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.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.2 struck the Kuril Islands region, Russia, at 07:34 UTC on January 13, 2026. The agency is reporting a depth of 35.8 km (22.2 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.3 at a depth of 20 km (12.4 miles).
A hazardous chemical incident occurred in the Montague Gardens industrial area of Cape Town, South Africa, on January 12, 2026, following a fire at a commercial facility that led to the suspected release of a corrosive chemical. Emergency services declared a hazardous materials response, closed surrounding roads, and urged the public to avoid the area while containment and assessment operations continued.
Thousands of tourists were stranded in northern Finland on January 11, 2026, after flights at Kittilä Airport were canceled due to extreme cold that made de-icing and fueling operations impossible. Temperatures dropped to −37°C (−34.6°F), one of the lowest readings of the winter season, amid a wider Arctic cold outbreak affecting large parts of northern and central Europe.
A long-duration M3.3 flare erupted from just beyond the east-southeast limb at 11:00 UTC on January 11, 2026, as CME and coronal hole influences continued to disturb the solar wind environment. The geomagnetic field reached G1 – Minor to G2 – Moderate storm levels on January 10–11 under combined CME and coronal hole high-speed stream effects. Elevated solar wind parameters and unsettled-to-active geomagnetic conditions are expected to persist through January 14.
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.5 struck the Kepulauan Talaud region, Indonesia at 14:58 UTC on January 10, 2026. The agency is reporting a depth of 51.6 km (32 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
An atmospheric river that impacted Alaska on January 9, 2026, is forecast to propagate down the coast and merge with a second plume, delivering a 48–72-hour period of AR conditions over western Washington from January 10 to 12. Forecast guidance indicates 100–150 mm (4–6 inches) of rain over the Olympic Peninsula, 50–100 mm (2–4 inches) over the northern Washington Cascades, and 25–50 mm (1–2 inches) over the Cascade foothills, with freezing levels rising above 1 830 m (6 000 feet).
New activity/unrest was reported for 9 volcanoes from January 1 to 7, 2026. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 15 volcanoes.
After its snowiest December in more than eight decades, Juneau, Alaska, now faces flooding threats as warm Pacific air brings heavy rain over deep snow. The National Weather Service (NWS) warns that clogged drains and rapid snowmelt could trigger flooding in streets and small streams through the weekend.
Multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) launched from Active Region 4334 on January 8, 2026, are expected to deliver a glancing blow to Earth between late January 10 and early January 11, according to the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). The interaction of several CMEs and a coronal hole high-speed stream is forecast to cause isolated G1 – Minor geomagnetic storm conditions. Aurora may become visible across high latitudes, including the northern tier of the United States, such as northern Michigan and Maine.
Nearly 3 000 residents have been evacuated from communities around Mayon volcano in Albay Province, Philippines, after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) raised the alert status to Level 3 on January 6, 2026. The evacuation follows intensified dome collapse events, pyroclastic density currents, and ongoing effusive lava extrusion at the summit.
