• Rare August snowfall blankets swathes of Chile’s Atacama desert

    A rare August snowfall blanketed swathes of Chile's Atacama desert on August 25, 2021, with parts of it reportedly receiving as much as 82 cm (32 inches). "This does not occur yearly. Maybe a relatively important snowfall like the one today can happen…

  • More than 1 million homes and businesses remain without power, Louisiana

    More than 1 million homes and businesses in southern Louisiana remain without power after Hurricane "Ida" caused 'catastrophic' damage to the power grid over the weekend.1 Ida is the second most intense hurricane on record to hit Louisiana, only…

  • Rare snowfall in South Africa caused by intense cold front

    An intense cold front associated with a steep upper-air trough affecting parts of South Africa from August 26 to 30, 2021, brought heavy rains, disruptive snow, and cold temperatures.1 The front lashed Western Cape before moving to other parts of South Africa,…

  • Shallow M6.3 earthquake hits Kermadec Islands region, New Zealand

    A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.3 hit the Kermadec Islands region at 02:52 UTC on August 31, 2021. The agency is reporting a depth of 16 km (10 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.3 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). The epicenter was located 984…

  • A months’ ration of bread now at 44 percent of monthly minimum wage, Lebanon

    Bread prices in Lebanon soared another 11% due to the worsening crisis, setting a monthly ration of family bread at 44% of the minimum monthly wage. A bag of flatbread costs 5 000 Lebanese Pounds in supermarkets, over three times as much as last year, according to…