Weather & Earth Science News

Australia fires worsen as every state hits 40C with more than 30,000 tourists in Australia who defied orders to leave area east of Melbourne amid raging bushfires are 'trapped' as roads are cut off, after locals warned staying would be 'suicide' The UK saw record high temperatures for late December - recorded in the Scottish Highlands where there's currently very little snow to be seen.   Why was it so warm on Saturday night?   the foehn effect.  And the actual official max was 16.9c at Cassley, although unofficial stations recorded even higher. And a similar scene further east as Moscow brings in artificial snow for New Year in mild winter There is snow in the Alps though where a skier becomes the fourth person killed in avalanches in the Italian Alps Dozens dead as cold wave sweeps through Bangladesh And the North Atlantic Current responsible for north-western Europe's mild climate could temporarily stop within the next century, sc...

Tropical Cyclone Sarai claims two lives as more than 2,000 evacuate in Fiji A thirsty koala drinks from cyclist's water bottle near Adelaide as heatwave continues Another two dead after heavy snowfall, ice and flooding shut down major roads as powerful storm batters southern California After an Austria avalanche: Skier survives five hours in 'Christmas miracle' Earlier in the week there was an annular solar eclipse: Crowds in Asia gather to see 'ring of fire' And a study suggests that snowmageddon warnings in North America come from tropics more than Arctic stratosphere

Typhoon Phanfone: Philippine death toll rises to 28 Tropical Cyclone Sarai lashes Fiji as warnings issued for flash flooding, gale force winds In the Australia fires: Crews brace for dangerous heatwave In the US, a powerful winter storm pounds West Coast with rain and snow - but it's record highs in the Midwest Yellowstone’s Steamboat Geyser shatters previous record by erupting 47 time in 2019 After record rainfall, a teen swept away by Galilee flash flood found dead Valparaíso fires: Dozens of homes destroyed in Chilean city - it's suspected the wildfires, which spread rapidly due to the hot dry weather and strong winds, were started deliberately And with the imminent rise of satellite constellations: Astronomers warn of threat to view of Universe

Another tropical storm ruins Christmas for thousands of Filipinos Christmas arrives early for drought-stricken farmers as desperately needed rain falls over their parched lands   Severe flooding forces Fort Lauderdale Airport to close as overnight storms batter Florida There's record Christmas snow cover in Finnish Lapland - so that's where it's all gone this year .... Venice is hit by 'exceptional' new flooding Lewis stone circle has star-shaped lightning strike Maybe this timelapse of Earth's glaciers will change your perspective of the past 50 years ? Is Betelgeuse preparing to go supernova? And, especially at this time of year, we remember the thousands of volunteers fighting the flames in Australia.

Tornado in Surrey brings down trees and flips over cars with the tornado captured on dashcam as it crosses M25 in Surrey .  Meanwhile, there have been more towns and villages flooded after further rain in England European storm death toll rises to nine as 100 mile per hour winds lash the continent leaving 120,000 without power NSW bushfire crews rally to take control in cooler conditions after 100 properties destroyed in days while dramatic footage emerges as a ‘lava waterfall’ clings to side of cliff as wildfire burns through New South Wales And the White Island volcano official death toll rises after injured victim dies in Auckland hospital

Parts of England experience a Christmas washout! Railways and roads grind to a halt after two weeks worth of rain falls in 16 hours After Storm Elsa devastates southern Europe, five dead Australia fires: Travel warnings issued over 'catastrophic' blazes as the NSW bushfires sees fire-generated thunderstorm over two South Coast blazes and, sadly, two firefighters die as Australia fires rage, PM cuts short holiday And 435 people died in an 1896 heatwave — but scientists say the extreme heat events of today are still hotter - there was no air conditioning back then.  And in any case, some, at least, of the temperature readings are suspect.

Video footage shows torrential floods carrying away cars in northern Spain after fierce winds and torrential rain caused water levels to rise as Storm Elsa causes power failures in Portugal Meanwhile, much less severe flooding brings travel disruption across South East of England Homes lost, person killed as bushfires burn throughout South Australia and as more records tumble as heatwave rolls on, scientists point finger at climate change No real surprise as the Met Office says warming trend will continue in 2020 When it comes to ice sheet melting: Estimates still uncertain Beautiful psychedelic rainbow-coloured ‘jellyfish clouds’ caught on camera - although the irridescence was probably not as dramatic to the naked eye (it rarely is). And is carbon dioxide making it harder to think straight?   Well that's my excuse!

Sydney temperatures pass 41C as firefighters injured, homes destroyed, state of emergency declared  after Australia's heatwave sees average maximum temperature record broken two days in a row And there's record highs elsewhere too as Muscovites wonder where winter has gone as temperatures hit 133-year high - although, to be fair, that's only a Moscow date record. Storm Elsa surprises Galway with sudden flooding and fallen trees New York City hit by snow squall. Wait, what's a snow squall?   A sudden, intense snowstorm, silly! And from floods to fires to weird Arctic weather, Environment Canada releases top 10 weather stories of 2019

Australia's heatwave registers new hottest day on record, BOM says - with an average maximum temperature across the entire continent of 40.9c The NSW bushfires burn an area greater than Wales, the result of an exceptional spring New ice river detected at Arctic glacier adds to rising seas The chance of 'once in a lifetime heavy snowfall' has increased five times thanks to climate change, according to Japanese scientists - but only in Japan And a list of the daily nonsense headlines the Daily Express has written about SNOW this month

At least three dead as powerful tornadoes rip through the Deep South whilst the deadly winter storm that killed 12 in the Midwest barrels towards the Northeast Over the weekend in France: Winds, flooding leave thousands of homes without power Whilst in the Australia bushfires: 'Mega blaze' destroys homes ahead of heatwave  as aerial photographs show just how close hundreds of suburban homes were to burning down in bushfires ,  while South-East Queensland's hot weather breaks records as temperatures hit the 40s .   And over the next few days the temperature record could be repeatedly broken as heatwave hits Australia's south-east, BOM says In storm-hit Yemen, 'sin' is blamed for surging climate losses (of course, some Americans make similar claims .... ) There's a volcano warning for city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky amid ‘very likely’ eruption Anak Krakatau: Giant blocks of rock litter ocean floor And November 2019: Earth...

Earlier in the week, a Stoke tornado throws tiles from roofs and pulls down power lines Australia heatwave: Next week could see hottest day on record 'Santa Lucia's storm' sweeps Italy with snow and gales And meet Storm Hector: the thundercloud you can set your clock by

Deadly Cyclone Belna makes landfall in northwest Madagascar Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast hit by very dangerous storms, BOM warns of flash flooding whilst a freak Brisbane storm dumps half a year's worth of rain in one hour Route cleared to Skye village cut off by landslip As 45% of the UK's electricity needs were met by wind turbines last Sunday, thousands were paid to use extra renewable electricity on windy weekend Scotland's new avalanche risk forecasting season begins Greenland ice losses rising faster than expected New Zealand volcano: Divers deployed to find last two missing bodies NASA just watched a mass of cyclones on Jupiter evolve into a mesmerising hexagon Earth was stressed before dinosaur extinction - probably due to the Deccan Traps eruptions Research confirms timing of tropical glacier melt at the end of the last ice age And the deepest point on land found in Antarctica

As the official toll rises to six, with several critically ill in hospital and eight more unaccounted for, presumed dead, after the New Zealand volcano eruption: How White Island first responders rescued critically injured patients and the White Island volcano eruption a 'disaster waiting to happen', Australian expert says as the NZ PM Ardern says questions must be 'asked and answered' As bushfires continue, Sydney smoke at its 'worst ever' with air pollution in some areas 12 times 'hazardous' threshold  Strong winds blow over two lorries on East Lothian road Mysterious snow patterns seen from space have a corny explanation - harvesting is late and some North Dakota fields still have corn standing in them, 'hiding' the snow  South Africa hit by massive power cuts as floods disrupt supply High in the Bolivian Andes, a tornado causes damage in the city of El Alto Seychelles: The island nation with a novel wa...

Death toll from New Zealand's White Island volcano eruption rises to 5 - with more still missing.   Elsewhere in NZ, hundreds of tourists evacuated in major airlift after floods and slips close roads Eire is hit by Storm Atiyah: Power outages and parks closed with some power cuts and travel disruption for Wales and in England the South West battered by 73mph winds Flooding in western Uganda kills more than a dozen And a study concluded that our oceans running out of oxygen as temperatures rise

NSW bushfires surround Sydney but conditions ease for now And whilst the fires burn, they have also had the coldest maximum summer temperature on record at Thredbo and there's an operation to rescue Tasmanian wilderness hut shelters trekkers suffering hypothermia during trek In Zambia, the Victoria Falls slows to a trickle, fuelling fears of climate change Here, Met Éireann name the first storm of the season but it will have little impact on most of the UK Alaska's glaciers retreating at record pace And little surprise that it turns out a wild geoengineering plan to refreeze Arctic sea ice isn't the best idea

NSW Rural Fire Service says bushfires have combined to create 60km 'mega fire' north of Sydney with the city shrouded again in dangerous smoke.  Elsewhere in Australia, citizen-science program finds dust storms are occurring with record-breaking frequency And dust from Australia's drought may be causing New Zealand's glaciers to turn red Another deadly landslide, this time in Uganda with risk of more flooding and landslides as rains batter East Africa Tonnes of snow made for Cairngorm Mountain ski season which starts this weekend, although there's very little of the natural stuff to be seen at present Somerset earthquake: Homes shaken by 3.2 magnitude tremor And plastic pollution has killed half a million hermit crabs, study says

December marked by record temperatures in Iceland - over 1c warmer than the previous December record. A flash flood at famed Grand Canyon waterfalls sends tourists scrambling The USA's winter storm finally moves out to sea leaving behind lots of snow and 7 dead. Meanwhile more than a dozen killed as Typhoon Kammuri exits Philippines East Africa rain and floods linked to disproportionate effects of climate change Climate change to cause ‘substantial decline’ in snow cover days on Cairngorms, warns report Did a million years of rain jump-start dinosaur evolution? And carbon emissions edge up despite drop in coal

Typhoon Kammuri slams into Philippines, forcing thousands to flee In the US, a deadly winter storm continues to blast Northeast as December in the lower 48 begins with most snow cover in years  Perth smashes December heat record as bushfire emergency forces home evacuations in Perth's south Wall collapse from heavy rains kills 17 in India's Tamil Nadu Why the floods in East Africa are so bad No real surprise that, globally speaking, the last decade 'almost certainly' warmest Antarctic ice sheets could be at greater risk of melting than previously thought Drone images shows huge cracks developing in the Greenland Ice Sheet  A possible explanation for the "faint young sun" paradox?  How ancient microbes created massive ore deposits, set stage for early life  And could climate change become a security issue — and threaten democracy?   Yes ....

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology declares spring 2019 the driest on record , but as their summer begins there is total whiteout at Perisher and Mount Hotham as closed ski fields across Australia are blanketed in snow Buildings destroyed as Currowan fire races towards NSW South Coast communities And chaotic weather cancels flights, sparks flood worry in NZ There's also lots of bad weather in the US as deadly storm moves cross country taking aim at the Northeast with more than a foot of snow forecast in New York and New England More floods in southern France kill five, including three in a helicopter crash Thousands evacuated as rare December typhoon expected to bring heavy rains to Philippines Study underpins key idea in Antarctic ice loss And the Brazilian president goes even nuttier: Brazil's Bolsonaro says DiCaprio gave cash 'to set Amazon on fire'