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.
A local state of emergency was declared in the Waitaki District after flooding affected Ōamaru, New Zealand, early July 6, 2026, as heavy rain, snow and strong winds disrupted parts of the South Island. A Red Heavy Rain Warning is now in force for Marlborough and Canterbury between Ward and Hanmer, and southeast of the Awatere Valley, including the Kaikōura ranges.
Strong strombolian activity is taking place at Etna’s summit craters on July 5, 2026, accompanied by strong ash emissions. The Aviation Color Code has been raised from Orange to Red.
A major solar flare measuring X1.3 erupted from newly numbered Active Region 4482 on the southeast limb at 20:41 UTC on July 4, 2026. A coronal mass ejection (CME) was produced, but due to the location of the source region, an Earth-directed component is unlikely.
A hybrid seismic swarm was recorded in Tenerife from 18:34 to approximately 23:00 LT (17:34 to 22:00 UTC) on July 3, 2026, according to the Canary Islands Volcanological Institute (INVOLCAN). The institute said the episode does not change the likelihood of a volcanic eruption on the island in the short or medium term.
New activity/unrest was reported for 5 volcanoes from June 25-July 1, 2026. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 22 volcanoes.
A coronal mass ejection (CME) associated with the June 30, 2026, solar flare reached Earth on July 3, triggering a geomagnetic disturbance that intensified to G3 – Strong storm levels early July 4.
Indonesia’s Geological Agency raised Anak Krakatau alert from Level II (Waspada) to Level III (Siaga) at 16:30 WIB (09:30 UTC) on July 2, 2026, after an eruption at 14:05 WIB (07:05 UTC) sent a dense gray-to-black ash plume about 200 m (656 feet) above the summit. The agency set a 3 km (1.9 miles) exclusion zone around the active crater.
Effusive activity at Italy’s Etna volcano continued from a vent at 3 030 m (9 940 feet) elevation on July 2, 2026, feeding overlapping lava flows on the volcano’s eastern flank. Meanwhile, strombolian activity persisted at Voragine crater as volcanic tremor remained in the high range and a new infrasonic source developed beneath the crater.
A front preceded by a strong, moist north to northwesterly flow is forecast to bring up to 250 mm (9.8 inches) of rain to parts of New Zealand’s South Island and severe wind gusts up to 130 km/h (81 mph) in exposed parts of the Canterbury High Country from Friday, July 3, to Saturday, July 4, 2026.
Multiple coronal mass ejections linked to repeated eruptions from Active Region 4479 are forecast to reach Earth in stages from July 3 through July 6, 2026. NOAA’s official forecast calls for G1–G2 geomagnetic storm conditions on July 3 and 4, while later CME arrivals remain under model assessment.
