Tropical Cyclone Chido devastated the island pair of Agalega after making landfall on Thursday, December 12, 2024, as a category 4 equivalent cyclone, forcing citizens to seek shelter at the airport.
San Francisco experienced its first-ever Tornado Warning on Saturday morning, December 14, 2024, issued as a powerful storm system swept through the region with heavy rain and strong winds.
Scientists recorded one of the top three largest glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) in global history between September 23 and October 11, 2024, when Eastern Greenland’s Catalina Lake dropped by 154 m (505 feet) and released 3.4 km³ (0.82 mi³) of water into Scoresby Fjord. This marks the first time ever that researchers have monitored such an event and measured water volumes in real-time.
The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was blanketed by snow on December 12, 2024, marking the fourth consecutive year this rare phenomenon has occurred in a desert known for its arid conditions and minimal annual precipitation.
An outbreak of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs), also known as nacreous clouds, has been observed over the Arctic since December 9, approximately one month earlier than the typical season, which in the Arctic usually spans from January to March.
Two lunar impacts were recorded on December 8, 2024, by Japanese astronomer Daichi Fujii, who captured the events using high-speed recording equipment. The observations were made during routine skywatching activities, which coincided with a Saturn eclipse.
State-mandated tests at the Albany Bulb, a popular recreational area in the Bay Area, have uncovered elevated levels of gamma radiation, raising concerns about potential health risks from buried radioactive waste.
Heavy rains have unleashed devastating floods across Thailand and Malaysia, leaving over 30 dead, displacing tens of thousands, and causing widespread destruction, officials reported on Tuesday, December 3, 2024.
A strong eruption took place at Bledug Kesongo mud volcano in Gabusan village area, Indonesia’s Central Java on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, ejecting mud up to 20 m (65 feet) into the air. The eruption follows two weaker ones on December 2.
The Thanksgiving holiday brought record-breaking lake-effect snowstorm to parts of the United States, with areas in New York State, such as Copenhagen, buried under as much as 1.22 m (4 feet) of snow.
