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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

Road slipperiness increases in Ulan Bator
Ulaanbaatar's road slipperiness issue is being addressed with ample supplies and workforce, while district governors now oversee local cleaning services and public communication for slippery conditions. From January 5-7, 1,225 people received care for injuries. Over 267 people were injured due to slipping and 47 people received emergency care after falling from sledding.
Ulan Bator, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
The UB Post

Little Diomede city building slides off its foundation, leaving community vulnerable for more damage
A city building in Little Diomede, Alaska, slid off its foundation, threatening the structural integrity of adjacent buildings and critical services, with the community seeking immediate assistance.
Diomede, Alaska, United States
The Nome Nugget

2 Dead After Dam Collapses in Northwestern Russia
Two people were killed after a torrent of water poured over a cofferdam in northwestern Russia early Monday and flooded the surrounding area, authorities said.
Надвоицы, Сегежский район, Karelia, Russia
The Moscow Times

Warm weather woes wreak havoc in Nome
A week of several freeze and thaw cycles left Nome and the region with puddles on ice and scenes that look more like breakup in spring rather than the customary snowy landscape of December. The rain on ice interrupted normal life in Nome.
Nome, Alaska, United States
The Nome Nugget

In Photos: Muscovites Swelter in Record-Breaking Heat
Temperatures in Russia’s capital hit an all-time high of 32 degrees Celsius on Tuesday – Moscow’s hottest day in over 130 years.
The heatwave follows a spate of volatile weather in the city and other parts of Russia. In June, after severe rainfall flooded parts of the city, Moscow was struck by Storm Edgar, which killed two people and injured dozens more. A rare tornado was also sighted in the Moscow region.
Moscow, Moscow, Russia
The Moscow Times

Musk ox attacks and injures pet dog
Last week a musk ox gored a 10-year-old Malamute outside of his family’s man camp near the Old Glacier Creek Road. A visiting veterinarian cared for the injured dog commenting on more frequent conflict between musk ox and dogs and an increase in musk ox population.
Nome, Alaska, United States
The Nome Nugget

'No ordinary snow event': Saskatoon digging out from blizzard
People are advised to stay off the roads as city crews try to clear priority streets. Biggest snow event since the blizzard of 2007.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
The Star Phoenix

Sea-ice lies thick on the water as Russian oil tanker sails Arctic route without icebreaker escort
Loaded with up to 38,000 tons of oil, the 245 meter long tanker Shturman Skuratov makes this year's first transit shipment on the Northern Sea Route. Despite major concentrations of sea-ice, the tanker sails without icebreaker assistance.
Northern Sea Route
The Independent Barents Observer

Russia's Record Floods Submerge Uranium Mines in Urals
Environmentalists say the latest flooding may have sent radioactive substances into the river, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of people living near the banks of the Tobol downstream. State nuclear agency Rosatom, whose subsidiary operates the mines at the Dobrovolnoye uranium deposit, denied that its mining facilities were impacted by the flood.
Seversk, Tomsk, Russia
The Moscow Times

Graves continue to erode at historic St. Michael cemetery
Graves at the historic St. Michael cemetery in Alaska are eroding due to increased storms and erosion, prompting an archaeologist to recover exposed remains and coordinate efforts to re-bury them. Tom Wolforth’s prime mission was to appropriately handle the remains and make sure they could be reburied. He has been working closely with the tribe and the municipality to address their concerns. One concern, Martin said, was that these exposed remains could pose a risk of disease, especially if the dead had been buried during the time of the 1918 flu pandemic. But Wolforth assured them that if properly handled this shouldn’t be a problem.
St. Michael, Alaska, United States

Harmful algae bloom detected in Bering Strait waters
High concentrations of harmful algae called Alexandrium catenella have been detected in the Bering Strait waters near St. Lawrence Island, Wales, and Little Diomede, posing a potential danger to human health and urging caution when consuming certain seafood.
Bering Straits, Alaska

Death toll breaches 1,030 mark as floods wreak havoc
Over the past 24 hours, nearly 0.95 million houses and 0.72 million livestock were flooded while 0.27 million houses were destroyed and 3,116 kilometres of highways and 149 bridges were washed away.
Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan
The Express Tribune

Public warned not to touch sick or dead wild birds to prevent bird flu spread
Avian influenza found in Black-headed seagulls in Limerick.
Limerick, Ireland
The Irish Times

Seattle already set a record high temperature Sunday; Monday’s forecast is ‘unheard of’
For the first time in Seattle’s history, temperatures spiked above 100 degrees two days in a row, with residents scrambling to find relief — and flocking to beaches, parks and...
Seattle, Washington, United States
The Seattle Times

Over 1,000 families flee Davao del Norte floods
At least 1,130 families in some villages in Santo Tomas town in Davao del Norte were displaced by flash floods early morning of April 11, 2021. The Santo Tomas LGU, together with these three affected barangay (villages), are set to discuss the reoccurring flooding issue attributed to the various drainage canals or the lack of them.
New Visayas, Davao, Philippines
The Manila Times

Nome and region is in the midst of a rabies epidemic
Nome and the surrounding area, including St. Lawrence Island, is fighting rabies almost as hard as it is fighting COVID-19. Because of the high level of rabies infection Fish and Game requested assistance from the National Rabies Management Response Program. Their job is to manage a wildlife disease outbreak. Several technicians and a rabies biologist are in Nome reducing the number of foxes.
Gambell, Alaska, United States

Bushfires then floods: Wisemans Ferry residents say both are ‘just as bad’
The rain finally stopped and the sun came out, but the floodwaters in Sydney’s north-west are still causing havoc.
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
The Sydney Morning Herald

Blizzards kill 10 people, including 5-year-old child
Severe snow and dust storms hit Mongolia over the weekend and earlier this week. Wind speeds reached 34 meters per second. The storms and blizzard resulted in the death of nine people and a five-year old child in Dundgovi Province. Hundreds of others have gone missing.
Dundgovi, Mongolia
The UB Post

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

Back-to-back storms bring screaming winds to Nome and region
Back-to-back winter storms hit Nome and the region with very strong, screaming winds and accompanying blowing snow. While the first storm on Friday seemed just like a warm up, the second storm hit the region with very strong winds that knocked out power in Wales, ripped buildings apart in Golovin and brought water levels up 6.73 feet over normal. The high winds also pushed away ice cover.
Nome, Alaska, United States

Foreign trash continues to wash up on regional shores
Residents across the Bering Strait have continued to report unusual amounts of foreign trash washing up on their beaches. After months of working on the models, NOAA has been able to pin the source of the debris as likely somewhere southwest of St. Lawrence Island in the Gulf of Anadyr.
Gambell, Alaska, United States

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

Russian Wildfire Smoke Choking Siberian Cities
Photos of Yugorsk and other cities showed residential buildings fuzzy under a blanket of white smog.
Yugorsk, Khanty-Mansiyskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Russia

Winter storms bring deep snow, high winds and delays to Nome
A series of winter storms hit Nome with deep snow and high winds, causing school closures, flight cancellations, and significant snow removal challenges.

Russia’s 2020 Wildfires Cover Greece-Sized Area
Wildfires in Russia have burned across a combined area the size of Greece so far in 2020, surpassing official estimates threefold. Experts warn that this year’s blazes could become the most destructive in history.
Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarskiy, Russia

Storms hit region with high winds, snow and then rain
Strong south winds hit 71 miles per hour in St. Michael, Shishmaref had its sea ice blown away and the Nome Airport saw 0.64 inches of precipitation – mostly in the form of rain - last weekend. The storm that hit on Saturday, Dec. 18 and continued all day Sunday brought the total precipitation for December thus far to 2.04 inches.

Storm erodes shoreline at Shishmaref
A storm caused shoreline erosion in Shishmaref, Alaska, but no evacuations were needed as the new seawall held and damage was minimal.

Polar bear with cub visits Diomede School
John Ahkvaluk , 56, a polar bear guard revealed that this is not a good sign for the village. It’s the first time in several years that bears come at this time of the year. “It’s a warning that they got no food out there and they came looking for it here,” he said.
After the incident, Luchie Manlangit, the school principal, and I invited John Ahkvaluk to talk to the kids and to share some protocols if polar bear will come around again.
Diomede, Alaska, United States

Jellyfish attack nuclear power plant
Scotland’s only working nuclear power plant at Torness shut down in an emergency procedure this week when jellyfish clogged the sea water-cooling intake pipes at the plant. To protect marine life and avert nuclear disasters, scientists are investigating the use of drones to provide estimates of jellyfish locations, amounts, and density.
Torness Power Station, Scotland
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Australia bushfires trap thousands on east coast beaches
Residents fled toward the waterside as winds pushed an emergency-level wildfire towards their homes. The town was shrouded in darkness from the smoke before turning an unnerving shade of bright red.
Mallacoota, Victoria, Australia
The Globe and Mail

Shiveluch Volcano Erupts in Eastern Russia
The Shiveluch volcano in Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka region has erupted, spewing ash some 13km above sea level.Officials from the region's Emergency Situations Ministry have confirmed that the ash is not expected to land on nearby settlements, Meanwhile a "red warning" has been issued to passing planes, urging them to avoid the site.The Shiveluch volcano is extimated to be between 60,000 and 70,000 years old.
Shiveluch Volcano, Kamchatka, Russia

President Tokayev Arrives in Kostanai Region as Forest Fires Burn Record 43,000 Hectares
The Kostanai Region declared a state of emergency on Sept. 4 after forest fires burned a record 43,000 hectares (the size of Сarribean Barbados island) and forced an evacuation of 1,841 people.
Аманкарагай, Әулиекөл, Kostanay, Kazakhstan
The Astana Times

In Photos: Disastrous Wildfires Sweep Siberia
Gallery | The forest fires have covered an area larger than Greece and are emitting black smog that harms nearby populations.
Yakutsk, Sakha, Russia

Nine cats killed by bird flu in Poland as global outbreak continues
Nine infected cats were found in Poznań, the tri-city metropolitan area, and Lublin, locations separated by hundreds of kilometers. All tested positvie for HPAI.
Poznań, Powiat Łukowski, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland
The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com

Elsa Spreading Heavy Rain From the Southeast Into the Mid-Atlantic; Tropical Storm Warnings Extend Into the Northeast
The system became Tropical Storm Elsa on July 1, the earliest forming fifth named Atlantic storm on record in the satellite era (since 1966). The old record was, which developed a year ago on the evening of July 5.
Brigantine, New Jersey, United States
The Weather Channel

High winds knock out power, bring subzero wind chills to Bristol Bay
The Bristol Bay Times - Serving Dillingham, Naknek, King Salmon and Southwest villages
Koliganek, Alaska, United States
The Bristol Bay Times

In Nicoya Gulf, the deadly red tide lingers
Since early February, the gulf, and beaches and islands surrounding it, have been in the throes of one of the worst blooms of red tide in recent years.
Paquera, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate

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