Thursday☕️

Earth Intelligence

20 Feb 2025 — 7 min read

Trending:

On February 17, 2025, a major water main broke in Southwest Detroit, Michigan, flooding hundreds of homes and forcing many residents to evacuate. The break happened in an aging 54-inch steel pipe from the 1930s, sending large amounts of water into streets and neighborhoods, with some areas experiencing up to five feet of flooding. City officials provided emergency shelter, covering hotel stays and food for those affected, while crews worked to repair the damaged pipeline. However, as repair efforts continued, temperatures suddenly dropped to around 7 degrees yesterday, causing the floodwaters to freeze solid. Now, entire streets, sidewalks, and homes are covered in thick ice, creating even more challenges for residents and cleanup crews.

With temperatures expected to stay below freezing for the next few days, the frozen floodwaters will remain in place, making conditions dangerous and delaying repair work. City crews have excavated the broken pipe and are preparing to install a replacement, but the full repair could take up to two weeks. Officials say temperatures are expected to warm up later in the week, which should help melt the ice and allow cleanup efforts to move forward.

Economics & Markets:

Yesterday’s U.S. stock market:

Yesterday’s commodity market:

Yesterday’s crypto market:

Geopolitics & Military Activity:

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is experiencing a major crisis as violence from armed groups continues to grow. Recently, 70 people were found dead inside a Protestant church in Kasanga, North Kivu province. Their hands were tied, and they had been decapitated in a massacre linked to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militant group associated with the Islamic State. The attack came after the ADF kidnapped 70 people from Mayba village, before executing them in the church. Meanwhile, the M23 rebel group, which has been accused of receiving support from Rwanda, recently captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu. This offensive has killed nearly 3,000 people and forced over 350,000 to flee their homes, worsening the humanitarian crisis.

The ADF and M23 are separate groups with different goals, but their actions are making the situation in eastern Congo worse. The ADF is an Islamist militant group that carries out attacks and kidnappings, aiming to establish an Islamic state in the region. M23 is made up mostly of Congolese Tutsi fighters and is fighting for political power and territory, with Rwanda being accused of backing them. Both groups operate in North Kivu province, where the Congolese army and international forces are struggling to control the violence. As the military focuses on M23’s advances, the ADF takes advantage of the instability to carry out terror attacks, such as the massacre in Kasanga. The conflict has created a major humanitarian crisis, and growing tensions between Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda could turn this into a larger regional war.

Environment & Weather:

Today, February 20, 2025, São Paulo, Brazil, continues to experience severe flooding as heavy rains overwhelm the city’s aging drainage systems. Over the past few weeks, intense storms have caused widespread flooding, power outages, and major disruptions to transportation. A particularly strong storm on January 24 left nearly 180,000 residents without electricity, while another on February 10 further worsened conditions, submerging vehicles and damaging homes. The city’s outdated infrastructure struggles to keep up with the increasing rainfall, leading to prolonged water accumulation in low-lying areas. Officials warn that additional storms are expected in the coming days, raising concerns about further flooding and displacement. Residents are urged to stay alert as authorities work to clear roadways and restore essential services.

Today, February 20, 2025, at 9:14 WIT, Mount Dukono in Indonesia erupted, sending an ash column 2,000 meters above its peak, reaching a total height of 3,087 meters above sea level. The eruption released a thick cloud of volcanic ash, which was carried by winds across the surrounding areas, impacting air travel and local communities. Authorities are closely monitoring the situation, as Dukono is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, with frequent eruptions that pose risks to residents and aviation.

Mount Dukono is a stratovolcano located on Halmahera Island in North Maluku, Indonesia. It is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region known for its high volcanic and seismic activity. Dukono has been in a nearly constant state of eruption since 1933, with explosive activity producing ash plumes, lava flows, and occasional pyroclastic surges. Due to its persistent activity, it is classified as a high-risk volcano, though its remote location limits its immediate danger to major population centers. Despite its frequent eruptions, local communities have adapted to living near the volcano, remaining cautious and prepared for sudden increases in activity.

Privacy & Security:

On February 19, 2025, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), along with the FBI and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), issued a warning about a ransomware threat called Ghost (Cring) Ransomware. This type of ransomware targets weak spots in computer systems, encrypts files, and demands payment to unlock them. Ransomware is a major cyber threat that locks users out of their own data until they pay a ransom, often in cryptocurrency. It is frequently used against businesses, hospitals, and government agencies, causing major disruptions. Ghost ransomware is particularly dangerous because it spreads by exploiting outdated software, weak passwords, and unsecured remote access, allowing it to take over entire networks.

To help prevent attacks, CISA recommends key cybersecurity measures. Organizations should back up important files and store them somewhere offline to prevent data loss. Keeping software and security updates current is also crucial since Ghost ransomware often takes advantage of old vulnerabilities. Another important step is to separate different parts of a network to stop attackers from moving through the system. One of the strongest protections is multi-factor authentication (MFA), which adds an extra security step beyond just a password. Even if a hacker steals a password, they still can’t log in without the second authentication factor. Since many ransomware attacks start with stolen credentials, enforcing MFA makes it much harder for attackers to break into systems, making it one of the best defenses against cyber threats.

Science & Technology:

On February 19, 2025, Microsoft introduced Majorana 1, a new quantum computing chip designed to make quantum computers more stable and scalable. This chip uses topological qubits, which are based on Majorana zero modes—special particles that Microsoft has studied for years. Most quantum computers today use superconducting qubits (like Google and IBM) or trapped-ion qubits (like IonQ), but these are very sensitive to disturbances, which makes them prone to errors. Microsoft’s topological qubits are designed to be more resistant to interference, reducing the need for complicated error correction. If successful, this could make quantum computers much more reliable and useful for real-world applications.

The Majorana 1 chip is built for scalability, which Microsoft plans to fit up to one million qubits on a single processor—far more than today’s quantum computers, which have only a few hundred. This kind of scale is needed to solve advanced problems in materials science, cryptography, and optimization, where classical computers struggle because of the complexity of the calculations. However, there are still big challenges in building and controlling such large-scale quantum systems.
Quantum computers are different from regular computers because they use superposition and entanglement, allowing them to process many possible solutions at once instead of just switching between 0 and 1. However, today’s quantum systems suffer from decoherence, which means outside noise can easily disrupt calculations, making quantum error correction a major issue. Microsoft’s topological qubits are designed to naturally resist these errors by storing information in a more stable way. If they work as expected, they could be a major breakthrough in making quantum computing scalable and practical for solving complex real-world problems.

Statistic: