Tonga volcano
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano is in the western South Pacific Ocean, west of the main inhabited islands in the Kingdom of Tonga.
It is one of 12 confirmed submarine volcanoes along the Tofua Arc, a segment of the larger Tonga-Kermadec volcanic arc.
The Tonga-Kermadec arc formed as a result of subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Indo-Australian Plate.
It is an undersea Volcano consisting of two small uninhabited islands, Hunga-Ha’apai and Hunga-Tonga.
Tonga volcano
Unusual climate impacts
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (Hunga Tonga for short) erupted on January 15, 2022
It created a tsunami, which triggered warnings across the entire Pacific basin, and sent sound waves around the globe multiple times.
Usually, the sulphur dioxide in the smoke of a volcano cools the earth’s surface for a short period.
Hunga Tonga was an underwater volcano, so it produced little smoke and a lot of water vapour, which shot into the stratosphere.
Water vapour in the stratosphere has two main effects.
One, it helps in the chemical reactions that destroy the ozone layer, and two, it is a very potent greenhouse gas.
The volcano seems to change the way some waves travel through the atmosphere.
And atmospheric waves are responsible for highs and lows, which directly influence our weather.
COMMENTS