Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai released levels of gases and ash typical of other volcanic eruptions, but this much water vapor has never been seen. Volcanic eruptions have long been linked to temporary cooling of the climate, but might the explosive Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption warm the planet instead? The levels of sulfur dioxide and other gases released during the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption were typical of other volcanic eruptions, apart from reaching higher into the atmosphere. Scientists are still trying to understand some of the unusual phenomena associated with the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption on January 15. But the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption caused so much water vapor to enter the atmosphere that this pattern is disrupted.

Source: CNN August 04, 2022 02:49 UTC