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The Effects of the Hunga Tonga Volcano Eruption

AviatorTom
The Effects of the Hunga Tonga Volcano Eruption


On 14 January 2022, the Hunga Tonga volcano erupted, in the Western Pacific Ocean, spewing ash thousands of meters into the air and hundreds of kilometers in diameter, creating a tsunami that affected Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the United States, and a pressure wave that circled the globe and was detected as far away as Switzerland.

The tsunami caused flooding of several coastlines in the area, forcing people to move to higher ground, as well as localized flooding along the coast of California USA.

The longer term effects of the eruption, including possible effects on Earth's climate due to the large amounts of ash in the atmosphere, are as yet unknown.

A similar large eruption in 1815 of Mount Tambora in Indonesia led to the "Year Without Summer" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Without_a_Summer) with lower than normal temperatures, crop losses and famine. The Tonga eruption may not have those kinds of effects but it's too early to tell.

The eruption was seen by weather satellites in space.

View of the Ash Cloud from Space
View of the Ash Cloud from Space

Here are some websites that contain more detailed information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Hunga_Tonga_eruption_and_tsunami

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-60018707

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The Effects of the Hunga Tonga Volcano Eruption
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