At 3pm AEDT on 15th January 2022, Japan’s meteorological satellite Himawari-8, saw the Hunga Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano erupt with such force that it caused a sonic boom which could be heard over the South Pacific and as far away as Alaska, United States. Atmospheric shockwaves travelled around the globe and were picked up in Iceland. Volcanologists say that the eruption now holds the world record for being heard so far from the volcano.
The resulting tsunami waves in Tonga were 49 feet high and caused three deaths, injuries with multiple people missing. Two more people drowned in Peru after the tsunami struck there.
This is the biggest volcano eruption in over a hundred years according to preliminary data. Before this, an eruption of such strength occurred at Mount Krakatoa in Indonesia in 1883.
A volcano is a crack in the earth’s crust from which eruptions originate. There are around 1500 potentially active volcanoes in the world. When volcanoes erupt, they can spew hot, toxic gases, ash, lava and rock, which can cause catastrophic loss of life and property, especially in densely populated areas. There are also other types of volcanic eruptive events, such as pyroclastic explosions, which emit fast-moving hot gas and volcanic materials such as hot ash.
Effects of hot ash exposure
Exposure to ash can be hazardous. If infants, the elderly, and adults with respiratory illnesses such as asthma, emphysema, and other chronic lung ailments breathe in volcanic ash, they may experience complications. Ash is gritty, abrasive, occasionally acidic and always unpleasant. Small ash particles can abrade the cornea of the eye. Ash particles may include crystalline silica, a substance that causes silicosis, a respiratory ailment.
Volcanic ash can cause:
- suffocation
- infectious diseases, such as conjunctivitis
- respiratory diseases caused by falling ash and inhaling gases and fumes, both acute and chronic
- burns and traumatic injuries, such as lacerations from falling rock
- acid rain causes irritation to the eyes and skin
- contamination of food and water resources.
- The accumulation of ash on roofs can collapse buildings
Effects of lava flows
Everything in a lava flow’s course will be knocked over, enveloped, smothered, or incinerated by its incredibly high temperature. If lava meets a body of water or water enters a lava tube, the water may aggressively boil, resulting in an explosive shower of molten spatter over a large region. Methane gas, which is created when lava covers plants, has the ability to move in subterranean cavities and explode when heated. Viscous lava flows, particularly those that create a dome, can collapse into fast-moving pyroclastic flows.
Other natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, fires, and earthquakes, frequently destroy buildings, agricultural crops, and residences; but these structures may generally be rebuilt or restored on the same sites. Lava flows, on the other hand, can bury homes and agricultural land beneath tens of metres of solidified black rock, obscuring landmarks and property borders in a huge, new hummocky landscape. People are rarely able to utilise or sell land that has been buried by lava flows for more than a small percentage of its prior value.
Effects of emitted volcano gases
The majority of a volcano’s gases quickly dissipate. Heavy gases, such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide can, however, accumulate in low-lying places. Water vapour is the most frequent volcanic gas, followed by carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide. The latter can cause breathing problems in both healthy persons and those suffering from asthma or other respiratory issues. Hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen fluoride are some other types of volcanic gases. The concentrations of these gases fluctuate greatly from one volcanic outburst to the next. Although these normally dissipate quickly, those who live near the volcano or in low-lying regions downwind may be exposed to amounts that are hazardous to their health. Gases, even at low concentrations, can irritate the eyes, nose and throat. And at greater concentrations can induce fast breathing, headache, disorientation, throat swelling and spasm, and asphyxia.
Secondary disaster events
If there is associated rain, snow, or melting ice, volcanic eruptions can also create secondary events such as floods, landslides, and mudslides. Wildfires may also be sparked by hot ashes.
Effects on climate change
Gases and dust particles emitted into the atmosphere by volcanic eruptions have an impact on the climate. The majority of particles emitted by volcanoes serve to cool the globe by shielding it from incoming solar radiation. Depending on the conditions of the eruption, the cooling impact might extend for months or years. Volcanoes have also contributed to global warming throughout millions of years, releasing greenhouse gases during periods of intense volcanism in earth’s history.
Volcanoes may be located in specific locations on earth, but their impacts can be widely dispersed when gases, dust, and ash enter the atmosphere. Volcanic eruptions in the tropics can affect the climate in both hemispheres due to air circulation patterns, but eruptions in mid or high latitudes only affect the hemisphere they are in.
Volcanic eruptions lead to sulphur dioxide emissions in the atmosphere that when combined with water vapours make sulphuric acid. These acid droplets reflect solar radiation back into space causing cooling of the earth’s surface. On the other hand, greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and water vapours could also be emitted which can cause global warming.
Several eruptions throughout the last century have resulted in a one to three year drop in average temperature at the earth’s surface of up to half a degree (Fahrenheit scale).
Volcanic eruptions, especially the size and magnitude of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano, produce hazardous effects on the environment, climate, and health of the exposed people, and are associated with the deterioration of social and economic conditions. However, with this unprecedented event, where the shock waves travelled around the earth at least three times and generated tsunamis roughly the same size as the local one, and over many hours, in Japan, Chile, and the West Coast of the United States, scientists will need to analyse the data for a long time to provide a proper answer to what the aftereffects of this event on earth could be.
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