Polio explosion
The UN has warned of an 鈥渆xplosive鈥� outbreak of polio in Somalia. The alert came days after medical charity M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res said it was closing all its programmes in the country, believing it too dangerous for staff to continue their work. At least 105 cases of polio 鈥� half last year鈥檚 global tally 鈥� have been recorded in Somalia this year.
Hot water leak
Beleaguered is an understatement. Tepco, the operators of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, say some 300 tonnes of radioactive water have leaked from storage tanks. An hour鈥檚 exposure to the water would give a radiation dose of 100 millisieverts 鈥� five times the permitted annual dose for workers.
Jupiter moon erupts
The most volcanically active world in the solar system just blew its top. Volcanoes erupt on Jupiter鈥檚 moon Io almost continuously, with vastly more power than those on Earth. But the explosion on 15 August was big even by its standards, with lava spouting upwards hundreds of metres.
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Climate leak
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has concluded that there is at least a 95-per-cent chance that humans are to blame for climate change. That鈥檚 according to the latest leak of its upcoming report, due out next month. The last report, published in 2007, cited a 90-per-cent or greater confidence level.
Naked-eye nova
It鈥檚 one level down from a supernova. On 14 August, the brightest nova seen since 2007 appeared in the constellation Delphinus, visible to the naked eye. Novae occur when hydrogen on a white dwarf鈥檚 surface explodes in a runaway fusion reaction. Unlike supernovae, the star survives. Nova Delphini 2013 may be visible from Earth for weeks to come.