Ancient Giant Snake Unearthed in India
Researchers in India have uncovered the remains of an ancient giant snake that roamed the earth 47 million years ago. Fossils found near a coal mine suggest that this colossal serpent could have been longer than a school bus, stretching between 36 to 50 feet, and weighing up to a ton. This discovery sheds light on the prehistoric wildlife of western India’s swampy evergreen forests.
Size and Comparison
The newly identified snake, named Vasuki indicus, after the mythical snake king Vasuki, is believed to have been a slow-moving ambush predator that relied on constriction to subdue its prey. This ancient serpent surpasses the largest living snake today, the reticulated python of Asia, which reaches lengths of 33 feet.
Prehistoric Habitat
While the exact diet of Vasuki remains a mystery, the surrounding fossils indicate that it coexisted with catfish, turtles, crocodiles, and primitive whales. These findings provide insights into the ecosystem of the time and the potential prey of this massive snake.
Climate Connection
Notably, Vasuki and the previously discovered Titanoboa from Colombia lived during periods of exceptionally warm global climates. According to paleontologist Jason Head, these giant snakes thrived in higher temperatures, suggesting a correlation between climate and their size.
Despite the intriguing prospect of giant snakes returning due to global warming, Head cautions that the current rate of climate change is too rapid for such evolutionary shifts to occur. The era of monster-sized snakes may remain a relic of the past.
Conclusion
The discovery of Vasuki indicus offers a glimpse into the ancient world of giant serpents and the environmental conditions that shaped their existence. As researchers continue to unravel the mysteries of prehistoric life, these findings contribute to our understanding of evolution and adaptation in response to changing climates.
Source: Scientific Reports
Additional Reading: Titanoboa - Nature
Disclaimer: The Associated Press Health and Science Department is solely responsible for all content, with support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Exploring Cloud Seeding Technology and Artificial Rain in Dubai: Impact, Progress, and Concerns
Dubai The largest city in the United Arab Emirates, where 80% of the country is desert. He recently held climate talks. COP28 United Nations last year It started raining late on Monday (April 15), drenching sand and roads in Dubai with about 20 millimeters (0.79 inches) of rain, according to meteorological data collected at Dubai International Airport Bi But then intensified the storm about 9:00am on Tuesday (April 16) and continued throughout the day. Causing rain and hail to hit the city, causing severe flooding. With more than 142 millimeters (5.59 inches) of rain hitting Dubai 24 hours a day.
The origin of cloud seeding
The United Arab Emirates is one of the first countries. in the Persian Gulf region where cloud seeding technology is being used to reinforce the country’s water instability; from the extremely hot weather Weather radar is used to continuously monitor the country’s atmospheric conditions. Forecasters and scientists have estimated that cloud formation can increase rainfall by as much as 30-35% in a clear atmosphere and as much as 10-15% in a more humid atmosphere. But this method has raised concerns about its environmental impact. This is because it is difficult to predict long-term global effects.
The United Arab Emirates usually has a dry climate. There is less than 100 millimeters of rain per year, but from the latest rainfall figures. It was found that the amount of rain in the last 24 hours or 1 day is greater than the rain that has fallen in the area over the last 2 years. What happened?
Rainfall in the UAE has varied over the past decades. During the winter between December and March The climate is very dry. Except along the coast and borders of the United Arab Emirates and Oman, humidity will be high.
The lack of sufficient rainfall has caused scientists and governments to worry about water security in the future. Due to industrial development and population growth. So the demand for water is increasing rapidly. Existing resources are depleting and shortages are looming As a result, the UAE is looking at cloud seeding technology to provide water security. as well as renewable capacity to combat potential water and food shortages.
Scientists have been experimenting with cloud seeding technology since the 1940s, and cloud seeding projects began in the late 1990s. The United Arab Emirates was one of the first Middle Eastern countries to develop cloud seeding technology. In 2005, the United Arab Emirates launched the UAE Excellence Award for the Advancement of Weather Modification Science and Practice in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
In 2010, cloud seeding started by the weather agency to create artificial rain cost $11 million. Rainstorms were successfully created in the deserts of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The UAE government has developed a research project called “UAE Rainfall Enhancement Science Research Project (UAEREP)” 2015 is helping scientists and researchers to propose possible solutions and conduct research to improve the accuracy of cloud seeding technology After submission research proposal Scientists will receive funding through UAEREP Developing science, technology and operations to increase rainfall
It has collaborated with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the United States, the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States Later in 2020, it joined partners in the United States to test the use of nanomaterials in cloud seeding.
Get to know cloud seeding technology and create artificial rain.
Increasing UAE rainfall involves terrestrial and aerial processes that occur in different types of rain clouds. (But it generally focuses on naturally occurring convective clouds first.) The UAE uses cloud droplets to suck moisture from the air, by planes and drones.
Since 2021, many electrical discharge devices and sensors have been installed that fly at low altitudes and transfer electric charges to air molecules. This hygroscopic cloud seeding uses natural salts such as potassium chloride and sodium chloride that are already present in the atmosphere along with hygroscopic flares. to help increase natural rainfall (Currently, most clouds are in the eastern mountains on the border with Oman) to increase levels in aquifers and reservoirs.
The UAE has a network of 75 automatic weather stations across the country. Seven air quality monitoring stations, a network of five Doppler weather radars and mobile radars, and six Beechcraft King Air C90 aircraft spread across the country for cloud-building operations.
Flood factors
Previously, cloud seeding rainfall had a huge impact on the UAE infrastructure which was not well equipped to deal with it. This is because the drainage system cannot cope with the amount of water.
A cloud seeding experiment in October 2019 by the National Meteorological and Seismological Center of the United Arab Emirates to previously increase rainfall led to flooding in 2020, affecting commercial and residential areas.
The UAE is expected to invest another 500 million dirhams ($136.1 million) to prevent flooding of infrastructure and transport after the severe storm.
Aerosols in the atmosphere
Salt and silver iodide crystals need to be shot into the atmosphere for cloud seeding missions. This leads to higher concentrations of dust or small pollutants. Increased risk of respiratory disease In 2017, a study was conducted before and after the cloud seeding trip. which recorded an increase in dust particles Relating to the month in which artificial rain is used.
Researchers believe that this is caused by excess silver iodine crystals that were not dispersed in the rain during the month when clouds began to form. A study called the United Arab Emirates Aerosol Experiment (UAE2) was conducted to assess the progress and effectiveness of cloud seeding specifically in the United Arab Emirates.
Researchers found that rainfall trends have increased significantly in areas with cloud cover. The overall environmental impact of cloud seeding is difficult to measure because it cannot (yet) be controlled in experiments. Along with the difficulty of direct tracking
Maarten Ambaum, professor of atmospheric physics and dynamics at the UK’s University of Reading, said he had spoken to meteorologists at the National Center for Meteorology (NCM), who denied cloud formation had occurred. “Cloud seeding in the Emirates applies to clouds that don’t normally produce rain … they don’t normally produce very strong storms.”
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Exploring Cloud Seeding Technology and Artificial Rain in Dubai: Impact, Progress, and Concerns
Abortion, Macron: “We are in favor of the introduction of European fundamental rights into the Charter”
«France has decided to include the right to abortion in the Constitution «and we are proud to have this model». «As far as Europe is concerned, France defends the introduction of this right for women into the Charter of Fundamental Rights, I think it is a very important debate – continues French President Emmanuel Macron – and I believe that for all women in Europe, living on this continent must mean having this right, being able to be free to exercise it, this is part of our fundamental values, it is essential to be able to exercise it.” This is how Macron, in the final press conference at the end of the EU summit, responded to a question on the controversy between Italy and Spain.
READ ALSO Abortion, Madrid attacks: “Rome undermines the right recognized by law”. Meloni: “We don’t accept lessons”
The one about abortion «from the way it was told, it seems to me that it is another fake news, then it spreads abroad and everyone gives us lessons. The amendment that was presented to the Pnrr decree exactly follows the text of law 194″ he said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at a press point in Brussels at the end of the extraordinary European Council. «I think that in reality those who want to modify law 194 are on the left, because we have never proposed modifying law 194, but when you ask for the application of law 194, even in prevention because it is a law of extreme balance, well done, we tear our clothes. And yet then we must also have the courage to say things as they are: do we want to modify law 194? I’m not the one who wants to change it. Do others want to change it? Let them tell us and take responsibility for it. But what is being done now is to reiterate the concepts already envisaged in law 194.”
With reference to lessons from abroad, Prime Minister Meloni returns to the clash with Madrid. It all started from a post on X by the Spanish Minister for Equality Ana Redondo, who commented: «Allowing organized harassment against women who want to terminate their pregnancies means undermining a right recognized by law». Then the political attack: «It is the strategy of the ultra-right: to intimidate to cancel rights, to stop equality between women and men».
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