The Watchers team and our contributors bring the latest on extreme weather, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, space weather, and all things science. We're all about making sense of the natural world and keeping you informed on what’s happening. Got a tip or a question? Hit us up using the form at newstips!
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the EMSC as M6.1 (downgraded from M6.3) hit central Italy at 19:18 UTC on October 26, 2016. The agency is reporting a depth of 20 km (12.4 miles). USGS is reporting the same magnitude and a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles)….
A fire at a sulfur mine and processing facility near Mosul, Iraq is emitting tremendous quantities of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere for the sixth day in a row. If this fire was a volcano, it would already be among the largest eruptions of 2016. NASA’s…
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.1 hit near Hihifo, Tonga at 05:19 UTC on October 26, 2016. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). According to the USGS, the epicenter was located 124 km (77 miles) WNW of Hihifo (population…
A nuclear reactor at the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) in Halden, southeast Norway leaked radioactive iodine on Monday, October 24, 2016, the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) said. The incident happened at 11:45 UTC (13:45 CET) at the Halden…
Earth is passing through a stream of high speed solar wind produced by a recurrent, polar connected, positive polarity coronal hole. This is causing isolated periods of G1 class geomagnetic storming. G2 – Moderate geomagnetic storm watch is in effect for October…
Mount Cleveland stratovolcano in Alaska erupted at 21:10 UTC on October 24, 2016, forcing the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) to raise the color code/alert level from Yellow/Advisory to Orange/Watch. The explosion was detected in both infrasound (air pressure) and…
A rare earthquake measuring M4.7 on the Richter scale was registered under East Gakkel Ridge undersea volcanoes, near Geographic North Pole, Arctic Ocean at 18:47 UTC on October 22, 2016. USGS is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). The last known volcanic…
A large sinkhole opened up on October 22, 2016, 30 km (18 miles) west of the city of Ioannina in western Greece. Experts believe the hole was caused by a series of earthquakes which started last week. The sinkhole is estimated to have a depth of 20 – 30 meters (65 -…
A total of 200 862 people are now displaced in the Philippines Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Regions I, II, III in northern Luzon, and Regions IV-A and V in southern Luzon after Typhoon "Haima" ripped through the country on October 19, 2016. As…
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the JMA as M6.6 hit Central Tottori region, Japan at 05:07 UTC on October 21, 2016. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). USGS is reporting M6.2 at a depth of 10 km. According to the USGS, the epicenter…
