News in Brief
Himalayan melting risk surveyed
A new weather station is expected to show the extent of warming in the Himalayas, one of the world's biggest deposits of ice and a key source of fresh water. It has been installed on the longest Himalayan glacier, in the Everest region of Nepal. There have been numerous reports of glacial retreats in the Himalayas over the years, but this weather station will be able to quantify changes to the local climate. One part of it has been set up on the Nguzumpa Glacier to record solar radiation, relative humidity, air and soil temperature, wind speed and direction, and precipitation. The other part has been placed in the river fed by the 35km-long glacier, to measure changes in flow caused by glacial melt. bbcNews
Vesuvius risks underestimated
Researchers are warning that the next eruption of Vesuvius could be much more deadly than the Italian authorities are planning for. A US-Italian collaboration says deadly blasts have previously caused devastation which swept well beyond modern Naples. Italian plans call for the evacuation of 600,000 people from the city. But the researchers say up to three million people could be at risk according to the new assessment. bbcNews
