220 km/h (137 mph).
After more than a month of magma buildup, a new eruption began in Reykjanes Peninsula, between Hagafell and Stóra-Skógfell, at 20:23 UTC on March 16, 2024.
