• Snow piling up at an unprecedented rate in Japan

    The season's most powerful cold air mass is bringing remarkably heavy snow to wide swaths of Japan on Wednesday, December 16, 2020. Meteorologists said the snow is falling at an unprecedented rate due to the combination of unseasonably cold Siberian air and…

  • Severe storm brings massive rains to Queensland and NSW, Australia

    An intense low-pressure trough off the coast of southeast Australia has brought torrential rains, floods, damaging winds, and dangerous waves to southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales over the weekend, with authorities describing the impacts as similar to…

  • Strong explosive eruption at Etna volcano, Italy

    A strong explosive eruption started at Etna volcano on December 13, 2020, ejecting volcanic ash up to 4.8 km (16 000 feet) above sea level by 23:00 UTC. The Aviation Color Code was raised to Red. Monitoring networks observed increased strombolian activity at the SE…

  • Asteroid 2020 XX3 to flyby Earth at 0.1 LD on December 18

    A newly-discovered asteroid designated 2020 XX3 will fly by Earth at a distance of 0.15 LD / 0.00038 AU (56 847 km / 35 323 miles) from the center of our planet on December 18, 2020. 2020 XX3 was first observed at Pan-STARRS 1, Haleakala on December 10, eight days…

  • Rare earthquakes detected near Mount Taranaki, New Zealand

    Two small earthquakes were registered near New Zealand's Mount Taranaki this week– weak and shallow M3.2 on December 8, 2020, and M1.6 on December 11. According to GeoNet, earthquakes near the volcano are considered rare. The last eruption of this volcano took…