Photo: flickr By Walt Stoneburner It sounds unlikely but it’s true: the magnetic north pole is moving faster than at any time in human history, threatening everything from the safety of modern transport systems to the traditional navigation routes of migrating animals. Scientists say that magnetic north, which for two centuries has been in the icy wilderness of Canada, is currently relocating… Read more →
A drought has been declared on the entire North Island of New Zealand – in what the government describes as the worst dry spell in 30 years. Farmers are especially hard hit, with losses in agriculture expected to shave about 1% off economic growth. The capital Wellington is said to have just 18 days of water left, and parts of… Read more →
At an army base outside Tel Aviv, soldiers sit in front of screens glued to scrolling colored computer code, keyboards at the ready to deflect attacks. They’re Israel’s cyber defense team in training, among the uniformed men and women learning how to stalk hackers and pounce on virtual enemies as the state shields everything from ministry websites to the systems running the… Read more →
Large and fast-moving bushfires burned out of control in the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales on Friday. Dozens of uncontained fires prompt fears of a new escalation, as temperatures soar towards 40 degrees Celsius. Sydney hits hottest day on record – 45.8C.
The national drought footprint shrank slightly this week, as heavy rains fell across the South, Southeast, Midwest and parts of the Mid-Atlantic states, and major snowfall blanketed parts of the Rocky Mountains and Northern Cascades, bringing relief to those regions. However, the hardest-hit drought region — the Great Plains — continued to experience drier-than-average conditions, with the drought continuing to… Read more →
http://www.euronews.com/ Jerusalem has virtually ground to a standstill after Israel’s worst snowstorm for 20 years. Up to 15 centimetres fell overnight, forcing public transport and schools to shut down. The city’s emergency department urged residents to stay at home and make it a day with the family.
2012 was a historic year for extreme weather that included drought, wildfires, hurricanes and storms; however, tornado activity was below average 2012 marked the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States with the year consisting of a record warm spring, second warmest summer, fourth warmest winter and a warmer-than-average autumn. The average temperature for 2012 was 55.3°F, 3.2°F… Read more →
(CNN) – Soaring temperatures and strong winds have combined to create a “catastrophic” fire threat across the southeast Australian state of New South Wales. Residents have been warned to remain vigilant as temperatures rise towards a predicted high of 43 degrees (109 degrees Fahrenheit) in the state capital of Sydney. In some areas of the state, winds of more than 70 kilometers an… Read more →
Australian officials battled a series of wildfires amid scorching temperatures across the country on Friday, with one blaze suspected of damaging or destroying dozens of buildings in the island state of Tasmania.
Flooding and “extreme” rain could become far more commonplace in the UK Photo: Rui Vieira/PA The total rainfall of 1330.7mm (52.38in) was just 6.6mm (0.25in) less than the wettest ever year, 2000, despite Britain experiencing a drought for the first three months of 2012. But the picture varied widely across the country, with 2012 being the wettest ever year in England,… Read more →
