Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.2 Earthquake hits central Peru.
5.2 Earthquake hits the west Chile rise.
5.0 Earthquake hits the central Mid-Atlantic ridge.
5.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Honshu, Japan.
Storms and Floods
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the North Atlantic: Hurricane Matthew is located about 60 mi…95 km SSE of Nassau and about 255 mi…410 km se of West Palm Beach Florida with maximum sustained winds…125 mph…205 km/h. Present movement…NW or 320 degrees at 12 mph…19 km/h.
Tropical Storm Nicole is located about 400 mi…645 km S of Bermuda and about 565 mi…910 km N of San Juan Puerto Rico with maximum sustained winds…70 mph…110 km/h. Present movement…NW or 315 degrees at 9 mph…15 km/h.
In the Western Pacific: Tropical depression 22w (Aere), located approximately 267 nm east-southeast of Hong Kong, is tracking westward at 15 knots.
Newsbytes:
Hurricane Matthew – In less than 24 hours, still-growing Hurricane Matthew will slide along South Florida after tearing through Haiti, Cuba, and the Bahamas. The National Hurricane Centre has issued a full-fledged hurricane warning from Golden Beach in North Miami-Dade County up through Sebastian Inlet. A tropical storm warning is now in effect from the Florida Keys through all of Miami. This means that forecasters are now all but certain that hurricane-force winds will slam into the area north of Golden Beach by tomorrow, with tropical-storm-force winds throughout Miami.
Global Warming
Humanity is Too Late to Stop Global Warming
Renowned American climatologist James Hansen, the first scientist to draw public attention to the acceleration of global warming in the 1980s, has released a new study stating that the Paris Agreement regarding greenhouse-gas emissions control will unlikely save humanity from the disastrous consequences of the current climate change.
The study details that current temperature averages are comparable to those of the interglacial Eemian period, that ended 115,000 years ago. At the time, the planet’s ice sheet was much thinner than it is now and the sea level is estimated to have been some nine meters higher.
The goal of limiting the average temperature rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial-age levels, agreed by representatives of the world’s 195 recognized countries is deemed to be currently impossible, as it requires the application of technologies that have not yet been invented. Not only would all internal-combustion engines need to switch to biofuel immediately, but also excess carbon dioxide, already in the atmosphere, would have to be removed.
Hansen suggests that prompt steps must be taken, including the implementation of a carbon-emission tax on fracking companies and legal actions against governments, to press them to cut down emissions.
According to the Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals report, 81 percent of millennials, those aged 16-35 years, who comprise up to a third of the world’s population, strongly favour adhering to the Paris Agreement and taking urgent steps to mitigate the effects of global warming.