Severe dust storms swept across Iraq and Iran on Saturday, December 14, 2024, injuring at least 65 people and prompting officials to close schools and cancel flights. In Iran, the storm was described as one of the worst in recent years.
Scientists recorded one of the top three largest glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) in global history between September 23 and October 11, 2024, when Eastern Greenland’s Catalina Lake dropped by 154 m (505 feet) and released 3.4 km³ (0.82 mi³) of water into Scoresby Fjord. This marks the first time ever that researchers have monitored such an event and measured water volumes in real-time.
A new eruption was observed at Home Reef submarine volcano in Tonga through satellite imagery acquired on December 7, 2024. This marks the second eruptive phase at Home Reef volcano this year.
Heavy ash from Shiveluch volcano coated over 7 000 km² (2 700 mi²) of land east of the volcano, creating hazardous conditions in populated areas like Ust-Kamchatsk and Klyuchi. The ash spread up to 430 km (270 miles) away, disrupting regional flights and prompting authorities to issue the highest aviation alert.
An eruption at the Kumani Bank mud volcano in the Caspian Sea created a temporary island in early February 2023, only 20 km (12.4 miles) off Azerbaijan’s coast and near the capital, Baku. Despite the island’s rapid emergence, measuring approximately 400 m (1 312 feet) in width, the event went largely unreported.
Zambia is facing one of its worst electricity crises due to a severe drought affecting the region since January 2024. The drought has significantly reduced water levels at the Kariba Dam, leaving most of the hydroelectric turbines inoperable.
Hurricane “Helene” has claimed over 205 lives since its landfall in Florida’s Big Bend on September 26, 2024, causing widespread destruction across six states. North Carolina has reported over 100 fatalities linked to the storm, and new satellite imagery has revealed significant destruction in the state.
Severe flooding in Bihar, India, has affected over 1.35 million people and claimed more than ten lives after heavy rainfall in nearby regions caused the Ganges River to flood.
Satellite images of the Sahara show a visible increase in vegetation compared to 2023, this has been caused by the increased precipitation over the region linked to the recent northward shift of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The increased rain over the Sahara desert has led to the growth of visible vegetation in certain areas….
Himawari satellite found a series of gravity waves moving towards northwestern Australia over the Indian Ocean on September 11 and 12, 2024.
