عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Strongest Winds in Over a Decade Could Increase Fire Risk to Southern California

FILE - Flags fly under heavy winds before sunset as a plume of smoke from the Franklin Fire rises over the ocean Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes,File)
FILE - Flags fly under heavy winds before sunset as a plume of smoke from the Franklin Fire rises over the ocean Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes,File)
TT
TT

Strongest Winds in Over a Decade Could Increase Fire Risk to Southern California

FILE - Flags fly under heavy winds before sunset as a plume of smoke from the Franklin Fire rises over the ocean Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes,File)
FILE - Flags fly under heavy winds before sunset as a plume of smoke from the Franklin Fire rises over the ocean Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes,File)

The strongest winds in more than a decade could hit Southern California on Tuesday, potentially causing structural damage and bringing extreme fire risk to areas that haven't seen substantial rain in months.

Beginning Tuesday afternoon, the windstorm will affect Los Angeles and Ventura counties and peak in the early hours of Wednesday, when gusts could reach 80 mph (129 kph), the National Weather Service said Monday.

Isolated gusts could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills, The Associated Press reported.

The weather service warned of downed trees and knocked over big rigs, trailers, and motorhomes. Powerful offshore gusts will also bring dangerous conditions off the coasts of Orange County and LA, including Catalina Island, and potential delays and turbulence could arise at local airports.
Public safety power shutoffs are being considered for nearly 300,000 customers across the region, according to Southern California Edison’s website.

The upcoming winds will act as an “atmospheric blow-dryer” for vegetation, bringing a long period of fire risk that could extend into the more populated lower hills and valleys, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California, Los Angeles and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

“We really haven't seen a season as dry as this one follow a season as wet as the previous one,” Swain said during a Monday livestream. “All of that extra abundant growth of grass and vegetation followed immediately by a wind event of this magnitude while it's still so incredibly dry," elevates the risk.
Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there’s been very little rain so far this season.
Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.1 inches (0.25 centimeters) of rain since early May. Much of the region has fallen into moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Meanwhile, up north, there have been multiple drenching storms.
Areas where gusts could create extreme fire conditions include the charred footprint of last month’s wind-driven Franklin Fire, which damaged or destroyed 48 structures, mostly homes, in and around Malibu.
The blaze was one of nearly 8,000 wildfires that added up to scorch more than 1,560 square miles (more than 4,040 square kilometers) in the Golden State last year.
The last wind event of this magnitude occurred in November 2011, according to the NWS, during which more than 400,000 customers throughout LA County lost power, the Los Angeles Times reported. At night, normally bustling streets were dim and left without traffic signals.
Planned power shutoffs for the public's safety, if deemed necessary, are projected to happen Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Southern California Edison.
“The grid is built to withstand strong winds,” said Jeff Monford, a spokesperson for the utility. “The issue here is the possibility of debris becoming airborne and hitting wires ... or a tree coming down.”

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Jurassic Art: Fossils Transformed Into Artwork at Amsterdam Museum

Typical Amsterdam houses sit next to a canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 19, 2026. (Reuters)
Typical Amsterdam houses sit next to a canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 19, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Jurassic Art: Fossils Transformed Into Artwork at Amsterdam Museum

Typical Amsterdam houses sit next to a canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 19, 2026. (Reuters)
Typical Amsterdam houses sit next to a canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 19, 2026. (Reuters)

Hanging by a thin metal strap, a 67-million-year-old triceratops skull twirls above a coral sculpture, the centerpiece of a new exhibition aiming to make art out of prehistoric fossils.

The "Relics" show at Amsterdam's Art Zoo will display nine works by creative duo Jaap Sinke and Ferry van Tongeren that combine science and art.

The aim was to highlight the aesthetic side of the fossils, usually presented in an educational way in natural history museums, van Tongeren told AFP.

The artists tried to give the fossils "a more monumental form" with "more stature," the 59-year-old told AFP in an interview.

The exhibition also features the bones of a basilosaurus, which roamed the seas up to 40 million years ago, but arranged as a sculpture rather than a traditional skeleton reconstruction.

Natural history museums have a valuable scientific and educational value "but lack a captivating element," said van Tongeren. "And that was the starting point for everything we did."

The artists worked with Zoic, an Italian palaeontology company that processes fossils and reconstructs dinosaur skeletons.

Creating the exhibits required "an extraordinary combination of knowledge and different processes," Iacopo Briano, 42, curator of the exhibition and palaeontology expert at Zoic, told AFP.

First comes the "puzzle" of unearthing and reconstructing the bones from a fossil discovery.

Then the fragile bones need to be transported so the artists could start their own work -- a 10-year process in the case of this exhibit.

This prehistoric show, whose oldest exhibit is a dinosaur vertebra about 150 million years old, opens to the public on Friday and runs until November 2026.

Varieties

Greenpeace Warns of Potential ‘Catastrophic’ Chernobyl Collapse

Representatives of Greenpeace and media stand in front of the sarcophagus covering the destroyed fourth reactor under the New Safe Confinement (NSC), at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 9, 2026. (AFP)
Representatives of Greenpeace and media stand in front of the sarcophagus covering the destroyed fourth reactor under the New Safe Confinement (NSC), at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 9, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

Greenpeace Warns of Potential ‘Catastrophic’ Chernobyl Collapse

Representatives of Greenpeace and media stand in front of the sarcophagus covering the destroyed fourth reactor under the New Safe Confinement (NSC), at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 9, 2026. (AFP)
Representatives of Greenpeace and media stand in front of the sarcophagus covering the destroyed fourth reactor under the New Safe Confinement (NSC), at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 9, 2026. (AFP)

An uncontrolled collapse of the internal radiation shell at the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine could increase the risk of radioactivity release in the environment, Greenpeace warned on Tuesday.

In 1986, while Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, a reactor at Chernobyl exploded, sending clouds of radiation across much of Europe and forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate.

The remnants of the plant are covered by an inner steel-and-concrete radiation shell -- known as the sarcophagus and built hastily after the disaster -- and a modern, high-tech outer shell, called the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure.

Kyiv has accused Russia of repeatedly targeting the site since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, including of a strike last year that pierced the outer shell.

In a report released Tuesday, days before the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, Greenpeace warned that despite some repair works, the confinement function of the NSC "could not be fully restored".

"This increases the risk of radioactivity release in the environment, especially in the case of a collapse" of the internal shelter, Greenpeace said.

"That would be catastrophic because... there's four tons of dust, highly radioactive dust, fuel pellets, enormous amounts of radioactivity inside the sarcophagus," Shaun Burnie, a senior nuclear specialist for Greenpeace Ukraine, told AFP earlier this month.

"And because the New Safe Confinement cannot be repaired at the moment, it cannot function as it was designed, there's a possibility of radioactive releases," Burnie added.

Greenpeace said deconstruction of unstable elements of the internal shell was necessary to prevent their uncontrolled collapse.

But any works at the site were impeded by the war raging on as "there's missiles from the Russians still being fired across Chernobyl," Burnie said.

"Here we are 40 years on, and Russia is still conducting effectively a nuclear war against the people of Ukraine and Europe."

Plant director Sergiy Tarakanov said the situation around the site was "very dangerous".

"If a rocket will drop, not directly into the safe confinement, but just in 200 meters, it will create an external impact like an earthquake," increasing the risk of the inner shell collapsing.

"And what actually 1986 accident showed to us... that the radioactive particles, they do not recognize borders," Tarakanov added.

Last month, France said that the Chernobyl protective dome would require almost 500 million euros of repairs after the Russian strike in 2025.

Varieties

Prince Harry and Meghan Arrive in Australia to a Muted Welcome

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrive at the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum (Anvam) in Southbank, Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrive at the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum (Anvam) in Southbank, Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)
TT
TT

Prince Harry and Meghan Arrive in Australia to a Muted Welcome

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrive at the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum (Anvam) in Southbank, Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrive at the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum (Anvam) in Southbank, Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prince Harry and wife Meghan landed in Australia on Tuesday for a four-day visit with engagements covering sport, mental health and veterans' affairs.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex began their trip at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, where they took part in an activity in the hospital's therapeutic garden spaces.

"It was a genuinely meaningful visit for our staff and for the young people receiving care," said Dr. Peter Steer, the hospital's CEO.

Harry, ‌wearing a navy ‌suit and white shirt, spoke to children and posed ‌for ⁠photographs with patients ⁠in the foyer of the hospital, calling one of the handmade signs welcoming the couple "beautiful".

Meghan, who wore a matching A$1,250 ($885) navy dress by Sydney-based designer Karen Gee, later helped serve food at a women's domestic violence shelter in the city.

The Sussexes stepped down as working members of the British royal family and moved to the US in 2020, citing a desire to be financially independent and ⁠to escape what they characterized as media intrusion into ‌their private lives.

They last visited Australia in ‌2018 while still working royals, announcing Meghan's first pregnancy hours after arriving in Sydney.

Their latest visit has captured public attention in Australia, where ‌Britain's King Charles is the head of state, though a sizeable minority supports becoming a republic. But there was little sign of the ecstatic reception that greeted them on the 2018 trip. Television networks aired footage that they said showed the couple arriving ‌in Melbourne on a commercial flight from Los Angeles, before being taken from the tarmac in a vehicle convoy.

The ⁠couple's travel is ⁠being privately funded, though local media reported some policing costs associated with the visit would be paid by Australian taxpayers, sparking a protest petition signed by more than 45,000 people.

The couple will travel to the capital, Canberra, on Wednesday to meet military veterans, attend a mental health summit in Melbourne on Thursday and round off the joint leg of their trip with sailing and rugby events in Sydney on Friday.

In contrast to their previous visit, the Sussexes will also undertake commercial activities while in Australia, with Meghan remaining in the country to host a wellness retreat at a luxury beachside hotel in Sydney over the weekend.

Tickets for the event, which includes yoga, manifestation and sound healing, start at A$2,699 ($1,912) per person.