EARTH WATCH

Diary of the planet

Warming threshold

The U.N. weather agency warns that there is now a 50% chance the world will warm past the 1.5 degree Celsius goal at least briefly by 2026. “We are getting measurably closer to temporarily reaching the lower target of the Paris Agreement,” said World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas, referring to the climate agreements adopted in 2015. While that occurrence would not mean the aspirational warming goal above pre-industrial levels had been permanently breached, the WMO says it would give a taste of what’s ahead should world leaders fail to curb carbon emissions immediately.

Earthquakes

A sharp temblor in southern Pakistan’s Balochistan province wrecked a large number of houses, leaving more than 200 families homeless.

• Earth movements were also felt in eastern Taiwan, central France, the Virgin Islands and

Southern California’s San Diego County.

Collateral damage

Beyond the human casualties, destruction and misery from Russia’s war on Ukraine, Turkish marine life experts say they believe the conflict is also causing a sharp rise in dolphin deaths along the Black Sea coast. They believe underwater noise pollution from about 20 Russian navy vessels has been driving the marine mammals southward, where they are becoming stranded or caught in fishing nets. Neighboring

Bulgaria also reports an increase in dolphin strandings. “Acoustic trauma is one of the possibilities that come to mind,” said Bayram Öztürk of the Turkish Marine Research Foundation. He adds that while the underwater noise may not directly kill the dolphins, it could cause them to head into unfamiliar territory.

Record swarms

Namibia is suffering from the country’s worst brown locust invasion in history, with an estimated 3 million acres of crops already ravaged in one agricultural region alone. The country is just emerging from a six-year drought that officially ended in 2019. “The locusts have started feasting on the grass and trees near our cattle outposts and very soon, if they are not brought under control, nothing will be left for our livestock,” farmer Johannes Muhenje told the Namibia Economist.

Eruption repercussions

The cataclysmic eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano near Tonga on Jan. 15 had huge effects on the highest levels of Earth’s atmosphere, according to a new NASA study. Researchers found that the blast was so powerful that it brought hurricane-force winds and unusual electrical currents to the ionosphere. “The volcano created one of the largest disturbances in space we’ve seen in the modern era,” said lead author Brian Harding. U.S. and European satellites captured images of giant plumes of gases, water vapor and dust soaring toward the edge of space after the blast began.

South Asia heat

Wildlife rescuers in western India’s Gujarat state say they are picking up large numbers of dehydrated and exhausted birds that have fallen from the sky as the region remains in the grip of unprecedented heat. Birds that were still alive were treated with water injections into their mouths and fed vitamin tablets. The heat has also been responsible for the deaths of more than two dozen humans across India. Since the country suffered its hottest March in more than 100 years, the relentless heat has caused water shortages, power cuts and widespread misery, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees most days.

Tropical cyclones

Cyclone Asani weakened to tropical storm force before making landfall on southeastern India’s Andhra Pradesh coast. It brought local relief from the oppressive heat and drought plaguing India.

• Tropical Storm Karim was a threat only to shipping lanes in the eastern Indian Ocean.