Earth ChangesS


Bug

Ontario beekeepers report 'unsustainable losses' over the winter


Global News
Mon, 14 May 2018 18:27 UTC
A survey of almost 900 Ontario beekeepers indicated that 70 per cent suffered unsustainable losses
© AP/Yves LoggheA survey of almost 900 Ontario beekeepers indicated that 70 per cent suffered unsustainable losses
Beekeepers across the country are expressing concern about the effects of poor weather on their colonies.

In Ontario, which has the largest number of beekeepers in Canada, the situation is being described as serious.

A survey of almost 900 Ontario beekeepers indicated that 70 per cent suffered unsustainable losses.
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Cloud Precipitation

Severe hailstorm pounds Eddy County, New Mexico - damages homes and cars

Elena Mendoza
krqe.com
Wed, 23 May 2018 18:19 UTC
hail
A storm hit Eddy County Tuesday and dropped some huge hail, in some areas as big as half dollars, but it wasn't just the hail that scared people.

Hail pounded the small town of Otis on Tuesday, damaging cars and homes.

"We had a skylight break out on our house, two windows broke," said Steve Walterscheid. "Damaged the cotton, too, that we had planted."

Walterscheid says he had 300 acres of cotton and is looking at thousands of dollars in losses.

In nearby Carlsbad, the winds we so strong they ripped a roof off a business.

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Attention

Whale carcass washed up at Bolinas Beach, California - latest in a series

Mark Prado
Marin Independent Journal
Thu, 24 May 2018 18:06 UTC
Scientists from the Marine Mammal Center and California Academy of Sciences performs a full necropsy of a dead 36-foot adult female gray whale washed ashore on Tennessee Valley Beach on Friday.
© Marin Mammal CenterScientists from the Marine Mammal Center and California Academy of Sciences performs a full necropsy of a dead 36-foot adult female gray whale washed ashore on Tennessee Valley Beach on Friday.
A dead whale was on Bolinas Beach Wednesday, the latest in a number of carcasses that have washed ashore in recent weeks.

The whale at the west end of Bolinas Beach is believed to be a female fin whale, but a necropsy has yet to be conducted. That will occur in the coming days, officials said.

A whale found Friday on Tennessee Valley Beach, and a second taken to Angel Island for a necropsy on the same day, both died because of human interactions, Marine Mammal Center officials said Wednesday.

Severe entanglement with fishing gear was confirmed as the cause of death for a 36-foot adult female gray whale that washed ashore on the Marin beach. The Angel Island necropsy results of a 45-foot juvenile female fin whale — found initially offshore of Alameda County and then towed to the island — showed it died due to a vessel collision.
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Cloud Precipitation

Storms cause floods in parts of Belgium, France and Germany


FloodList
Thu, 24 May 2018 17:44 UTC
Floods in Heinsberg, Germany, 22 May 2018.
© Feuerwehr GangeltFloods in Heinsberg, Germany, 22 May 2018.
Storms across northern Europe have caused surface flooding in Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and France, including the capital Paris.

The region has seen several violent storms over the last few days, in particular on 22 May, where Meteo France said that 13,964 lightning strikes were reported across the country.

The storms also brought hail - some areas of Germany have recorded hail 50 cm deep - strong winds and localised heavy downpours which have flooded streets and damaged homes. No fatalities have been reported.
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Question

Eastern Pennsylvania residents complain of mysterious, house-shaking explosions (Update)


WTMZ
Mon, 23 Apr 2018 19:13 UTC
Mystery booms in PA
© WTMZ
Mysterious explosions in upper Bucks County are leaving residents confused and frustrated.

People in areas like Quakertown and Coopersburg say they're being woken up by loud booms and some even say the blasts shake their homes.

"It is quite loud," says Donna Weaver of Quakertown.

Weaver is one of many who hear loud booms in the middle of the night.

"It went boom, boom, that's what it sounds like to me and that sounds like an explosion," said Weaver.

Comment: Update: According to ABC6, the mysterious explosions are continuing in Bucks and Lehigh counties. Some residents report the booms sound like vehicles slamming together, others report the noise reminds them of fireworks or underground blasting. The Richland Township chief of police is quoted as saying two of his officers heard the sound, one first seeing a flash:
There was a flash of light and maybe several seconds before he heard the sound, and then the other officer who was further away heard the sound later than he did," he said. "They both thought it was coming from different directions.
The State Police are investigating and have asked the ATF and FBI to assist in the investigation.



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Cloud Precipitation

More bad weather hits crops in Italy

Mike Knowles
Fruitnet.com
Thu, 24 May 2018 14:45 UTC
Hailstones in Puglia
© Italiafruit NewsHailstones in Puglia
Tomatoes, asparagus and stonefruit all reported to have been badly affected by new wave of hailstorms

Bad weather in Italy over the past few days has left many of the country's fruit and vegetable growers reeling once again, with hailstorms in particular feared to have hit production in several regions.
Italiafruit News reported that parts of the southern region of Puglia - a key source of tomatoes, cherries, table grapes and various vegetables - were effectively "on a war footing" following sudden storms, violent hail and even tornadoes.

That appears to be especially true in Foggia and areas to the immediate north and east, as Giuseppe De Filippo, president of the Foggia branch of agricultural group Coldiretti explained.

"The effect on vegetables, on tomato plantlets that have just been transplanted and on asparagus coming to the end of the harvest, has been disastrous," he commented, adding that a full and immediate survey of the damage was essential.

Comment: Erratic seasons and extreme weather devastating crops around the world

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Attention

Eight sperm whales found dead on beach in South Taranaki, New Zealand

Catherine Groenestein
Stuff
Thu, 24 May 2018 13:12 UTC
The whales' teeth and jawbones will be used by iwi for carving.
© GRANT MATTHEW/STUFFThe whales' teeth and jawbones will be used by iwi for carving.
Eight sperm whales are dead after getting stranded on a remote South Taranaki beach.

Kaupokonui Beach Camp manager Laurence Mosen was out walking his dog Chum when he discovered the whales spread over several kilometres of shoreline about 7.30am on Thursday, his wife Sue Mosen said.

"They must have come in overnight," she said. "I went straight down and had a look. They were all dead."

The strandings were reported to the Department of Conservation (DOC) and staff reached the site, northeast of Hāwera, about midday.

There was no rescue attempt as the whales were dead when found, DOC spokesman Des Williams said in an email.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 4 across Bangladesh


en.prothomalo.com
Thu, 24 May 2018 12:49 UTC
lightning
Four people were killed in lightning strikes in three districts -- Mymensingh, Bogura and Sunamganj -- on Wednesday, reports UNB.

In Mymensingh, two people died after being hit by lightning while catching fish in two separate beels -- one at Kolakanda village in Muktagachha upazila and the other at Nattakuri village in Sadar upazila.

In Bogura, a farmer, Zahidul Islam, 46, was hit by a thunderbolt around 10:00am while harvesting paddy in a field near his house at Dhulaori village in Dhunat upazila, leaving him dead on the spot.

In Sunamganj, a farmer was severely injured after he was struck by lightning while threshing his paddy at Anandapur village in Shalla upazila at noon.

Later, he was rushed to Dirai Upazila Health Complex where he succumbed to his injuries.

Comment: Elsewhere in Asia over the last few days fatalities due to lightning strikes have been reported in two regions of the Philippines, Sri Lanka and India (a total of 9 deaths).

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 18 people in 7-week period across Myanmar (Burma)

Myat Moe Aung
Myanmar Times
Thu, 24 May 2018 12:35 UTC
lightning
Eighteen people were killed by lightning in a little over a month, from April 1 to May 17, according to the Department of Disaster Management (DDM).

Among the victims were 14 males and four females. Five other people were injured in the pre-monsoon weather disturbances, the department said.

Among the places most affected by thunderstorms were Ayeyarwady and Bago regions, it added.

"Thunderstorms and lightning mostly happen in May and September. Last year there were up to 100 thunderstorms, which usually occur in the afternoon," said U Kyaw Lwin Oo, director of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH).
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Attention

Bear researcher mauled by grizzly, walked 2 miles with fractured skull in Montana

Katherine Lam
Fox News
Thu, 24 May 2018 12:20 UTC
A grizzly bear (not pictured) attacked Amber Kornak in northwestern Montana.
© ReutersA grizzly bear (not pictured) attacked Amber Kornak in northwestern Montana.
A woman working her "dream job" as a bear researcher walked two miles with a fractured skull after being mauled by a grizzly last Thursday in northwestern Montana, officials said.

Amber Kornak, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seasonal field assistant, is recovering after suffering two skull fractures and severe cuts to her head, neck and back. The 28-year-old was working alone near a stream in the Cabinet Mountains when a bear attacked her from behind, Kornak's friend Jenna Hemer wrote on a GoFundMe page.

Agency spokeswoman Jennifer Strickland said Kornak was able to grab her Mace-like bear spray while being mauled and blasted the grizzly, ending the attack. Kornak inadvertently sprayed herself in the process.
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