On the 15th of January 2022 a huge explosive eruption occurred at Tonga in the Pacific Ocean - about 10,000 miles away.
At about 7pm weather stations in the UK measured a sharp blip in atmospheric pressure which was the shockwave passing over several hours later.
Remarkable enough, but then about 2am on the 16th there was a further similar blip - this is thought to have been the same event having travelled even further the other way around the globe.
The explosion was heard in Alaska some 6000 miles away but it seems very unlikely a human would detect the shockwave by the time it reached the UK.
A secondary concern could be what if the large amounts of ejected ash affect the weather.
This has happened before notably Mt St Helens and Pinutobo lowered global temperatures significantly for 2 or 3 years. Further back Krakatoa in Indonesia caused very cool summers and cold snowy winters across the Northern Hemisphere.
This does not necessarily mean bad weather or even cold weather for any location as less energy in the system might actually reduce storm activity for example.
In this case the volcano is in the southern hemisphere so would take many weeks/months for ash to reach northern latitudes. In reality it probably won't have any effect unless it goes on for a long time but ash may eventually be detectable all over the globe.
A secondary concern could be what if the large amounts of ejected ash affect the weather.
This has happened before notably Mt St Helens and Pinutobo lowered global temperatures significantly for 2 or 3 years. Further back Krakatoa in Indonesia caused very cool summers and cold snowy winters across the Northern Hemisphere.
This does not necessarily mean bad weather or even cold weather for any location as less energy in the system might actually reduce storm activity for example.
In this case the volcano is in the southern hemisphere so would take many weeks/months for ash to reach northern latitudes. In reality it probably won't have any effect unless it goes on for a long time but ash may eventually be detectable all over the globe.
