• Late-season Tropical Storm “Otto” forms in the Caribbean Sea

    A late-season tropical storm formed on November 21, 2016, and was named Otto. Otto formed from Tropical Depression 16 (System 90L), a tropical low pressure that had been lingering in the Caribbean Sea for days. Otto is currently a stationary system but is expected…

  • Winter Storm “Argos” batters US, three people dead

    The snowstorms from Argos, the first winter storm of the season, have blanketed parts of the US and claimed lives of at least 3 people. Heavy snowfall caused widespread traffic disruptions and power outages since the end of the last week. The snow and wintry weather…

  • Eruption at Fuego volcano intensifies, Guatemala

    The explosive activity at Guatemalan Fuego volcano has intensified since November 19, 2016 and has generated at least one 300 m (984 feet) high lava fountain, feeding three new lava flows. This is the 15th paroxysm at the volcano this year. The Washington VAAC…

  • Large pumice raft reported between New Zealand and Fiji

    A large pumice raft was found floating to the west of Minerva Reef in an area about 600 km (372 miles) SE of Fiji and 500 km (310 miles) SW of Tonga, New Zealand's GeoNet reported today. Pumice rafts are created by submarine or near-ocean volcanic activity. The…

  • Strong M6.4 earthquake hits San Juan, Argentina

    A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.4 hit San Juan, Argentina at 20:57 UTC on November 20, 2016. The agency is reporting a depth of 115.8 km (72 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.4 at a depth of 116 km. The epicenter was located 10.7 km (6.7 miles) SSW of…

  • Major eruption at Zhupanovsky, ash up to 10 km (33 000 feet) a.s.l.

    A major eruption took place at Zhupanovsky volcano, Kamchatka, Russia at 02:30 UTC on November 20, 2016. Aviation Color Code was raised to Orange. At 02:39 UTC today, KVERT reported that a major eruption took place at Zhupanovsky volcano with ash plume, according to…

  • Angus, the first autumn storm to lash England on November 20, 2016

    The UK Met Office has named the first autumn storm of the season. Storm "Angus" will lash southeastern England with heavy rainfall and intense southwesterly winds on November 20, 2016. As the strong low-pressure field, a Yellow warning for strong winds and…

  • Tehran in the grip of unprecedented air pollution, over 400 dead

    A thick layer of smog engulfed Tehran, Iran over the last week. The unprecedented pollution levels have set new records while more than 400 people were reported dead. The PM2.5 levels have reached values exceeding 150 micrograms per cubic meter, thus setting a new…

  • Large sinkhole opens on a highway in Algeria, swallows 5 cars

    A large sinkhole has opened up on a highway near Ben Aknoun, a commune of Algiers Province and a suburb of the city of Algiers in northern Algeria, on November 18, 2016. Five cars fell into the hole, injuring a total of 11 people. According to the Nassim Bernaoui,…