Q. Mention the global occurrence of volcanic eruptions in 2021 and their impact on the regional environment. (250 Words)

21 Feb, 2022 GS Paper 1 Geography

Approach

  • Start the answer by defining What is Volcano and their occurrence at global level.
  • Enumerate some of the examples of volcanic eruptions along with their place of eruption, in 2021.
  • Discuss the Impact of volcanic eruption on the environment.
  • Conclude suitability.

Introduction

  • A volcano is an opening or rupture in the earth’s surface that allows magma (hot liquid and semi-liquid rock), volcanic ash and gases to escape.
    • The volcanic eruption could have implications for the local and regional environment like earthquakes, landslides, lahars (mudflows), ash and thunderstorms.

Body

Volcano Eruption 2021 Place of Eruption
Mount Sinabung Volcano Indonesia
Klyuchevskoy volcano Russia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula.
Fournaise volcano Réunion
Mount Etna Italy
Erebus Antarctica
  • Impact of volcanic eruption on the environment:
    • Volcanic eruptions are responsible for forming new rock on the Earth’s surface.
    • The gases and dust particles thrown into the atmosphere during volcanic eruptions have influences on climate.
    • Volcanoes have also caused global warming over millions of years during times in Earth’s history when extreme amounts of volcanism occurred, releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
    • Even though volcanoes are in specific places on Earth, their effects can be more widely distributed as gases, dust, and ash get into the atmosphere
      • This is due to the atmospheric circulation patterns, eruptions in the tropics can have an effect on the climate in both hemispheres.
      • Eruptions at mid or high latitudes only have an impact on the hemisphere they are within.
    • Volcanic eruptions are generally preceded by increased seismic activity.

Conclusion

Most of the active volcanoes on earth occur on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also referred to as The Ring of Fire. Volcanoes are a natural exogenic phenomenon that cannot be avoided, but developing disaster risk resilience will surely be a step in the right direction.