Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.4 earthquake hits the southwestern Ryukyu Islands off Japan.
5.1 earthquake hits the mid-Indian ridge.
5.0 earthquake hits the Hindu Kush, Afghanistan.
5.0 earthquake hits Kepulauan Barat Daya, Indonesia.
Wildlife
Great Barrier Reef – More bleaching
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is suffering its third mass coral bleaching event in five years, with some reefs that had survived earlier episodes being affected again.
A new survey reveals that 80 reefs between Tully and Townsville have been badly bleached.
“We could see that some of those corals were big enough that they must have survived the 2017 bleaching and now they re-bleached,” said reef expert Terry Hughes.
Nature – Images
Interesting Images
Some Wildlife Photography Award Finalists
Orangutang Drinking
Monkeys in Japan taking a bath in hot springs
Disease
COVID-19
Worldwide fatalities are over 37 500. More than 784 000 people have been infected.
USA – The number of people infected with the virus in the United States hit more than 164 000, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally, with the number of fatalities surpassing 3 000.
New York – New York reported almost 7,000 new cases of the virus, bringing the total to nearly 66,500. Most of the cases were in New York City, where, officials reported later on Monday, 38,087 people had been infected. Some 1 218 deaths have been recorded statewide.
Italy – Italian health officials reported an additional 4,050 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, putting the country total over the 100,000 case mark with 101,739. 812 more deaths were also reported bringing the total to 11,591. .
Germany – The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has reached 66,885. Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 583.
Iran – Iran’s death toll from the new coronavirus has increased to 2,898. There have been 3 111 new cases in the last 24 hours.
Spain – Spain’s coronavirus death toll rose by 849 cases overnight to 8,189, the highest jump in fatalities since the start of the epidemic, the health ministry said. The total number of infections rose to 94,417 from 85,195 the previous date.
Earthquakes
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
5.4 earthquake hits the Colombia-Ecuador border.
5.3 earthquake hits the Fox Islands in the Aleutian Islands.
5.1 earthquake hits the northern mid-Atlantic ridge.
5.0 earthquake hits south of Tonga.
Storms and Floods
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
There are no current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
Kenya – A 67-year-old man died after he was swept away by flash floods in Rarieda, Siaya County on Saturday. Hundreds of families have been displaced in various parts of Nyanza and Busia County, following the heavy rains pounding most parts of the country.
Ohio, USA – Northeast Ohio residents are seeing flooded roads, intersections and high waters in their neighborhoods.
This weekend’s heavy rain has caused flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets, and underpasses, as well as other drainage and low-lying areas. Several Northeast Ohio counties, including Cuyahoga, remain under flood warnings or watches.
Wildlife
Climate change forcing whales into dangerous shipping lanes
Climate change is imperilling the world’s largest animals by increasing the likelihood of fatal collisions between whales and big ships that ply the same waters.
Warming ocean temperatures are causing some species of whales in pursuit of food to stray more frequently into shipping lanes, scientists say.
The phenomenon already has increased ship strikes involving rare North Atlantic right whales on the East Coast and giant blue whales on the West Coast, researchers say.
When whales are killed in a ship collision, they often sink and don’t always wash ashore. So scientists and conservationists say fatal ship strikes are dramatically under-reported.
Vessels strikes are among the most frequent causes of accidental death in large whales, along with entanglement in fishing gear.
Scientists say the changing ocean environment and a shift in food sources with global warming is causing right whales and some other species to stray outside protected zones designed to keep them safe from ships.
Disease
COVID-19
Worldwide fatalities are over 34 000. More than 724 000 people have been infected.
USA – The number of people infected with the virus in the United States hit more than 143 000, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally, with the number of fatalities surpassing 2 400.
New York – The Governor announced today 7,681 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 52,318 confirmed cases in New York State. The number of cases in New York City is pushing 30,000 as of today. Some 700 deaths have been recorded.
Italy – The Civil Protection department said 756 people had died in the last day, bringing the total to 10,779 — more than a third of all deaths from the virus worldwide. While the total number of confirmed cases rose to 97,689 on Sunday from a previous 92,472, it was the lowest daily rise in new cases since Wednesday.
Germany – The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has reached 62,435. Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 541.
Iran – Iran’s death toll from the new coronavirus has increased to 2,757 with 117 new deaths in the past 24 hours, a health ministry spokesman told state TV, adding that the total number of cases has climbed to 41,495.
Earthquakes
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.8 earthquake hits Sulawesi, Indonesia.
5.7 earthquake hits Vanuatu.
5.3 earthquake hits the Banda Sea.
5.2 earthquake hits New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.
Storms and Floods
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
There are no current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
Hawaii – Many Kauai residents woke Saturday to parts of the islands under water after heavy rainfall moved in overnight. Kauai was under a flash flood warning for much of Friday night and Saturday morning. Numerous properties were inundated by high water levels. Portions of Oahu also saw some of the heavy rain, particularly on the northern and windward side.
Wildlife
Urban Avians
A new study finds why some birds thrive in cities while others go extinct due to human activities — they can either grow large brains or produce more offspring.
“On the one hand, species with large brains, like crows or gulls, are common in cities because large brain size helps them deal with the challenges of a novel environment,” said lead author Ferran Sayol of Sweden’s University of Gothenburg.
“On the other hand, we also found that small-brained species, like pigeons, can be highly successful if they have a high number of breeding attempts over their lifetimes.”
Venetian Revival
Fish and even dolphins have returned to the now-calmed waters of Venice’s famed canals due to the shutdown of tourism and daily life during Italy’s coronavirus health crisis.
The hundreds of speeding motorboat taxis and tourist boats that used to churn La Serenissima’s canals are now docked in silence. The huge cruise ships are also gone, while even most of the gondolas are moored.
The city’s typically turbid canals are now clear enough to see the native seaweed and returning schools of fish.
Disease
COVID-19
Worldwide fatalities are over 30 982. More than 669 000 people have been infected.
USA – The number of people infected with the virus in the United States hit more than 124 686, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally, with the number of fatalities surpassing 2 192.
New York – Thew Governor announced today 7,681 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 52,318 confirmed cases in New York State. The number of cases in New York City is pushing 30,000 as of today. Some 700 deaths have been recorded.
Italy – Italy’s death toll is now the highest in the world at 10,023. Fatalities passed the grim milestone on Saturday, with an increase of 889 since the last figures were released on Friday. With 92,472 confirmed cases, Italy appears to have the highest death rate on the planet.
Germany – The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has reached 52,547 after 3,965 people tested positive overnight, according to the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases’ latest tally. Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 443 from 325 the previous day.
South Korea – Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 105 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections throughout the outbreak in the country to 9,583.
Spain – The Spain Ministry of Health is now reporting more than 78 797 COVID-19 cases, with an additional 8200 cases reported in the last 24 hours. In addition, 838 new coronavirus deaths, marking the country’s highest daily jump in fatalities, brought the total to 6,528.
Earthquakes
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 earthquake hits Papua, Indonesia.
5.1 earthquake hits Hokkaido, Japan.
5.0 earthquake hits Santiago del Estero, Argentina.
5.0 earthquake hits New Ireland, Papua New Guinea.
Storms and Floods
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
There are no current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
Kenya – Ravaged by floods, Nyando residents are staring at a bleak future even as the country steps up efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus. The situation worsened yesterday after raging floods swept through several villages, leaving a trail of destruction. Hundreds of families were displaced by the floods, which swept away some of the homes. And businesses around Lake Victoria are staring at huge losses as the region starts to feel the impact of the lake’s swelling waters.
Disease
COVID-19
Worldwide fatalities are over 27 000. More than 600 000 people have been infected.
USA – The number of people infected with the virus in the United States hit more than 104,000, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally, with the number of fatalities surpassing 1,700.
Italy – The Italy Ministry of Health reported 969 COVID-19 deaths in the past day, making it the highest single day death count to date. This brings the country’s total fatalities to 9,134. In addition, more than 5,500 additional cases were reported in the past 24 hours, putting Italy’s total case count at 86,498.
New York – New York City is now reporting more than 26 600 cases. New York City has also reported nearly 450 fatalities.
Germany – The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Germany rose by 6,294 compared with the previous day while the death toll climbed by 55, the Robert Koch Institute reported. In total, Germany has reported 48,582 infections and 325 deaths.
South Korea – South Korea has reported 146 more cases of the new coronavirus in the country, bringing the total to 9,478.
Spain – Spain’s death toll from the coronavirus pandemic jumped to 5,690 on Saturday, with 832 fatalities in the past 24 hours, according to the health ministry. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in Spain has increased by almost 8,000 in one day, pushing the total number of cases to 65,700, among whom 9,444 are health workers.
Iran – The number of coronavirus fatalities in Iran surged to 2,517 as health officials announced 139 new deaths over the past 24 hours. The health ministry spokesperson, said that 3,076 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus, bringing the total to 35,408.
Russia – Russia reported 196 new cases of coronavirus, a daily record, taking its official total for those infected with the disease to 1,036.
Australia – Australia imposed stricter rules on social distancing as the number of confirmed cases jumped by 469 to 3,635, with a death toll of 14.
Turkey – Turkey suspended all intercity trains and limited domestic flights as part of measures to contain a fast-growing coronavirus outbreak, as the number of cases jumped by a third in a day to 5,698, with 92 dead.