Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.2 Earthquake hits the Java Sea.
5.9 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.
5.6 Earthquake hits Dominica in the Leeward Islands.
Storms and Floods
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the North Atlantic: Invest 99L is an area of disturbed weather in the North Atlantic that has the potential for further tropical development.
In the Eastern Pacific: Invest 90E is an area of disturbed weather in the East Pacific that has the potential for further tropical development.
Invest 99E is an area of disturbed weather in the East Pacific that has the potential for further tropical development.
In the Western Pacific: Tropical Depression 24w (Sarika), located approximately 130 nm east-northeast of Hanoi, Vietnam, is tracking north-northwestward at 07 knots.
Super Typhoon 25w (Haima), located approximately 248 nm east-northeast of Manila, Philippines, is tracking west-northwestward at 14 knots.
Newsbytes:
Philippines – A dangerous typhoon is spinning like a table saw toward the Philippines just days after a major storm made landfall in Luzon. Local emergency managers are warning storm surge could exceed 15 feet in the northernmost region of Luzon when the storm makes landfall Wednesday. Another foot of rain is likely on top of soaking-wet soil. Typhoon Haima, known as Lawin in the Philippines, is a monster of a storm. With sustained winds at 160 mph, it became the fifth super typhoon of 2016 on Tuesday morning. The average for this time of year is approximately three. It’s also the seventh Category-5 equivalent of the year, globally.
Global Warming
Streak of Record-Breaking Hot Months Breaks Record
On Tuesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its global temperature data for September. It shows that the month was a scant 0.07°F (0.04°C) below September 2015’s record, making it the second-warmest September on record.
That ends a streak of 16 consecutive record-setting hot months in NOAA’s dataset, a record-setting streak itself. The run of planetary heat has rewritten the record books.
The run of record-setting months means 15 of the most abnormally warm months have occurred since March 2015. Accounting for ties, the only exception is January 2007 which came in tied for 11th. There has never been a run of hot months like this in the 1,641 months (or 136-plus years) of data at NOAA’s disposal.
Global Warming Anticipated in 1912
A 14 August 1912 article from a New Zealand newspaper contains a brief story about how burning coal might produce future warming by adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
This article’s authenticity is supported by the fact it can be found in the digital archives of the National Library of New Zealand.
Wildlife
Humans are eating wild mammals into extinction
Some 300 wild mammal species in Asia, Africa and Latin America are being driven to extinction by humanity’s voracious appetite for bushmeat, according to a world-first assessment released Wednesday.
The species at risk range from rats to rhinoceros, and include docile, ant-eating pangolins as well as flesh-ripping big cats.
The findings, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, are evidence of a “global crisis” for warm-blooded land animals, 15 top conservation scientists concluded.
“Terrestrial mammals are experiencing a massive collapse in their population sizes and geographical ranges around the world,” the study warned.
This decline, it said, was part of a larger trend known as a “mass extinction event,” only the sixth time in half a billion years that Earth’s species are dying out at more than 1,000 times the usual rate.
Besides eating them, humans are robbing mammals of their natural habitats through agriculture and urbanisation, and decimating them through pollution, disease and climate change.
According to the Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of endangered species, a quarter of 4,556 land mammals assessed are on the road to annihilation.
For 301 of these threatened species, “hunting by humans” — mainly for food, but also as purported health and virility boosters, and trophies such as horns or pelts — is the main threat, according to the comprehensive review of scientific literature.
The likelihood of extinction, the team found, depends on body size: the bigger the animals, the greater the danger.
More than 100 primates, including gorillas and snub-nosed monkeys, and dozens of hooved animals from oxen to antelope, are at dire risk from hunting.
All 301 species identified are found exclusively in developing countries, with the highest concentration in southeast Asia (113), followed by Africa (91), the rest of Asia (61) and Latin America (38).
The countries with the most native species under siege from hunting were Madagascar (46), Indonesia (37), the Philippines (14) and Brazil (10).
Nature – Images
Interesting Images
Imagine a spider as big as a child’s forearm that weighs as much as a puppy. That’s how huge the South American Goliath birdeater — arguably the world’s largest spider — can be.
Wildfires
Wildfires – Colorado, Alaska, USA
A fire sparked Monday morning in southern Colorado quickly grew out of control and continues to grow with little to no containment. The so-called Junkins fire has claimed at least 16,312 acres in Custer and Pueblo counties, according to an incident report. The fire grew rapidly due to windy conditions; just north of Custer County, in the town of Florence, winds gusted above 40 mph Monday morning.
Fire officials expect calmer winds to provide a bit of reprieve for firefighters working two Sutton-area wildfires Tuesday. Alaska Division of Forestry spokesperson Tim Mowry said the 328-acre Moose Creek Fire had no “significant activity” overnight. By 8 p.m. the fire, was 46 percent contained. The King Fire, burning just miles away from the Moose Creek Fire, had a small flare up Monday night, but Mowry said it was quickly contained.