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.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued warnings for blizzards, high waves, and freezing temperatures as a potent winter storm pressure system continues affecting the country, mainly areas along the Sea of Japan through New Year's Day. The storm could…
A series of short-lived, low energy steam explosions occurred at White Island volcano, New Zealand on December 29, 2020. This small event consisted of at least 20 individual pulses and may have produced traces of ash locally in the steam plume for a few minutes….
A new eruption has started at Soufrière St. Vincent volcano in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on December 28, 2020. The Alert Level was raised to Orange (3 of 4). Recreational visits to the volcano have been suspended. There might be an order to evacuate…
A very strong and shallow earthquake registered by the EMSC as M6.4 hit central Croatia at 11:19 UTC (12:19 LT) on December 29, 2020. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). USGS is reporting M6.4 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). GFZ Croatia is…
A newly-discovered asteroid designated 2020 YS4 flew past Earth at a distance of 0.25 LD / 0.00064 AU (95 742 km / 59 491 miles) at 22:27 UTC on December 28, 2020. This is the 107th known asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance since the start of the year…
A strong explosive eruption took place at Suwanosejima's Mt. Otake crater at 17:51 UTC on December 27, 2020 (02:51 JST, December 28). As a result, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) raised the Alert Level from 2 to 3 — Near-crater warning, do not approach…
The temperature of the Crater Lake (Te Wai ā-moe) at Ruapehu volcano has decreased from 43 to 41 °C (109 – 106 °F) during the past week. The level of volcanic tremor continues to be moderate to strong and a small number of shallow volcanic earthquakes have…
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.7 hit off the coast of Los Lagos, Chile at 21:39 UTC on December 27, 2020 (18:39 LT). The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth. CSN Chile is…
A new seismic swarm started under Cumbre Vieja volcano, La Palma island, Canary Islands at 21:26 UTC on December 23, 2020. The alert level remains at Green (1 of 4) — Carry out your activities normally. Since 2017, Cumbre Vieja has experienced 7 seismic swarms — 1…
A strong earthquake registered by PHIVOLCS as M6.3 hit Mindoro, Philippines at 23:43 UTC on December 24, 2020 (07:43 LT, December 25). The agency is reporting a depth of 109 km (67 miles). The USGS is reporting the same magnitude and depth; EMSC M6.3 at a depth of…
