Latest news with #atmosphere
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Climate
- Washington Post
Summer held little back on a steamy, stormy D.C. Sunday
Little in the atmospheric storehouse of summer seemed to be held back on Sunday in Washington, a steamy and tempestuous day with lavish helpings of heat, humidity and thunderous, wind-driven storminess. Although July did not display all its resources in every neighborhood or at the same time, Sunday gave an overall sense of putting it all out there, in a vivid and dramatic showing of the meteorological merchandise available in a D.C. summer.
The Herald
19-07-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
Springboks not taking Georgia for granted
Kolisi however has no such concerns. Equally he does not fret for the rookie front row of Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe and Neethling Fouche who are all on debut. In fact, the captain is bracing himself for another festival occasion inside the Mbombela Stadium. 'It is always good to come here. The vibe is next level in the stadium. Last week it was one of the best atmospheres I've experienced,' he said about the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. 'It showed the hunger of the people of the Eastern Cape. People came to me to thank me for the team coming to the Eastern Cape. People think they are forgotten in the Eastern Cape. People were excited. 'Here it is the same vibe. They started the brandy and Coke on Thursday already. By the time they get to the game ... ' Teams South Africa — Aphelele Fassi; Edwill van der Merwe, Canan Moodie, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse; Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Grant Williams; Cobus Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (captain); Ruan Nortje, Eben Etzebeth, Neethling Fouche, Marnus van der Merwe, Boan Venter Substitutes: Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit, Vincent Koch, RG Snyman, Kwagga Smith; Faf de Klerk, Handré Pollard, Damian Willemse. Georgia — Davit Niniashvili; Akaki Tabutsadze, Demur Tapladze, Giorig Kveseladze, Alexander Todua; Luka Matkava, Vasil Lobzhandidze; Ilia Spanderashvili, Beka Saginadze, Luka Ivanishvili; Vladimer Chachanidze, Mikheil Babunashvili; Irakli Aptsiauri, Vano Karkadze, Giorgi Akhaladze Substitutes: Irakli Kvatadze, Giorgi Tetrashvili, Beka Gigashvili, Demur Epremeidze, Sando Mamamtavrishvili; Tornike Jalagonia, Tedo Abzhandadze, Tornike Kakhoidze Kickoff: 5.10pm Referee: Matthew Carley (England) Assistant referees: Hollie Davidson (Scotland), Adam Leal (England) TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)
CNN
17-07-2025
- Science
- CNN
New images reveal stunning views from mission to ‘touch' the sun
NASA released the closest-ever images of the sun's atmosphere. CNN's Jackie Wattles explains what scientists could learn from them.
Washington Post
11-07-2025
- Climate
- Washington Post
There's more flooding risk into next week, after week of deadly deluges
Since last Friday, there have been 550 reports of flooding across 35 states, including deadly floods in Texas, North Carolina and New Mexico, with more risk in the week ahead. The recent deluges have been borne out of an atmosphere currently overloaded with fuel — in the form of water vapor — that will continue to pulse across the country , leading to a continued risk for heavy rain and flooding across dozens of states, including places recently hit hard.
Daily Mail
09-07-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Scientists say today could be the shortest day on record as the Earth's rotation speeds up
Scientists have warned that Wednesday could be the shortest day of your life as Earth's accelerating rotation is expected to move it quicker than ever before. They found that three days this summer, July 9, July 22, and August 5, are expected to be between 1.3 and 1.51 milliseconds shorter than the standard day (a millisecond is one-thousdandth of a second). This is because Earth's rotation has sped up in recent years, with scientists observing the phenomenon on atomic clocks in 2020 and 2022. These instruments are incredibly accurate machines that keep time by measuring the vibrations of atoms. Although the exact reason is still a mystery, scientists believe there could be several factors that are making Earth spin faster, including changes in the atmosphere, the melting of glaciers, motion in the Earth's core, and a weakening magnetic field. Earth normally takes 24 hours, or exactly 86,400 seconds, to complete one full rotation, which is called a solar day. The fastest day recorded so far was one year ago on July 5, 2024, when Earth spun 1.66 milliseconds faster than the standard 24 hours. While today's shortened day may seem insignificant, researchers have found that the time change can affect everything from satellite systems and GPS accuracy to how we measure time itself. Earth's rotation has never been perfect, as it shifts by tiny amounts throughout time, getting a few milliseconds faster or slower. However, scientists didn't start keeping exact records of these changes until the 1970s. For the latest estimates of Earth' spin, Graham Jones, an astrophysicist at the University of London, used information from the US Naval Observatory and international Earth rotation services. Atomic clocks tracked the numbers, measuring what's called 'Length of Day,' or LOD. That's the time it takes Earth to rotate once, down to the millisecond. Even tiny changes in day length matter. GPS, phone networks, and financial systems rely on split-second accuracy. A shift of just a few milliseconds can cause technical glitches. Before this recent acceleration in Earth's spin, the planet was actually slowing down, due to the moon's gravitational pull, which has been stretching our days into the 24-hour cycle we now live by in modern times. Geoscientist Stephen Meyers, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, found that as the moon moves further away, its changing gravitational impact on Earth would slowing make days incrementally longer. Meyers predicted that days on our planet could eventually become 25 hours long, but noted that it would take about 200 million years. As for why Earth has sped up since 2020, natural forces like climate change may be playing a role in the planet's spin. Weather patterns like El Niño and the accelerated melting of glaciers in summer may literally be throwing the planet out of balance by a tiny degree. Richard Holme, a geophysicist at the University of Liverpool, added: 'There is more land in the northern hemisphere than the south.' 'In northern summer, the trees get leaves, this means that mass is moved from the ground to above the ground — further away from the Earth's spin axis,' he told Live Science. Basically, the rate of rotation of any moving body like Earth depends on its distribution of mass. It's similar to how a figure skater spins faster by pulling in their arms. Another reason for this sudden change could be shifting molten layers in the core. Earth is not solid all the way through. Its core is made of hot, swirling liquid metal. As that molten metal moves, it can change the planet's shape and balance. Scientists are looking at all these pieces together, the moon's orbit, core activity, ocean flow, and wind patterns, to figure out what's going on. Starting in 2020, Earth began breaking its records for the shortest day. That year, July 19 came in 1.47 milliseconds short. On July 9, 2021, there was a 1.47 millisecond drop. In 2022, Earth recorded its shortest day on June 30, shaving off 1.59 milliseconds from the usual 24 hours. In 2023, the rotation slowed slightly, and no new records were set. In 2024, however, the speed picked up again. Several days broke the previous records, making it the year with the most consistently shorter days on record. These estimates are based on past observations and computer models, and include systematic corrections and smoothing to account for natural fluctuations. Right now, the world keeps time using Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC. Sometimes we add a leap second to stay in sync with Earth's slow shifts. If the Earth keeps rotating faster, experts may have to remove a second, called a negative leap second. It's never happened before.
