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.
Explosive eruption at Russia’s Karymsky volcano continued on May 19, 2022, with two ash columns reaching a height of 8 km (26 250 feet) and 6.7 km (21 980 feet) above sea level. The Aviation Color Code remains Orange.
A large plume of Saharan dust emerged off the coast of western Africa this week and has now reached the Caribbean Sea and South America. This is the season’s first large plume of Saharan dust to cross the Atlantic.
A rare out-of-season tropical cyclone formed near Vanuatu, South Pacific Ocean on May 18, 2022, and was named Gina. It is the 6th named storm of the 2021/22 South Pacific cyclone season. The season officially started on November 1, 2021, and ended on April 30, 2022.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.9 hit the Macquarie Island region at 10:13 UTC on May 19, 2022. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.9 at a depth of 15 km (9 miles).
New activity/unrest was reported for 4 volcanoes from May 11 – 17, 2022. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 23 volcanoes.
The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the 9% rise in the consumer price index is the highest since records began in 1989, surpassing the 8.4% annual rise in March 1992. The office estimates that inflation would have been higher sometime around 1982.
Hurricane-force winds and heavy rain brought by Subtropical Storm “Yakecan” hit parts of Uruguay and Brazil over the past couple of days, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power and at least 2person dead.
A bright fireball was seen over the southwestern United Kingdom at 20:46 UTC on May 16, 2022. The event comes just five days after a very bright fireball was seen over the same region. Interestingly, both events had very similar trajectories.
Wheat prices in Europe and Australia hit record highs this week after India – the world’s second-largest wheat producer – announced an immediate export ban due to a severe heatwave affecting the country since March. Global wheat prices have soared 40% since February 2022, increasing famine and sparking social unrest.
A strong eruption took place at Ibu volcano, Indonesia at 07:46 UTC on May 16, 2022, ejecting thick gray ash up to 3.8 km (12 240 feet) above sea level. The Aviation Color Code remains at Orange and the Alert Level at 3.
