After six months of inactivity, Chilean stratovolcano Villarrica seems to have woken again. Weak explosive activity deep within the summit crater has resumed during last 2 weeks as evident in terrestrial and satellite observations. Observations also indicate that magma might have begun to rise again within the volcano. Villarrica rises above the resort town of Pucón.

January 19, 2013 – CENTRAL AMERICA - Entire families depend on work from the coffee-growing industry in Central America, which employs more than 1.5 million people to produce one of the world’s most renowned Arabica beans. But in September, two months before the annual harvest, the fungus known as roya began to spread due to a lack of preventive measures and the effects of climate change, including high temperatures and drought, according to experts, government officials and industry sources.

January 19, 2013 – CHICAGO, Il - Whether you like it or not, we will officially break another record for no snow today, according to the National Weather Service. “It’s pretty incredible,” said NWS meteorologist Gino Izzi. “It’s the middle of January and there’s no snow on the ground. Dallas, Texas has had more snow than us.” Izzi said the last time we have gone this far into the season without a 1-inch calendar day of snowfall was Jan. 17, 1899. If we get no snow today — and there is none in the forecast through the weekend — it’s a record. Additionally, it’s been 326 days and counting since we’ve had a 1-inch snow cover on the ground. That record was officially broken nine days ago, according to Izzi. “If you think about it, we’re just a little over a month away from basically going an entire year without snow in Chicago,” Izzi said.