Contemporary · Oceania · Disaster

2022

Hunga Tonga eruption

January 15, 2022

An undersea volcano in the South Pacific erupted with the largest atmospheric explosion since Krakatoa, sending tsunamis across the ocean and a shock wave four times around the planet. Tonga was cut off from the world for days. The plume of water vapor it punched into the stratosphere would warm the climate for years.