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Guatemala
Fuego Volcano Erupts
Hundreds of people were evacuated from villages in Guatemala after the Fuego volcano erupted on Monday. Fuego, one of the most active volcanoes in Central America, is located about 31 miles (50 km) southwest of Guatemala City, the country’s capital. During the eruption, the volcano ejected large amounts of ash and gas while sending rivers of lava and pyroclastic debris racing down its slopes. As the hot volcanic material mixed with water, it triggered dangerous mudflows stretching up to 4.3 miles (7 km), which continue to threaten nearby communities. Schools have been closed and roads remain affected. Guatemala is located at the convergence of three tectonic plates, making the country highly prone to frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
This map depicts the location of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano and the surrounding villages that have been recently evacuated.
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Graphic Source: Anadolu Agency
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Russia-Ukraine
Deadly Drone Strikes Expand
Earlier today, Ukrainian drones hit the 14th warehouse in three weeks belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s biggest online retailer. Recent months have seen Ukraine step up its own deep strikes on key Russian targets, such as oil refineries. Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding region killed at least 17 people and wounded 44 others overnight into this morning, according to Ukraine’s President Volodomyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine’s depleted air defenses failed to stop any of the incoming missiles. The attack was the latest in a series of large-scale Russian ballistic missile strikes that have become near-routine this summer. The intensified barrages are exploiting Ukraine’s critical shortage of interceptor missiles for the U.S.-made Patriot systems, the sole air defense system in its arsenal capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.
This interactive map depicts Ukrainian drone and missile strikes in Russia from May to August, 2026. Click on the map to learn more.
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Antarctica
Coldest Temperature in 14 Years
Scientists at the Concordia Station in Antarctica recorded the lowest temperature on Earth in 14 years at -119°F (-84.1°C), on July 18. The research station, co-owned by French and Italian research institutions, is situated on Dome C of the East Antarctic Plateau, roughly 10,500 ft (3,200 m) above sea level. Concordia, which sits on the largest ice sheet on Earth, is considered the most remote and extreme research station in the world. Temperatures below -112°F (-80°C) are considered normal during winter there, so this new reading isn’t unprecedented. East Antarctica’s (Antarctica Oriental) ice sheet is more stable than the smaller sheet of West Antarctica (Antarctica Occidental), but it is still vulnerable to rising temperatures. A continental record high for the month of June of 59.7° F (15.4°C) was recorded at Argentina’s Esperanza base on the Trinity Peninsula on the opposite side of the continent. Concordia’s researchers note that extreme-temperature data helps inform forecasts and long-term climate monitoring.
This map depicts the location of the Concordia Station in Antarctica, where a 14-year record low global temperature was recorded in late July. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: The Argentina–Brazil border runs through the Devil’s Throat canyon, which is part of which waterfall system?
A: Iguaçu (Iguazú) Falls
Iguaçu Falls is a series of cataracts on the Iguaçu River, 14 miles (23 km) above its confluence with the Alto (Upper) Paraná River, at the Argentina-Brazil border. The falls resemble an elongated horseshoe that extends for 1.7 miles (2.7 km)—nearly three times wider than Niagara Falls in North America and significantly greater than the width of Victoria Falls in Africa. Numerous rocky and wooded islands on the edge of the escarpment over which the Iguaçu River plunges divide the falls into some 275 separate waterfalls or cataracts, varying between 200 and 269 feet (60 and 82 metres) in height. A major portion of the river tumbles into a narrow, semicircular chasm called the Garganta do Diabo (Spanish: Garganta del Diablo [“Devil’s Throat”]); the effect has been described as that of “an ocean plunging into an abyss.”
Source
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Q: Covering some 77,000 square miles (200,000 sq km), which desert is Asia’s only subtropical desert?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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