3 Things You Didn’t Know About the Tonga Volcano

The 2022 Tonga volcano eruption initially sparked speculation about its role in the record-breaking heat of 2023 and 2024. However, a new study reveals the eruption actually caused a slight cooling effect. This finding reinforces the dominant role of human-induced greenhouse gases in driving global warming.

CONTENTS: 3 Things You Didn’t Know About the Tonga Volcano

• Humans caused warming
• Water vapor might cause warming
• Volcano caused slight cooling
• Humans cause climate change

New research has found that the Tongan volcano eruption in 2022, initially believed to contribute to the extreme warming experienced in 2023-24, actually induced a slight cooling effect. The study emphasizes that greenhouse gases from human activities remain the primary cause of warming during this period, significantly influenced by El Niño. Andrew Dessler, an atmospheric scientist at Texas A&M University, highlighted this point.

In mid-January 2022, the underwater eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in the Pacific island of Tonga released unprecedented amounts of aerosols and water vapor into the Earth’s atmosphere, increasing its moisture content.

Researchers noted that since water vapor contributes to the greenhouse effect by trapping Earth’s heat and raising temperatures, there was initially speculation that this could explain the extreme global warmth observed in 2023 and 2024.

Although studies have suggested that the Tongan volcanic eruption could partially explain the extreme warmth experienced over the past two years, its exact impact on global temperatures remains uncertain.

In their analysis, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, the researchers used satellite data from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to examine aerosols and water vapor and estimate the Earth’s climate energy balance.

They discovered that the eruption caused more energy to leave the climate system than to enter it, resulting in a slight cooling effect.

The authors noted that this cooling effect is similar to those produced by major volcanic events in the past.

They referenced the volcanic eruptions of Tambora in 1815 and Mt. Pinatubo in 1991, where released aerosols blocked sunlight, significantly cooling the global climate.

“Our paper dispels the notion that the eruption caused the extreme warmth of 2023 and 2024,” said Dessler. By ruling out the volcanic eruption as a major factor, the study emphasizes that human-induced greenhouse gas emissions are the primary drivers of climate change, according to the authors.

This focus is especially relevant given the ongoing debate and misinformation about the causes of global warming, they added.