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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

Fluff Flies Into Russia's Capital
Early summer in Moscow brings an onslaught of allergy-inducing, Instagram-ready fluff from poplar seeds.
Moscow, Moscow, Russia
The Moscow Times

Intense Rainfall Brings Floods to Russia's Far East Primorye Region
Intense rainfall in Russia's Far East Primorye region caused floods, power outages, and evacuations, with water levels exceeding the norm by eightfold in some areas, following previous flooding caused by tropical storm Khanun.
Vladivostok, Primorskiy, Russia
The Moscow Times

Wildfires Blanket Moscow in Smog
The fires affecting Moscow are concentrated in the Ryazan region, some 250 kilometers to the south. This is not the first time smog has appeared in Moscow in recent months, with local authorities advising residents to wear masks to protect themselves earlier this month.
Moscow, Russia
The Moscow Times

Intense Flooding Hits Russia's Black Sea Resort Sochi
Local power supplies were cut off, apartment buildings were flooded, cars were seen being washed away and a river overflowed, leading to one civilian death and several injuries.
Sochi, Krasnodarskiy, Russia

Far East Russia’s Sakha Declares Wildfire Emergency
Sakha is now the fourth region in the Far East where a state of emergency is currently in place due to wildfires. The other three are the Zabaykalsky and Amur regions, as well as the republic of Buryatia. Russia’s wildfire season officially began in early March. By mid-April, regions in the Far East recorded nearly twice as many fires as they had during the same period last year, with most blazes caused by human negligence.
Yakutsk, Sakha, Russia

Mongolia Quarantines Russian Border Region Over Bubonic Plague Suspicion
Lab tests confirmed that two individuals had contracted the illness after eating marmot meat.
Khovd, Hovd, Mongolia

Typhoon Maysak Batters Russia’s Far East
High winds reached speeds of up to 154 km/hr. At least three people died and dozens were injured. The storm unmoored a floating dry dock, causing it to slam into some of the vessels making up Russia's Pacific Fleet.
Vladivostok, Primorskiy, Russia

Siberia Rushes to Extinguish Fast-Spreading Wildfires
Gallery | The fires, which were swept in from Mongolia by high winds, have caused almost $9.4 million in damage.
Zabaikalsky Region, Russian Federation

Residents of Smog-Hit Russian Town Sue Over Health Complications
Locals blamed a mining company for attempting to hide what they called an 'ecological tragedy.'
Sibay, Bashkortostan, Russia

Oil worker killed and eaten by hungry bears as beasts besiege towns and villages
Staff and passengers at Nyagan airport in fear of bear patrolling the runway and trying to break into terminal.
Nyagan, Khanty-Mansiyskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Russia
Siberian Times

Wave after wave of garbage hits the Dominican Republic
The images are shocking, but perhaps not for people who live in the Dominican Republic.'It happens pretty much all the time,' says Cyrill Gutsch
Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
National Post

Horror as brown bear walks into a village and grabs one of six year old twins
Boy was mauled to death, his sister managed to escape and raised alarm.
Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarskiy, Russia
Siberian Times

Nuclear town on fire, with residents 'choking' from smoke
Facilities for producing weapons grade plutonium believed safe despite fierce flames caused by wildfires.
Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarskiy, Russia
Siberian Times

Hurricane Maria’s aftermath: ‘There will be no food in Puerto Rico’
In a matter of hours, Hurricane Maria wiped out about 80 percent of the crop value in Puerto Rico — making it one of the costliest storms to hit the island’s agriculture industry.
Yabucoa, Yabucoa, Puerto Rico
Alaska Dispatch News
Frances Robles, Luis Ferre-Sadurni, The New York Times

Flood apocalypse in Eastern Siberia kills five and maroons 9,919 whose homes destroyed or damaged
State of emergency in Irkutsk region as President Vladimir Putin flies in amid carnage from heavy rain - with ‘worse to come’.
Tulun, Irkutsk, Russia
Siberia Times

3rd body found after landslide in Norway; 7 still missing
Rescue teams searching for survivors four days after a landslide carried away homes in a Norwegian village found no signs of life Saturday amid the ruined buildings and debris. Three bodies have been recovered but searchers are still looking for seven more people believed to be missing. The landslide in the village […]
Ask, Akershus, Norway
NBC4 WCMH-TV

Climate change not one heat wave: scientist
A Canadian climate scientist says Canada and the world are seeing a pattern of more extreme weather events
Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Lake Cowichan Gazette

Arctic Greenland is burning, hunters blinded by smoke
Smoke from a wildfire in southwestern Greenland is hampering the wild reindeer hunt on the Arctic island.
Nassuttooq Fjord, Greenland
ABC News

Air quality poor in parts of B.C. as more than 200 wildfires burn across province
Air quality alerts remain in place for several areas in B.C.'s southern Interior on Tuesday as more than 200 wildfires continue to burn through hundreds of square kilometres of the province.
Thompson-Nicola J, British Columbia, Canada
CBC

Smoke from unusual Greenland wildfire hampers reindeer hunt
Smoke from a wildfire in southwestern Greenland is hampering the wild reindeer hunt on the Arctic island, best known for its ice rather than burning grass and bushes.
Nassuttooq Fjord, Greenland
CBC News

Researchers find high levels of microplastics on Norway’s Arctic coast
Eastern Finnmark, on the coast of the Barents Sea has always proved to be the cleanest of all areas of testing in the North Atlantic. But not so any more.
Hasvik, Finnmark Fylke, Norway
Arctic Today

Wind, rains cool Pakistan heat wave that killed at least 838
Wind from the sea and pre-monsoon rains cooled southern Pakistan on Wednesday, likely marking the end of a scorching heat wave that killed at least 838 people, authorities said.
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
CBC News

Phoenix sets heat record for third day in a row
For the third day in a row, Phoenix has broken a daily high temperature record.
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
azcentral.com

Officials warn of potentially lethal levels of biotoxin in Bellingham Bay mussels
The Whatcom County Health Department is warning residents that PSP a common biotoxin is now at potentially lethal levels in mussels harvested in Bellingham Bay.
Bellingham, Washington, United States
Longview Daily News

Autumn storm that battered Utqiaġvik coastline caused more than $10 million in damage
The storm began Sept. 28 and continued for several days. A handful of Utqiaġvik’s roads were damaged or destroyed, and the community's freshwater source was nearly compromised.
Utqiaġvik, Alaska, United States
Alaska Dispatch News

A 'invasion’ of polar bears is terrorizing an island town in Russia
Thinning sea ice has driven more than 50 polar bears ashore on an Arctic archipelago in northern Russia, causing chaos for the local population.
Rogachëvo, Arkhangelskaya, Russia
Anchorage Daily News

Dangerously Low on Water, Cape Town Now Faces ‘Day Zero’
One of Africa’s richest cities is threatening to turn off the taps to its four million residents, cutting off homes and most businesses.
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
The New York Times
Norimitsu Onishi and Somini Sengupta (The Daily Maverick)

Slow going in fight against deadly fires in California
The wind known as the Diablo is picking up again, the air is dry, there is no rain in sight and the killer wildfires that have scorched the wine country of Northern California remain almost completely uncontained. Officials warned Wednesday that some of the big fires could merge. Amid these grim bulletins, the huge utility company PG&E acknowledged that the extreme winds late Sunday and early Monday had knocked trees into power lines in conditions conducive to wildfires.
North Bay, California, United States
GoErie.com
Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Kristine Phillips, Joel Achenbach - The Washington Post

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