Iceland Volcano Could Impact Weather

Iceland's volcano is impacting flights around Europe but that's not all. History shows these violent eruptions can also impact global tempertature.

In the case of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 the average temperature in the Northern Hemisphere dropped almost 2 degrees. The cooling effect began the next year (1992) and lasted for 2 years, peaking about a year after the initial eruption.

We should point out that Pinatubo was a violent volcano. On the "Volcanic Explosivity Index", which runs from 0 to 8, Pinatubo was about a 6. The volcano in Iceland is currently rated a 1. This could change as time continues and the eruptions continue to worsen.

Right now volcanic ash is still flowing upward into the "jet stream". These strong upper level winds carry the ash around the earth. This process can take many months and the total amount of volcanic debris has yet to be determined. Until all this is known the complete impact from this eruption on global temperature can not yet be calculated.

History tells us that many of these events have had profound effect on global weather.

Written by Joe Punday and Linda Church