Tuesday☕️

Earth Intelligence

19 Nov 2024 — 5 min read

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On November 16, 2024, California health officials confirmed the first U.S. case of a more severe strain of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox). The patient, who had recently traveled to Eastern Africa, is isolating at home with mild symptoms. Health authorities have stated that the risk to the general public remains very low and are closely monitoring the situation.
Mpox is a viral disease first identified in 1958 in research monkeys, with the first human case recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Traditionally endemic to Central and West Africa, the disease occasionally spreads to other regions. In 2022, a global outbreak resulted in over 2,100 cases across 42 countries, though transmission rates remained relatively low. The disease, which spreads through close contact, typically causes fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.

Economics & Markets:

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Environment & Weather:

In November 2024, the Philippines faced four devastating typhoons in just ten days. Typhoon Marce struck on November 7, followed by Typhoon Nika on November 11 and Typhoon Ofel on November 14, bringing heavy rains, flooding, and landslides. The strongest, Super Typhoon Man-Yi (Pepito), hit on November 16 as a Category 5 storm with 259 km/h winds, causing severe flooding, storm surges, and forcing over a million people to evacuate.
The Philippines is now dealing with the aftermath of these storms, with recovery expected to take months or even years. Thousands of homes and roads were destroyed, infrastructure heavily damaged, and agricultural losses widespread. The back-to-back typhoons have left communities in urgent need of relief and highlighted the country’s vulnerability to such disasters.
NASA recently reported a significant drop in Earth’s freshwater levels. From 2002 to 2014, the planet held an average of 12,700 cubic miles (53,000 cubic kilometers) of freshwater on land, including lakes, rivers, and underground aquifers. Between 2015 and 2023, this dropped by 290 cubic miles (1,200 cubic kilometers) to about 12,410 cubic miles (51,800 cubic kilometers)—a loss over twice the volume of Lake Erie. While notable, these changes are part of natural water cycles influenced by climate, geology, and human activity.
At the same time, ocean levels have been steadily rising due to melting ice and warming waters. According to NASA and NOAA, global sea levels have risen approximately 9 inches (23 centimeters) since 1880, based on data from tide gauges and satellite measurements. The rise continues at an average of 0.13 inches (3.3 millimeters) per year. These shifts highlight how Earth’s water cycles between freshwater and seawater phases. While freshwater supplies are essential for agriculture and drinking, seawater can be desalinated as a backup resource. These trends emphasize the importance of careful water resource management and adapting to Earth’s natural changes.

Security:

Tibber, a green energy provider in Northern Europe and Germany, reported a data breach affecting 50,000 German customers. Leaked data includes names, email addresses, order amounts, and partial addresses, but no payment information or passwords. The breach was discovered on November 11, 2024, after the data appeared on a darknet forum. Tibber has notified affected customers and reported the incident to the Berlin police. Although financial data wasn’t exposed, Tibber urged customers to stay alert for phishing attempts. The company is enhancing security measures to prevent future breaches and rebuild trust.

Aviation:

Spirit Airlines has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it struggles with financial losses and the impact of a blocked merger with JetBlue Airways. The airline, which has not turned a profit since 2019, plans to continue operating as usual during the restructuring process. Customers can still book and travel on Spirit flights while the company reorganizes and sells off assets to stabilize its finances and address its debts.
On November 18, 2024, British Airways experienced a major IT outage, grounding flights and stranding thousands of passengers. The glitch disrupted the electronic filing of flight plans and load sheets—documents critical for aircraft safety—forcing pilots to rely on manual communication with Heathrow’s operations center. Passengers reported delays across Europe, including in Naples, Düsseldorf, and Tenerife, while Heathrow Terminal 5 faced long queues and significant disruptions.
This is the latest in a series of IT failures for British Airways, following similar outages in 2017, 2019, and 2022. Experts have attributed these incidents to outdated technology and emphasized the need for modernization in the airline industry. British Airways, as part of a £7 billion investment by its parent company, has committed to upgrading its IT infrastructure. Although the issue was resolved quickly, it caused widespread delays, with the airline apologizing to passengers and working to resume normal operations.

Science & Technology:

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is raising $6 billion, bringing its valuation to $50 billion. The funding, with $5 billion from Middle Eastern investors and $1 billion from others, will be used to purchase 100,000 Nvidia chips to build a powerful supercomputer in Memphis, known as Colossus. This advanced system will process massive amounts of data and perform complex computations to support xAI’s AI models, including Grok, its recently launched chatbot with real-time web access.
Additionally, Colossus will play a critical role in advancing Tesla’s self-driving technology by analyzing real-time driving data and running simulations to improve vehicle autonomy. Founded in July 2023, xAI is positioning itself as a major competitor to OpenAI and Google. Beyond its AI innovations, Musk is working with President-elect Donald Trump on shaping new AI policies, emphasizing xAI’s growing impact on both technology and regulation.

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