Breaking News Archives - Page 237 of 255

Jun142024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Machine Learning Revolutionizes Climate Modeling: Faster, Cheaper, and More Accurate Predictions for Cities

New Study Finds Breakthrough in Using AI for Detailed Climate Forecasting. Climate models are a key technology in predicting the impacts of climate change. By running simulations of the Earth's climate, scientists and policymakers can estimate conditions like sea level rise, flooding, and rising temperatures, and make decisions about how to appropriately respond. However, current climate models struggle to provide this information quickly or affordably enough to be useful on smaller scales, such as the size of a city. Now, authors of a new open-access paper published in the Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems have found a method to leverage machine learning to utilize the benefits of current climate models while reducing the computational costs needed to run them. "It turns...

Jun142024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

NASA Confirms Disturbing Climate Milestone: 12 Consecutive Months of Record High Temperatures

Breaking News, Climate Actions

Understanding the current climate crisis isn't just about grasping complex variables it's about confronting stark facts. Here's one that should grab attention: every single month over the past year has set a new global temperature record for that month. NASA's latest data for May 2024 continues a worrying trend of record-breaking temperatures observed since June 2023. April, March, February, and January all saw unprecedented highs, following a similar pattern throughout 2023, from June to December. "This streak is unprecedented in our records and signals a deepening climate crisis," states NASA administrator Bill Nelson. "Communities worldwide, from Arizona to California to Nevada, are experiencing extreme heat at levels never before seen." Clear Alarming Trend The graph depict...

Jun142024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Massive Teesta Valley Floods: What Happened and What Needs to Be Done Now

Breaking News, Disasters

The Darjeeling Himalaya Initiative (DHI) recently submitted a comprehensive report to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) of West Bengal and Sikkim regarding the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) that ravaged the Teesta Valley in October 2023. This report, based on observations and interactions with affected individuals, was created in collaboration with SaveTheHills and contains vital recommendations to mitigate future disasters. Background of the Disaster In the early hours of October 4, 2023, a catastrophic GLOF event occurred from the South Lhonak Glacier. This disaster, compounded by a massive dam breach at Chungthang, unleashed devastating floods across the Teesta Valley, resulting in significant loss of life ...

Jun132024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Emergency on the ISS? Leaked Audio of Training Exercise Triggers Brief Earth Panic

Breaking News, Disasters, Space

Audio of a flight surgeon dealing with an emergency on the International Space Station (ISS) while she was stuck in traffic triggered a brief panic on the evening of June 12 CDT. The unnamed speaker appeared to be conducting a phone call with an unheard conversant, discussing a situation in which an unnamed commander would require hyperbaric treatment after an event that left them with decompression sickness. "Unfortunately, the prognosis for commander is relatively tenuous, I'll say, to keep it generic," the speaker is heard saying. ISS mission control has now confirmed that the audio was a ground simulation that was broadcast to the ISS livestream channel by mistake, and all crew members were safely asleep at the time of the broadcast. The audio, clipped from the livestream a...

Jun122024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

New Research Highlights Earthquake Threat in the Cascadia Subduction Zone

Breaking News, Disasters

The Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ), a major geological faultline stretching 1,000 kilometers from Northern California to British Columbia, Canada, is under renewed scientific scrutiny. This zone, marking the boundary between the Juan de Fuca and North American tectonic plates, is not only a key interest for geologists but also a potential source of one of the most powerful earthquakes and tsunamis the world could experience. A new study published in Science Advances on June 7, has brought this peril into sharper focus, indicating that regions within the CSZ might rupture individually or simultaneously, leading to varying impacts. The study underscores the significant threat posed by the CSZ, where massive earthquakes have the potential to generate tsunamis over 100 feet high. Harold Tob...

Jun112024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Progress and Challenges in Disaster Management Amid Climate Change

Breaking News, Disasters

Despite the increasing intensity and frequency of climate-related disasters such as cyclones, floods, and droughts, global deaths from these catastrophes are decreasing thanks to improved warning systems, planning, and resilience measures, according to Kamal Kishore, the new United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for disaster risk reduction. Kishore highlights a significant shift in disaster outcomes: "Twenty years ago, there was no tsunami early warning system except for one small part of the world. Now the whole world is covered by a tsunami warning system." This improvement has drastically reduced fatalities from tsunamis since the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which claimed approximately 230,000 lives. Similarly, early warnings for tropical cyclones have significantly d...

Jun102024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Newly Discovered Fossils Suggest Ancient Age of Monotremes in Australia

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

Bones encased in rock rotted away, and water-borne silica seeped into the crevices, solidifying into opal and preserving precious details for 100 million years. The resulting fossils now provide evidence that there may have been an Age of Monotremes before other mammals came to dominate. "It's like discovering a whole new civilization," says Australian Museum paleontologist Tim Flannery. "Today, Australia is known as a land of marsupials, but discovering these new fossils is the first indication that Australia was previously home to a diversity of monotremes." Currently, only five species of these rare mammals exist: one platypus and four echidna species, shared between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Due to their reptilian-like egg-laying feature, it has long been thought that these...

Jun92024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Cascadia Subduction Zone One of Earth’s Top Hazards, Comes into Sharper Focus

Breaking News, Disasters, Idea & Innovations

Off the coasts of southern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and northern California lies a 600-mile-long strip where the Pacific Ocean floor is slowly diving eastward under North America. This area, called the Cascadia Subduction Zone, hosts a megathrust fault, a place where tectonic plates move against each other in a highly dangerous way. The plates can periodically lock up and build stress over wide areas eventually to be released when they finally lurch against each other. The result: the world's greatest earthquakes, shaking both seabed and land, and generating tsunamis 100 feet high or more. Such a fault off Japan caused the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Similar zones exist off Alaska, Chile, and New Zealand, among other places. At Cascadia, big quakes are believed to c...

Jun82024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Mysterious Neutron Star Emits Unprecedented Signals, Baffling Astronomers

Breaking News, Disasters, Space

Astronomers are grappling with a perplexing signal emanating from a distant neutron star, ASKAP J193505.1+214841.0 (ASKAP J1935+2148), located about 15,820 light-years from Earth in the Milky Way's plane. The enigmatic star emits a series of pulses ranging from strong to weak, interspersed with periods of silence that challenge existing models of neutron star behavior. An Unprecedented Signal The peculiar signals from ASKAP J1935+2148 were first detected serendipitously during observations for another project. Follow-up studies using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa revealed a regular 53.8-minute pulsation period. However, the nature of these pulses deviates significantly from known neutron star patterns. Neut...

Jun82024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Understanding on How Climate Change Impacting Human Health

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Idea & Innovations

Climate change is not just about melting ice caps and rising sea levels; it poses a significant threat to human health worldwide. From extreme weather events to changes in air and water quality, the effects of climate change ripple through various aspects of our lives, impacting physical, mental, and community health. Here’s a comprehensive look at how climate change affects human health and what can be done to mitigate these risks. Temperature-Related Impacts As global temperatures rise, so do the risks associated with extreme heat. Heatwaves become more frequent and intense, leading to heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke, dehydration, and cardiovascular/respiratory problems. Vulnerable populations, including the elderly, children, pregnant women, outdoor workers, and those w...