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!

  • Rapidly intensifying storm hits Ireland and UK

    Storm Doris rapidly intensified as it moved over Ireland and the United Kingdom Thursday morning, February 23, 2017, bringing powerful winds, heavy rain and snow. As of late afternoon, at least one person has been killed. Doris tracked across Ireland and the United…

  • Active volcanoes in the world: February 15 – 21, 2017

    New activity was reported for 5 volcanoes between February 15 and 21, 2017. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported at 14 volcanoes. New activity/unrest: Barren Island, Andaman Islands (India) | Krakatau, Indonesia | Lanin, Central Chile-Argentina…

  • Evidence of chaotic solar system

    A team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Northwestern University has found evidence confirming a critical theory of how the planets in our solar system behave in their orbits around the Sun. The finding is important because it provides the…

  • Asteroid 2017 DG16 to flyby Earth at 0.34 LD

    A newly discovered asteroid named 2017 DG16 will flyby Earth at a very close distance of 0.34 LD (130 560 km / 81 126 miles) from the surface of our planet at 21:08 UTC on February 23, 2017. This is the fifth known near-Earth asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar…

  • Thick cloud of Saharan dust moving over SE Europe

    A large amount of Saharan dust was swept up into a low pressure system over north Africa on February 21, 2017. Thick dust cloud has already reached Spain and Portugal and is now moving east, toward Italy, Malta and the Balkans. The event is expected to last into…

  • Annular solar eclipse of February 26, 2017

    An annular solar eclipse will take place on February 26, 2017, creating a ring of light around the darkened Moon as the Moon will be too far away from the Earth to completely cover the Sun. This is the first of two eclipses in 2017 and comes just 7 months before the…

  • Worst flooding in 100 years hits San Jose, California

    Some 14 000 residents of San Jose, a large city in California's Bay Area, are under mandatory evacuation orders with another 36 000 in the recommended evacuation area after Coyote Creek, Santa Clara County's longest, overflowed in what officials are calling…

  • After California, strong storm aims US Midwest, Plains

    Some 6.6 million people in the United States are under winter storm watches as strong winter storm threatens Midwest and Plains Thursday, February 23. This is the same storm that dumped heavy rain and flooded California earlier in the week. This storm is now named…

  • Significant storm to bring damaging winds, rain and snow to UK

    A significant winter storm, named Doris by the UK Met Office, is expected to bring damaging winds, rain and some snow to the UK on Thursday, February 23, 2017. A deep low pressure system developing in the Atlantic is expected to track across Northern Ireland and…

  • Fifth of world’s food lost to over-eating and waste, study finds

    Almost 20% of the food made available to consumers is lost through over-eating or waste, a study suggests. The world population consumes around 10% more food than it needs, while almost 9% is thrown away or left to spoil, researchers say. Efforts to reduce the…