Sandstorm from Taklimakan Desert rages in NW China
An unusually strong sandstorm in Taklimakan Desert swept northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region this week, damaging or destroying homes, uprooting trees and crops, and lowering the visibility to less than 20 meters.
- Whipped by strong winds of up to 50km/h, the storm shrouded a vast region.
- Strong winds also swept parts of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, blanketing the region with floating dust and causing a temperature drops of at least 20 degrees.
- The sand storm also impacted eastern China, severely affecting the air quality in Beijing, which saw the air pollution level rising to just below “hazardous level,” with AQI of 299 on Thursday.
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March Against Monsanto: International Day of Protest
Hundreds of thousands of people across at least 59 countries are staging a global protest against Monsanto and GMO crops Saturday May 25.
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GOES-13 Weather Satellite Fails
The outage occurred exactly a week before 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, which NOAA has predicted to be “extremely active,” was about to start.
GOES-13, which was launched in 2006, will remain in storage mode while the problem is being investigated. There is no estimate on return to operations at
this time, NOAA said.
SPECIAL MESSAGE: GOES-East
GOES-14 is providing GOES-East coverage. GOES-14 is stationary at 105 degrees West with no current plans to drift east. GOES-13 will remain in storage mode while the anomaly is being investigated. There is no estimate on return to operations at this time. More information: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SATS/messages.html.
GOES satellites provide the kind of continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. They circle the Earth in a geosynchronous orbit, which means they orbit the equatorial plane of the Earth at a speed matching the Earth’s rotation. This allows them to hover continuously over one position on the surface. The geosynchronous plane is about 35,800 km (22,300 miles) above the Earth, high enough to allow the satellites a full-disc view of the Earth. Source: NOAA/SSD
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23 Killed in clashes in Tripoli, Lebanon
At least 23 people have been killed in fierce fighting between pro- and anti-Syria groups in Tripoli, Lebanon, according to a report.
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DISASTER CALENDAR – May 25, 2013 —
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,022 Days Left
Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
- SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,022 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human History
- The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …
GLOBAL WARNINGS
Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background
Fire Earth 
