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 strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.6 hit near Yilan, Taiwan, at 15:05 UTC (23:05 local time) on December 27, 2025. The agency reported a depth of 67.5 km (42 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.6 at a depth of 68 km. No tsunami warning was issued.
Etna’s eruptive activity intensified rapidly between December 24 and 27, 2025, culminating in short-lived lava fountains about 200 m (650 feet) high and a new lava flow from the upper Voragine crater toward the Valle del Bove. INGV Etna Observatory (OE) raised the Aviation Color Code to Red on December 27 as tremor and infrasound amplitudes reached very high levels.
New activity/unrest was reported for 4 volcanoes from December 17 to 23, 2025. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 19 volcanoes.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit near Yujing, Taiwan, at 09:47 UTC (17:47 local time) on December 24, 2025. The agency reported a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), while EMSC reported M6.0 at a depth of 12 km (7.4 miles). There is no tsunami threat from this earthquake.
Kīlauea entered eruptive episode 39 at 20:10 HST on December 23, 2025 (06:10 UTC on December 24) as lava fountains rose from twin vents on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. Within about 95 minutes, fountain heights increased from 10 m (30 feet) to more than 420 m (1 400 feet), with lava flows covering 10–20% of the crater floor by 21:14 HST and a plume reaching 6 000 m (20 000 feet).
The NWS Weather Prediction Center has issued a rare High Risk (level 4/4) for excessive rainfall across Southern California from Wednesday, December 24, through the morning of Thursday, December 25. 2025.
Extremely dangerous marine conditions are developing across Northern and Central California waters this week, the National Weather Service (NWS) San Francisco Bay Area warned on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. Storm Force winds are forecast across the coastal waters with Gale Force winds extending into San Francisco and Monterey bays beginning Tuesday morning. Seas are expected to build to near 6 m (20 feet) under the strongest winds, posing life-threatening conditions for mariners.
A rare widespread snowfall event affected northern Saudi Arabia in December 2025, transforming desert landscapes and mountain ranges across Tabuk and Hail into snow-covered terrain. The snowfall occurred as a sharp cold air intrusion lowered temperatures below freezing at higher elevations, with snow settling near 2 600 m (8 530 feet) and surface temperatures reported near −4°C (25°F), according to regional media reports. Such widespread snowfall over desert areas is considered exceptionally uncommon for the region.
A major incident was declared after a canal bank collapsed on the Shropshire Union Canal (Llangollen Canal main line) near Whitchurch, Shropshire, at around 04:22 local time on December 22, 2025, triggering rapid water loss and the formation of a large sinkhole. Multiple narrowboats were affected, with at least two reported to have been pulled into the cavity.
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.5 hit Papua New Guinea at 10:31 UTC (21:31 local time) on December 22, 2025. The agency is reporting a depth of 110.2 km (68 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.4 at a depth of 88 km (55 miles). There is no tsunami threat from this earthquake.
