Recent News

4th Earthquake in 3 months hits Central Italy- 30th October 2016

A 6.6 magnitude tremor has injured 20 people. Aftershocks were continuing in this region early this morning.

Figure 1: Earthquakes in Italy August- October 2016

The Israeli emergency body dedicated to dealing with natural disasters have therefore started monitoring a tsunami warning issued for the Mediterranean Sea.

At least 22 killed in Egypt Floods- 30 October 2016

Due to torrential rains causing flooding in parts of Egypt, at least 22 people were killed and 72 injured.

3 Children Killed as flooding hits Indonesia's Gorontalo Province- 31st October 2016

Flash floods due to heavy rains in Indonesia. 3 children were swept away by strong current of a river and bodies were later found. Four other children who were also swept away have survived.

3 Typhoons expected to hit the Philippines in November- 31st October 2016

A maximum of 3 typhoons may enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) in November. The PAGASA agency is currently monitoring a low pressure area (LPA) that was spotted 1,240 km east of Mindanao, outside PAR, which may intensify into a typhoon within 48 to 72 hours.

video 1: Typhoons in phillipines 

Source: http://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/10/31/16/pagasa-expect-up-to-3-typhoons-in-november

In the space of 2 days many different regions of the world have been struck by extreme weather and natural disasters. 

Has climate change played a role in these? 

There is evidence to support that climate change is playing a role in rainfall related extreme events. However, I did not think that climate change could play a role in seismic activity. Further research has found that, UCL Earth Sciences professor Bill Mcguire, has written a book 'Walking the giant: How a changing climate triggers earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes', arguing that climate change has more of an impact on the Earths plate tectonic system than most modelling accounts for. He says:

"During this extraordinarily dynamic episode, as the immense ice sheets melted and colossal volumes of water were decanted back into the oceans, the pressures acting on the solid Earth also underwent massive change. In response, the crust bounced and bent, rocking our planet with a resurgence in volcanic activity, a proliferation of seismic shocks and burgeoning giant landslides."