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.
Asteroid 2026 FS5 passed Earth at a distance of 0.120 LD (0.00031 AU / 46 133 km / 28 666 miles) from the center of our planet at 11:40 UTC on March 22, 2026, becoming the third closest known asteroid flyby within 1 lunar distance recorded so far this year. Its closest point was about 39 762 km (24 707 miles) above Earth’s surface.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.5 hit off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, at 14:18 UTC on March 26, 2026. The agency is reporting a depth of 9.5 km (5.9 miles). JMA is reporting M6.5 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles) while EMSC reports M6.5 at a depth of 7 km (4.3 miles).
An Enhanced Risk of severe thunderstorms is in place for parts of the mid-Mississippi and Ohio valleys on March 26, 2026, where storms developing late this afternoon are forecast to produce very large hail, damaging wind gusts, and a few tornadoes.
A rare severe convective setup is forecast to develop across the Gulf region, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and eastern Saudi Arabia, on March 26–27, 2026, as a deep low-pressure system and strong upper-level trough interact with high instability and wind shear. The environment may support organized thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes, alongside heavy rainfall, hail, and damaging winds.
A large-scale storm system is forecast to bring heavy to extremely heavy rainfall across parts of the Middle East, including Iraq, Iran, and the Gulf states, between March 25 and 31, 2026, raising flood risk in urban and desert regions. Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have issued warnings for unstable conditions with rain, strong winds, and reduced visibility, while flooding has already caused fatalities in Oman. Parts of the region might see a year’s worth of rain or more through the course of the event.
A Colombian Air Force C-130H Hercules crashed shortly after takeoff from Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo, on March 23, 2026, with 125 people onboard. At least one person was killed, and dozens were injured, while rescue teams continued efforts to account for all occupants.
A regional passenger aircraft collided with an airport firefighting vehicle at LaGuardia Airport in New York late on March 22, 2026, killing two pilots and injuring at least 41 people. LaGuardia remains closed until at least 14:00 E.T. on March 23 following the collision.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.2 hit the Samoa Islands region at 15:27 UTC on March 22, 2026. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS and EMSC as M6.7 struck the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 12:16 UTC on March 21, 2026, at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).
A G3 – Strong geomagnetic storm developed late on March 20 into early March 21, 2026, after a coronal mass ejection that left the Sun on March 18 impacted Earth. The storm intensified after at least two CME arrivals, with solar wind speeds reaching 567 km/s and the interplanetary magnetic field turning strongly southward to −28 nT.
