Astronomers monitoring Comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) spotted a powerful outburst from the comet on May 5. Such outbursts usually indicate a fragmentation, but scientists are hopeful that this could just be a volatile comet. The comet is approaching Earth and the Sun– its…
The severe drought in North Island, New Zealand– the worst in 50 years in some areas– has prompted the Auckland Council's Emergency Committee to introduce mandatory water restrictions, which will be effective across the region beginning May 16, 2020. This…
A severe storm packing strong winds up to 128 km/h (80 mph) lashed Western Australia on May 5, 2020, toppling trees and power grids which left some 55 000 homes without electricity. As of May 6, about 25 500 homes are still impacted by the season's first storm,…
Intense Arctic air outbreak is expected over much of Ontario, Canada, and the eastern parts of the United States– possibly bringing record cold temperatures in some areas late this week into the next. The cold outbreak may also allow for some rare May snow in parts…
A new study shows that natural hazards on Earth, specifically earthquakes and tsunamis, can create much more disturbances in the ionosphere than previously assumed. The researchers studied the catastrophic 2011 M9.0 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and found…
A study by an international team of researchers found considerable variation in trends even among adjacent sites but an average decline of terrestrial insect abundance by ~9% per decade and an increase of freshwater insect abundance by ~11% per decade. This study…
Heavy rains battering much of Rwanda since May 1, 2020, triggered severe flooding and landslides, resulting in eight fatalities and hundreds of damaged homes and roads, the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MINEMA) reported on May 4. The affected areas are mostly…
A newly-discovered asteroid designated 2020 JJ flew past Earth at a very close distance of 0.03 LD / 0.0000896 AU (13 403 km / 8 328 miles) at 12:05 UTC on May 4, 2020. This is the 40th known asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance since the start of the…
Major flooding affecting West Java, Indonesia since April 30, 2020, submerged 21 888 houses — affecting up to 81 088 residents — in five sub-districts of Bandung District, according to the West Java Disaster Mitigation (BPBD). The flood-hit areas are Dayeuhkolot,…
More than 75 000 people evacuated their homes in the border areas of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan following a reservoir dam failure, which resulted in widespread flooding on May 1, 2020. The Sardoba Reservoir Dam on the Uzbek side broke early Friday, causing the Syr…
