Hunga volcano eruption cooled, rather than warmed, the Southern Hemisphere

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 03, 2025

When Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, an underwater volcano near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean, erupted in 2022, scientists expected that it would spew enough water vapor into the stratosphere to push global temperatures past the 1.5 C threshold set by the Paris Accords. A new UCLA-led study shows that not only did the eruption not warm the planet, but it actually reduced temperatures over the Southern Hemisphere by 0.1 C.