New report details atmospheric impacts of 2022 Hunga volcano eruption

GENEVA, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- A new international scientific assessment has examined the wide-ranging atmospheric impacts of the 2022 eruption of the Hunga volcano. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) issued a news release on Friday highlighting the report.

According to the WMO, key scientific findings of the Hunga Volcanic Eruption Atmospheric Impacts Report show that the eruption in the South Pacific on January 15, 2022 produced the largest underwater explosion ever recorded by modern scientific instruments.

It injected vast quantities of water vapor into the stratosphere, increasing global stratospheric water by about 10 percent, much of which remains in the atmosphere through 2025.

While the eruption perturbed stratospheric ozone in the Southern Hemisphere in the months following the eruption, its overall effects on the Antarctic ozone hole and surface climate were minor.

The report emphasizes that record-high global temperatures in 2023-2024 were not caused by the eruption. Model simulations indicate that Hunga's surface cooling influence was indistinguishable from natural climate variability.

The report was released under the Atmospheric Processes and their Role in Climate project of the World Climate Research Programme, which is co-sponsored by the WMO.

Launched in late 2022, the assessment brought together more than 150 scientists from over 20 countries. ■