reply to post by Cancerwarrior
"We are seeing an increase in volcanic activity worldwide, says climatologist Cliff Harris.
"On Aug. 29, thousands of people were evacuated after a volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumatra erupted for the first time in 400 years. Earlier
this month, Mount Sinabung spewed hot ash more than a mile into the air along with volcanic earthquakes. Two people died and more than 30,000 were
"In Iceland, the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, which caused widespread flight cancellations in Europe because of the giant ash cloud, has produced a
lot of speculation concerning the neighboring volcano Katla. In the past, when Eyjafjallajokull has erupted, Katla has often followed within a short
period of time.
"On Aug. 25, Italy's Etna volcano and Columbia's Galeros volcano, both erupted. The explosions were not huge, but new and perhaps bigger eruptions
are expected at anytime.
"If volcanic activity continues to increase, and there is an eruption big enough to send millions of tons of ash and dust into the upper layers of
the atmosphere, then the Earth's temperature would likely drop at least a degree or two from present levels. This happened in June of 1991 when Mount
Pinatubo exploded in the Philippines. For the following year, the Earth's temperature dropped about 1-2 degrees before recovering several years
"Here are the 20 most deadly volcanic eruptions in the past 500 years worldwide and their approximately death tolls:
Kelut, Indonesia, 1586: 10,000
Vesuvius, Italy, 1631: 4,000
Oshima, Japan, 1741: 1,481
Papadanyan, Indonesia, 1772: 2,960
Lakagigar, Iceland, 1783: 9,340
Unze, Japan, 1792: 15,000
Tambora, Indonesia, 1815: 92,000
Galunggung, Indonesia, 1822: 4,000
Nevado del Ruiz, Columbia, 1845: 36,417
Krakatau, Indonesia, 1883: 36,417
Ritter, Paupa New Guinea, 1888: 3,000
Mount Pelee, Martinique, 1902: 29,000
Kelut, Indonesia, 1919: 5,110
Lamington, Papua New Guinea, 1951: 2,942
Hibok-Hibok, Philippines, 1951: 500
Agung, Indonesia, 1963: 1,148
Climatologist Cliff Harris writes a weekly column for The Coeur d'Alene Press.