• Kambalny volcano erupts after 248 years of sleep, Russia

    A major eruption started at Kamchatkan Kambalny volcano at 21:20 UTC on March 24, 2017, prompting authorities to raise the Aviation Color Code to Orange. According to experts, the sharp intensification of the volcano was a complete surprise. Although there are…

  • JMA issues eruption warning for Bayonnaise Rocks

    At 15:00 JST on Friday, March 24, 2017, the Japan Meteorological Agency has issued an eruption warning for Bayonnaise Rocks (Beyonesu Rocks), a shallow submarine volcano in Izu archipelago, south of Tokyo. The last eruption of this volcano took place in 1970. The…

  • Rankin Ranch Road Fire fire burns 60 000 acres, Texas

    A fast-moving Rankin Ranch Road Fire is burning in the far northeastern Texas panhandle since 14:30 local time on Thursday, March 23, 2017. Texas A&M Forest Service said Friday afternoon the fire is 50% contained. The fire burned 40 000 acres (16 200 hectares)…

  • Severe flooding hits Luanda, Angola

    At least 11 people have been killed, six injured and thousands left homeless after flooding destroyed more than 700 homes and damaged more than 5 000 in Angola's northwestern province of Luanda. Several people are still missing. Heavy rains and flooding hit…

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

    New activity/unrest was reported for 5 volcanoes between March 15 and 21, 2017. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 14 volcanoes. New activity/unrest: Bezymianny, Central Kamchatka (Russia) | Chirinkotan, Kuril Islands (Russia) | Etna, Sicily…

  • After 30 years, new cloud types added to Cloud Atlas

    Celebrating the World Meteorological Day on March 23, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released its new, long-awaited, digitized International Cloud Atlas. The atlas is global reference for observing and identifying clouds, which are an essential part…

  • Supersonic plasma jets discovered

    Scientists analyzing data obtained by Swarm trio of satellites have discovered supersonic plasma jets high up in our atmosphere that can push temperatures up to almost 10 000 °C (18 000 °F). The discovery was presented at this week’s Swarm Science…

  • Sea ice extent sinks to record lows at both poles

    Arctic sea ice appears to have reached on March 7 a record low wintertime maximum extent. This is the lowest maximum in the 38-year satellite record. On the opposite side of the planet, on March 3 sea ice around Antarctica hit its lowest extent ever recorded by…

  • 230 000 lost power across the US South, baseball-sized hail

    A line of severe thunderstorms hit the US South on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, leaving more than 200 000 customers without power and at least one person dead. Baseball-sized hail was reported in South Carolina during rush hour, damaging numerous cars. Some 230 000…