Rishika holds a Master’s in International Studies from Stella Maris College, Chennai, India, where she earned a gold medal, and an MCA from the University of Mysore, Karnataka, India. Previously, she served as a Research Assistant at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India. During her tenure, she contributed as a Junior Writer for Europe Monitor on the Global Politics website and as an Assistant Editor for The World This Week. Her work has also been published in The Hindu newspaper, showing her expertise in global affairs. Rishika is also a recipient of the Women Empowerment Award at the district level in Haryana, India, in 2022.
An intense earthquake swarm is in progress in the Campi Flegrei volcanic caldera, southern Italy, since 15:53 UTC on February 15, 2025. More than 556 earthquakes with magnitudes up to M3.9 were registered by 13:00 UTC on February 18. As a precautionary measure, schools in the town of Pozzuoli, which is close to the epicenter of the earthquakes, are closed today.
A natural gas pipeline in the Permian Basin, Texas, ruptured following an M5.0 earthquake near Toyah in Reeves County at 05:23 UTC on February 15, 2025 (22:53 LT, February 14), resulting in a fire.
An earthquake swarm began in the Campi Flegrei area of southern Italy at 16:53 LT (15:53 UTC) on February 15, 2025. The strongest in the series thus far was M3.9 on February 16.
Previously undetected seismic activity, known as ice quakes, has been recorded deep within Greenland’s Northeast Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS), revealing a previously unknown mechanism of ice movement.
A high-resolution Sentinel-2 satellite image captured on February 12, 2025, shows an active lava flow on the snow-covered slopes of Mount Etna, with ash emissions spreading from the summit.
A powerful storm system triggered severe flooding in Portoferraio, Elba Island, on February 14, 2025, following an intense downpour that brought 65 mm (2.56 inches) of rain in just one hour.
The Greek island of Anafi was placed under a state of emergency on February 13, 2025, due to ongoing intense seismic activity. This makes it the third island in the Aegean Sea to receive this designation following Amorgos and Santorini (Thera).
Mount Spurr in Alaska remains in a state of volcanic unrest, with AVO detecting numerous shallow earthquakes on February 13, 2025, likely caused by magma movement beneath the volcano. While an eruption is not expected in the near term, ongoing activity suggests one could occur in the future, most likely at Crater Peak, which erupted explosively in 1953 and 1992.
New activity/unrest was reported for 7 volcanoes from February 5 – February 11, 2025. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 23 volcanoes.
Authorities have placed the Greek island of Amorgos under a state of emergency on February 13, 2025, following a surge in seismic activity in the southeastern Aegean Sea.
