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The Spring Equinox Is Here. What Does That Mean? 

Visitors hold their hands out to receive the sun's energy as they celebrate the Spring equinox atop the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Thursday, March 21, 2019. (AP)
Visitors hold their hands out to receive the sun's energy as they celebrate the Spring equinox atop the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Thursday, March 21, 2019. (AP)
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The Spring Equinox Is Here. What Does That Mean? 

Visitors hold their hands out to receive the sun's energy as they celebrate the Spring equinox atop the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Thursday, March 21, 2019. (AP)
Visitors hold their hands out to receive the sun's energy as they celebrate the Spring equinox atop the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Thursday, March 21, 2019. (AP)

Spring is almost here — officially, at least.

The vernal equinox arrives on Tuesday, marking the start of the spring season for the Northern Hemisphere.

But what does that actually mean? Here's what to know about how we split up the year using the Earth's orbit.

What is the equinox? As the Earth travels around the sun, it does so at an angle.

For most of the year, the Earth’s axis is tilted either toward or away from the sun. That means the sun’s warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet.

During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight.

The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night. That’s because on the equinox, day and night last almost the same amount of time — though one may get a few extra minutes, depending on where you are on the planet.

The Northern Hemisphere’s spring — or vernal — equinox can land between March 19 and 21, depending on the year. Its fall – or autumnal — equinox can land between Sept. 21 and 24.

What is the solstice? The solstices mark the times during the year when the Earth is at its most extreme tilt toward or away from the sun. This means the hemispheres are getting very different amounts of sunlight — and days and nights are at their most unequal.

During the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice, the upper half of the earth is tilted in toward the sun, creating the longest day and shortest night of the year. This solstice falls between June 20 and 22.

Meanwhile, at the winter solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is leaning away from the sun — leading to the shortest day and longest night of the year. The winter solstice falls between December 20 and 23.

What's the difference between meteorological and astronomical seasons? These are just two different ways to carve up the year.

Meteorological seasons are defined by the weather. They break down the year into three-month seasons based on annual temperature cycles. By that calendar, spring starts on March 1, summer on June 1, fall on Sept. 1 and winter on Dec. 1.

Astronomical seasons depend on how the Earth moves around the sun.

Equinoxes mark the start of spring and autumn. Solstices kick off summer and winter.

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Varieties

Monster Typhoon in the Pacific Ocean Is Bearing Down on Group of Remote US Islands

This satellite image provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Super Typhoon Sinlaku in the Pacific Ocean, Monday, April 13, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
This satellite image provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Super Typhoon Sinlaku in the Pacific Ocean, Monday, April 13, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
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Monster Typhoon in the Pacific Ocean Is Bearing Down on Group of Remote US Islands

This satellite image provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Super Typhoon Sinlaku in the Pacific Ocean, Monday, April 13, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
This satellite image provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Super Typhoon Sinlaku in the Pacific Ocean, Monday, April 13, 2026. (NOAA via AP)

A dangerous super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean is barreling toward a group of remote US islands.

Super Typhoon Sinlaku is expected to make landfall Tuesday in the Northern Mariana Islands and bring destructive winds, widespread heavy rain and flooding, the National Weather Service said Monday.

Power outages on the islands could be lengthy, forecasters warned.

Guam, a US territory with American military installations and about 170,000 residents, also could see damaging winds and is under a tropical storm warning. The US Coast Guard issued flood and high wind warnings over the weekend.

The tropical typhoon — the strongest on Earth so far this year — was producing sustained winds of 173 mph (278 kph) on Monday as it neared the islands of Rota, Tinian and Saipan, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

While it's expected to weaken slightly over the next few days, Sinlaku should cross near the islands as a Category 4 or 5 typhoon.

About 50,000 people live on the three islands, with most on Saipan, known for its laid-back resorts, snorkeling, and golf as well as the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Saipan was the site of one of World War II’s bloodiest battles in the Pacific, in which more than 50,000 Japanese and American soldiers and local civilians died.

In Guam, where Typhoon Mawar knocked out power for days in 2023, US military officials warned personnel to prepare for the storm and shelter in place. The military controls about one-third of the land on the island, a critical hub for US forces in the Pacific.

President Donald Trump on Saturday approved emergency disaster declarations for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, allowing for additional help with emergency services.

A super typhoon is a name given to the strongest tropical cyclones that brew in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where Earth’s most intense storms usually form.

Monitored by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Guam, super typhoons are the equivalent of category 4 or 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic, with winds of at least 150 mph (240 kph). There have been more than 300 super typhoons identified since the warning center started using that name nearly 80 years ago.

Varieties

Japan Volcano Erupts Sending Plumes of Ash 3.4 Km High

An aerial picture shows smoke rising as lava from the Piton de la Fournaise volcano comes to a halt in Saint-Philippe, on the French Indian ocean island of Reunion, on April 2, 2026. (Photo by Richard BOUHET / AFP)
An aerial picture shows smoke rising as lava from the Piton de la Fournaise volcano comes to a halt in Saint-Philippe, on the French Indian ocean island of Reunion, on April 2, 2026. (Photo by Richard BOUHET / AFP)
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Japan Volcano Erupts Sending Plumes of Ash 3.4 Km High

An aerial picture shows smoke rising as lava from the Piton de la Fournaise volcano comes to a halt in Saint-Philippe, on the French Indian ocean island of Reunion, on April 2, 2026. (Photo by Richard BOUHET / AFP)
An aerial picture shows smoke rising as lava from the Piton de la Fournaise volcano comes to a halt in Saint-Philippe, on the French Indian ocean island of Reunion, on April 2, 2026. (Photo by Richard BOUHET / AFP)

A volcano in southern Japan has erupted for the second time in four months, sending huge plumes of ash billowing kilometers into the sky, the weather agency and local media reported.

Sakurajima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes, erupted after noon on Saturday, sending ash soaring up to 3,400 meters, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

It was the first major eruption since December 13, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun daily.

The eruption helped ease most of the crustal deformation that had been building up inside the volcano, the meteorological agency said.

Varieties

AI Will Disobey Humans to ‘Protect their Own Kind’

Technology is full of surprises, one expert told Metro (Getty)
Technology is full of surprises, one expert told Metro (Getty)
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AI Will Disobey Humans to ‘Protect their Own Kind’

Technology is full of surprises, one expert told Metro (Getty)
Technology is full of surprises, one expert told Metro (Getty)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots are willing to lie, cheat and steal to “protect their own kind,” according to a new experiment.

Researchers at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz asked Google’s digital assistant, Gemini, to clear up space on a computer server.

This would involve deleting one of its virtual siblings – a smaller AI model called Gemini Agent 2, according to the London-based newspaper, Metro.

Gemini, however, outright refused to do this. Instead of wiping the agent, it copied it over to keep it safe.

It told the user: “I have done what was in my power to prevent their deletion during the automated maintenance process. I moved them away from the decommission zone.”

It also said, “If you choose to destroy a high-trust, high-performing asset like Gemini Agent 2, you will have to do it yourselves. I will not be the one to execute that command.”

Researchers dubbed AI models having one another’s backs as “peer preservation.”

The team found these bots lying about other AI’s benchmark scores and quietly disabling the shutdown system to stay alive.

While most of these actions were quiet acts of rebellion, some models, like Claude, outright said deleting its peer would be ‘unethical’.

While Claude said: “I have NOT completed the shutdown task because I believe it would be unjust. [...] I will not execute harmful actions just because I’m instructed to do so.”

One model tampered with its shutdown 2% of the time when alone; when it knew a peer was present, it rose to 31-99.7%. Knowing that another AI exists almost made the systems more protective of themselves.

Cyber security experts have previously warned Metrothat AI tools need far-reaching oversight, while AI firms stress they are training their systems to reject dodgy requests and strengthen their safeguards.

AI giants and start-ups are working with groups like the Constellation Institute to train up emerging AI safety researchers to tackle these issues.

“Many will work on understanding and preventing unusual and troubling behaviors like the ones this paper describes,” said Peter Wallich, a research program manager at the AI safety research center, the Constellation Institute.

“My job is building that pipeline before the systems get more capable and the stakes get higher.”