How the Tonga Volcano Eruption will Cool the Earth

Saturday January 15th at 5:15 pm local time a volcano on the island of Hunga Tonga erupted sending a 5 km wide cloud of ash 20 km into the atmosphere. Loud explosions could be heard on islands up to 65 km away. From space, the erupting column of smoke and even atmospheric shockwaves were captured propagating across the Pacific Ocean. The eruption started a magnitude 5.8 earthquake and a tsunami that reached as far as the United States. Although by the time it got there waves were limited to only about 4 feet. But the Tonga explosion will have far more reaching consequences than what’s happened in the immediate aftermath.

Preliminary observations showed that the eruption ejected a large amount of volcanic material into the stratosphere. Enough to cool the Earth, and at least temporarily, reverse man-made climate change in an event known as volcanic winter. Get ready for some extreme ice storms over the next few years, and if you live in Florida, you might want to buy your snow parkas now.