I’m a science journalist and researcher at The Watchers, contributing to the Epicenter edition, where I cover peer-reviewed scientific research and emerging discoveries across Earth and space sciences. With a background in astronomy and a passion for environmental science, I’ve worked in shark and coral conservation in Fiji, conducting reef and shark-behavior research, contributing to mangrove restoration, and earning PADI Open Water and Coral Reef Certifications. I bring a blend of scientific rigor and storytelling to illuminate the discoveries shaping our planet and beyond.
At least 47 people have died and 123 others have been injured across Pakistan since the start of the 2026 monsoon season on June 26, as house collapses and flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall continue to affect several provinces while active flood alerts and evacuations remain in place along major rivers in Punjab.
A negative Southern Annular Mode (SAM) developed over the Southern Hemisphere on July 18, 2026, triggering a sharp shift in Australia’s winter weather. The change is expected to push cold fronts farther north through the remainder of July, bringing heavy rain, damaging winds, hail and low-level snow to Tasmania while leaving much of eastern New South Wales dry and unusually mild, according to Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino. Forecast models indicate the negative phase is likely to persist for the rest of the month.
Dangerous heat is forecast to persist across the southern United States for several days while expanding into the Central and Southern Plains. The National Weather Service is forecasting widespread Major to locally Extreme HeatRisk, daytime highs of 35–41°C (95–105°F), heat index values reaching 41–46°C (105–115°F), and record warm overnight lows of 24–27°C (75–80°F) through Sunday, July 26, 2026. The prolonged combination of hot afternoons and unusually warm nights is expected to produce cumulative heat stress, particularly for people without adequate cooling or hydration.
For nearly three decades, (875163) 1998 SH2 appeared to be an ordinary near-Earth asteroid, showing no visible tail, no surrounding coma and no obvious signs of cometary activity. That changed with a study published in Nature Astronomy on July 10, 2026, which revealed that the object is actually a weakly active comet. The discovery resolves a long-standing mystery surrounding its unusual motion and marks the first time astronomers predicted an object’s cometary nature from subtle orbital perturbations before confirming it through direct observations, providing a new approach for identifying hidden comets among Earth’s near-Earth object population while strengthening future planetary defense efforts.
Severe thunderstorms swept across France overnight into Friday, July 17, 2026, killing two people and leaving around 53 000 households without electricity. The storms brought strong winds, large hail and intense lightning to several regions of the country.
Two independent teams announced the discovery of Beta Pictoris d on July 15, 2026, a gas giant orbiting the 23-million-year-old Beta Pictoris system about 63 light-years from Earth. The planet is the faintest exoplanet ever directly imaged from Earth after correcting for distance; a VLT team traced it through observations spanning 11 years, while a JWST team independently identified it through the molecular signature of its atmosphere.
For decades, geologists believed mantle plumes gradually cooled as they aged, producing less magma over time. New research suggests the opposite happened beneath Hawaiʻi. Scientists found the Hawaiian mantle plume became about 250°C (480°F) hotter over the past 47 million years, a shift that fueled two major pulses of volcanism and produced some of Earth’s largest volcanoes.
A tornado that developed during severe thunderstorms injured four people and damaged 75 homes across Vietnam’s southern Ca Mau Province on July 13, 2026.
The Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached 1 926 confirmed cases and 702 deaths, according to the country’s latest official figures reported on July 13. The epidemic has expanded across five provinces as international response efforts intensify, experimental countermeasures advance, and the United States introduces new travel measures aimed at reducing the risk of international spread.
The Fontainebleau wildfire has more than doubled in size since Monday, burning at least 1 900 ha (4 696 acres) by Tuesday morning, July 14, as firefighters continued battling multiple active fire fronts and police expanded a suspected arson investigation following the arrest of two people.
