An international group of scientists, of whom physicists at the State University of St. Petersburg, found that the rash of Hunga Tonga – Hunga Haʻapai in the Pacific Ocean, produced in January 2022, could lead to abnormally cold winters in Europe and other regions of the Nordic hemisphere.
According to Oxu.AZ, the study was published in the magazine atmospheric chemistry and physics (ACP).
The results of the research showed that this eruption was record in terms of the amount of water vapor released in the stratosphere. Water vapors have influenced the chemical composition and atmosphere temperature, which, unlike the usual eruptions leading to a temporary heating, weakened the northern polar vortex-a key element of the winter circulation in the northern hemisphere.
Scientists have made simulations using the Socolv4 complex climatic system and found that these changes significantly increase the probability of extremely cold weather in Europe, Asia and North America. Already in the winter of 2023, in some regions there were registered temperature abnormalities, such as -34 ° C in Iaroslavl (Russia) and unusual frosts in Oslo (Norway).
According to researchers’ calculations, the increased level of water vapor in the stratosphere will be maintained until 2031. Although the model does not predict exact temperatures, it allows the conclusion that even short -term events, such as Hunga Tonga volcano, can have lasting climatic consequences.
