Uruguay’s agricultural emergency persists as drought conditions intensify in 2023
Uruguay is grappling with a worsening drought crisis that has left 75 000 people affected across five departments and hit the agricultural sector hard.

Uruguay is grappling with a worsening drought crisis that has left 75 000 people affected across five departments and hit the agricultural sector hard.

A strong Arctic front will race across the Great Lakes on Thursday, February 2, 2023, and then push through the Northeastern parts of the United States tonight, bringing the coldest wind chills in recent memory.

A significant widespread ice storm is still affecting parts of the U.S. South and Mid-South on Thursday, February 2, 2023, but it’s now slowly transitioning to rain. Despite this, the risk remains high as melting ice may still trigger the breakage of trees and tree limbs. Meanwhile, a life-threatening Arctic blast is moving towards the northeastern regions of the country, with wind chills expected to be the coldest in recent memory.

New activity/unrest was reported for 7 volcanoes from January 25 – 31, 2023. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 18 volcanoes.

The temperature at Concordia weather station in Antarctica dropped to -51.2 °C (-60.1 °F) at 18:18 UTC on January 31, 2023, marking the lowest January temperature in Antarctica since meteorological observations there started in 1956.

In 2022, there were 782 tornadoes reported in Europe, causing 6 fatalities and 84 injuries.

A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit Mindanao, Philippines at 10:44 UTC on February 1, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 13.5 km (8.3 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.0 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles); PHIVOLCS M6.0 at a depth of 27 km (16.8 miles).

A submarine volcano located near the island of Epi in Vanuatu started erupting at 18:30 UTC on January 31, 2023, prompting authorities to raise the Volcano Alert Level to 1 and establish a 10 km (6.2 miles) danger zone. This marks the first eruption of the volcano since 2004 (VEI 2).

A seismic swarm started under the Asosan volcano in Japan on January 30, 2023, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to raise the Volcanic Alert Level from 1 to 2.

A glancing blow of Arctic air mixed with a surge in moisture set the stage for an extensive and very dangerous ice event in parts of the United States. The most likely corridor of icing with a mixture of sleet will occur from west-central Texas to the Tennessee and Lower Ohio Valleys. The ice accretion from Texas into Mid-South may approach 13 mm (0.5 inches) or more through Wednesday, February 1, 2023, and cause power outages and travel issues.