High
Temperature Extreme
Vioolsdrift,
South Africa: 115 degrees Fahrenheit
(top)
Low
Temperature Extreme
Vostok
(Russia) , Antarctica: -69 degrees Fahrenheit
(top)
Caribbean
Threat
Trinidad
geologists warned that an undersea volcano in the eastern Caribbean Sea could
unleash a destructive wave capable of swamping much of Grenada’s north coast
and the Grenadine islands.
Chances of a
killer wave are low, but the Seismic Research Unit at the University of the
West Indies plans to build a system to warn of eruptions or quakes near the
volcano known as “Kick ‘em Jenny.” An eruption of the volcano, just six miles
north of Grenada, could generate a wave 60-120 feet high. Such a wave would
reach Grenada within five minutes. Within 15 minutes, waves as high as 105
feet could slam through the nearby Grenadines.
(top)
Volcanic
Peninsula
Volcanic
activity beneath Lake Karymskoye on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula has
created a peninsula that has grown over the lake during the past three years.
The coastline
of the crescent-shaped peninsula now stretches three miles into the body of
water. The process was initiated in 1996 by the eruption of the underwater
volcano that produced a 260-foot tsunami wave, which forced nearly all of
the water out of the lake, according to Itar-Tass.
(top)
Volcano
of Fire
Mexican
authorities evacuated more residents around the flanks of the Vulcan de Fuego
as the smoking gray mountain shuddered from a new round of internal explosions
and small earthquakes.
The volcano,
which straddles the western Mexico states of Colima and Jalisco, shot boulders
9 feet in diameter into the sky, prompting officials to evacuate 350 residents
of eight hamlets near the mountain. Nearly 7,000 others face evacuation if
the volcano’s activity increases further.
(top)
Tropical
Storms
Cyclone
21S brought heavy rain to Madagascar and Mozambique as it passed
through the Mozambique Channel with winds of 45 mph.
In the western
Pacific, tropical storm Iris lost force just to the east of the Philippines.
Cyclone 22P arced
through the Coral Sea, skirting New Caledonia with gales and
high surf.
(top)
Earthquakes
The
death toll from a powerful temblor that struck Afghanistan’s Maidan
Shahr region on Feb. 12 reached 60 as the disaster left 500 people injured
and thousands of others homeless in bitter cold.
Earth movements
were also felt in western and northeastern parts of Iran, Sumatra,
several points in Japan, the Kuril Islands, northeastern Algeria,
Sicily and western Switzerland.
(top)
Spoils
of War
Oil
leaking from a corroding ship sunk by Tamil guerrillas in September 1997 now
threatens marine life off the Sri Lanka coast, according to an environmental
group.
Nearly 700 tons
of oil were in the vessel when the guerrillas attacked and sank it off the
northeastern coast of the Indian Ocean island. According to Hemantha Withnage
of the Environmental Foundation Ltd. of Sri Lanka, “If something is not done
soon, this will have an adverse impact on the Trincomalee area and its lagoon.”
(top)
Winter’s
Wind
The
severity of this winter’s weather across Europe is linked to a newly
discovered atmospheric phenomenon over the Atlantic.
The “Atlantic
Oscillation” is an El Niño-like pattern that normally forms from December
to March. It occurs between low pressure off Iceland and a high pressure center
near the Azores. When especially pronounced, it creates a channel that accelerates
the jet stream winds blowing off the Atlantic. That moist air has generated
the snowstorms that have created havoc across Europe this season.
(top)
Sumatran
Rampage
A
herd of elephants destroyed hundreds of acres of crops when the animals stomped
through Indonesia’s southern Sumatra province of Bengkulu.
More than 10
elephants entered three villages in the south Bengkulu district to feed off
plantation crops. The animals came from the Bukit Barisan National Park, and
the nearby villages were originally part of their habitat. Their shrinking
habitat has increasingly forced the pachyderms to raid human settlements in
search of food.
(top)
Additional
Sources: Japan Meteorological Agency, U.S. Climate Analysis Center, U.S. Earthquake
Information Center and the World Meteorological Organization.
