Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
A major solar event occurred on December 14, 2023, when a powerful solar flare measuring X2.8 erupted from Active Region 3514. This event, which started at 16:47 and ended at 17:12 UTC, is the strongest solar flare since September 10, 2017, and the strongest solar flare of the current Solar Cycle.
Although the rate of inflation at Svartsengi has decreased somewhat since Friday, December 8, 2023, it’s still greater than it was prior to the formation of the dike that traveled under Grindavík on November 10.
New activity/unrest was reported for 4 volcanoes from December 6 – 12, 2023. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 18 volcanoes.
A powerful solar flare measuring X2.8 erupted from Active Region 3514 at 17:02 UTC on December 14, 2023. The event started at 16:47 and ended at 17:12 UTC. This is the strongest solar flare of the current Solar Cycle.
Solar activity increased to high levels in 24 hours to 12:30 UTC on December 14, 2023, with M5.8 solar flare at 07:44 UTC from Region 3514 and multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
A newly-discovered asteroid designated 2023 XW5 flew past Earth at 0.19 LD / 0.00050 AU (74 189 km / 46 099 miles) from the center of our planet at 02:10 UTC on December 9, 2023.
Category 2 Tropical Cyclone “Jasper” made landfall over the Far North Queensland coast, Australia at around 07:00 UTC on December 13, 2023, with sustained winds near the center of 100 km/h (62 mph) and gusts to 140 km/h (85 mph).
Recent torrential rains in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo, have triggered landslides, resulting in at least 15 fatalities and significant property damage.
Somalia’s severe flooding crisis sees a slight improvement as waters start to recede in some regions, but the humanitarian impact remains critical, with 118 deaths, 2.48 million affected, and 899 000 displaced as of December 12, 2023.
A new comet made what appears its final approach towards the Sun from December 10 – 12, 2023.
