I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.

  • Videos of Asteroid 2024 RW1 breaking up over Luzon, Philippines

    A newly-discovered asteroid, identified as 2024 RW1, entered Earth’s atmosphere over Luzon, Philippines, on September 5, 2024, creating a spectacular green fireball. This marks the ninth asteroid ever detected before impact. Asteroid 2024 RW1 was discovered at 05:43 UTC on September 5 by Jacqueline Fazekas at the Mt. Lemmon Survey in Arizona, part of the…

  • Atlas 5 Centaur Rocket Body breaks up in orbit into a debris cloud of 40 plus objects

    The body of the Atlas 5 Centaur rocket that delivered the GOES 17 satellite in 2018 broke up in a highly elliptical orbit on September 6, 2024, at around 05:21 UTC. The breakup was observed by Slingshot Aerospace at around 05:32 UTC from an observation site in Chile. They detected a debris cloud of more than 40 objects related to the fragmentation of the rocket, which currently doesn’t appear to pose threat to any active spacecraft.

  • Violent rainstorms strike northern Italy, leaving 1 person missing

    Severe rainstorms swept through northern Italy on Thursday, September 5, 2024, causing widespread flooding and infrastructure damage in several regions. Milan experienced some of the worst impacts, while rescue teams in Piedmont continued searching for a man swept away by floodwaters. A series of violent rainstorms swept across northern Italy on Thursday, causing widespread flooding…

  • Heavy rains soak Sahara Desert as northward ITCZ shift alters African weather patterns

    Heavy rainfall across the Sahara Desert, linked to a shift in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), is leading to extraordinary weather patterns across Africa. Forecast models suggest that the region may see several years’ worth of rain over the coming weeks making 2024 the wettest year for the Sahara Desert, with Mauritania and Mali among the hardest-hit areas.

  • Violent storms hit southeast France, Marseille endures worst storm in 3 years

    Severe storms swept across southeastern France on the night of September 4, 2024, bringing heavy rainfall, flooding, and powerful winds that disrupted transportation and caused evacuations in parts of the Alpes-Maritimes. Marseille, in particular, experienced its strongest storm in three years, with rain totals reaching nearly 150 mm (5.9 inches) in some areas.

  • Natural disaster declared in 22 counties due to prolonged drought, Ohio

    Twenty-two counties in Ohio have been officially designated as primary natural disaster areas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, due to prolonged drought conditions, allowing farmers to seek emergency loans for recovery efforts. Twenty-two counties in Ohio have been designated as a primary natural disaster area due to prolonged…

  • Record-breaking temperatures in the West, heavy rains with flash flooding along the Gulf Coast, U.S.

    A dangerous heatwave is set to intensify across the Southwest and Western Coast of the United States starting September 5, 2024, with forecasts predicting temperatures soaring as high as 48.9 °C (115 °F) in some areas. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued multiple warnings for heat-related illnesses as record-breaking highs are expected in the Pacific Northwest.