Earthweek: a diary of the planet
El Nino redux
Forecasters at the World Meteorological Organization predict there is a 50 percent to 60 percent chance that the weather-altering El Nino ocean warming will develop across the Pacific this year. The previous El Nino ended just last year. It’s unusual for the phenomenon to return so quickly.
Outbreak slaughter Brazilian health officials are urging residents to stop killing wild monkeys in an attempt to halt an expanding yellow-fever outbreak. There already have been more than 240 confirmed human fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease, which has killed untold numbers of the brown howler monkeys. Researchers say many areas of the primates’ forest habitats are silent because the disease has killed so many. But other monkeys have been found poisoned, shot or clubbed to death.
The health ministry says monkeys are a vital tool in learning where mosquitoes have spread the disease.
Earthquakes
A powerful undersea quake, centered just off the far southern Philippines, damaged several buildings and injured three people on Mindanao. A swarm of earthquakes jolted the Alaska- Yukon border region, knocking out power around the Yukon capital of Whitehorse. Earth movements also were felt in central Chile, Los Angeles,
southeastern Taiwan and northeastern India.
Whale deaths
An alarmingly high number of humpback whale deaths along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States has prompted officials to launch an investigation. More than 40 of the marine mammals have been found dead from Maine to North Carolina since January 2016, with most dying off the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina. Though many carcasses were too decomposed for a thorough examination, a large number of the dead whales showed signs of being struck by boats or larger vessels.
Shipping deafness Maritime traffic noise in some of Britain’s busiest shipping lanes is at least temporarily deafening harbor and gray seals, according to research. Scientists from the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland, likened the hearing loss to that of humans living amid the din of inner cities. They conclude that further research is needed to determine any behavioral changes the seals might suffer due to chronic exposure to the underwater noise.
Volcanic blasts
Southern Japan’s Mount Sakurajima underwent its first major eruption in nine months, with five powerful blasts sending ash billowing high into the atmosphere and lava flowing down the mountain’s flanks. Homes, cars and streets in Kagoshima were blanketed with ash from Sakurajima, which is only 2.5 miles from the city. Residents there complained of breathing difficulties because of the volcanic debris, which also triggered vivid lightning flashes.
Tropical cyclones
The South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu was under alert as Category 3 Cyclone Donna threatened to pass through the archipelago. Cyclone Frances threatened shipping lanes between Australia and Indonesia.