Saudi Arabia launches first phase of cloud-seeding operations
The first phase of the effort to artificially increase rainfall has started this week in the Riyadh, Qassim and Hail regions of Saudi Arabia.
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.
Early-season heatwave grips India, causing worst energy crisis in 6 years
Dangerous heatwave conditions are affecting vast swathes of India since mid-April, bringing temperatures 4.5 – 8.5 °C (8 to 15 °F) above average in east, central and northwest India. The heatwave comes after the country recorded its hottest March on record. The country as a whole recorded 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) of rainfall in March,…
Partial solar eclipse of April 30, 2022
April 30 brings us a partial solar eclipse, visible from southern South America, parts of Antarctica, and the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This eclipse will be followed two weeks later by a total lunar eclipse on May 16.
Tropical Storm “Jasmine” leaves 3 people dead and 7 missing, Madagascar
Tropical Storm “Jasmine” – the 11th named storm of the 2021/22 Southwest Indian Ocean cyclone season – made landfall near Toliara, Madagascar on April 26, 2022 with maximum sustained winds of 110 km/h (68 mph)
Shallow M6.0 earthquake hits Bismarck Sea, P.N.G.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit the Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea at 13:21 UTC on April 28, 2022. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth. The epicenter was located about 171.3 km (106.4 miles) NE of…
Satellite images show hot lava at Anak Krakatau, Indonesia
The activity at Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano has calmed down after an intense eruption on April 24, 2022, ejected ash up to 6 km (20 000 feet) above sea level. The Alert Level remains at 3. The latest satellite image acquired by Sentinel-2 at 03:28 UTC on April 27 shows the thermal signature of the…
Explosive activity at Karymsky volcano, ash to 10 km (33 000 feet) a.s.l., Russia
Explosive activity at Karymsky volcano, Kamchatka, Russia intensified on April 28, 2022, with ash emissions rising up to 10 km (33 000 feet) above sea level.
The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report: April 20 – 26, 2022
New activity/unrest was reported for 5 volcanoes from April 20 to 26, 2022. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 20 volcanoes.
Multi-day severe weather episode expected late this week into early next week, U.S.
A multi-day severe weather episode is expected across the central U.S. late this week into early next week. Damaging gusts, large hail, and tornadoes are all a concern.
Eruption at Batu Tara volcano, Flores Sea, Indonesia
A new eruption has been observed at Indonesia’s Batu Tara volcano on April 26, 2022, forcing the Darwin VAAC to raise the Aviation Color Code to Orange. The last known eruption of this volcano took place in 2015 (VEI 2).
