Zoomed view of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai eruption taken by Japan’s Himawari-8 satellite, January 15, 2022, about 100 minutes after the eruption started.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Large volcanic eruptions usually have a cooling effect on the Earth because they release large amounts of sulfur, which can block sunlight. However, the massive eruption of the Pacific underwater volcano, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai in January 2022 actually has implications for increasing global temperatures.
A team of researchers at the University of Oxford estimates that this volcanic eruption could push the average global temperature rise above the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius increase. Physicist from Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Stuart Jenkins, became the first author of a paper published in the journal Nature Climate Change January 2023 issue and released on Wednesday (25/1/2023).
