{"id":37338,"date":"2023-09-16T10:18:10","date_gmt":"2023-09-16T04:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=37338"},"modified":"2025-04-22T13:15:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T07:45:58","slug":"why-is-2023-so-hot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/why-is-2023-so-hot\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is 2023 so Hot?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>What are Submarine Volcanoes?<\/li>\n<li>Submarine Volcano Eruption near the Pacific Nation of Tonga<\/li>\n<li>Impact of Volcanic Eruption on Climate &#8211; Why is the Tonga Volcano an Exception?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>As the world experiences record temperatures, scientists say an unusual culprit may be partly to blame: an underwater volcanic eruption off Tonga in the South Pacific last year.<\/li>\n<li>A massive underwater or submarine volcano erupted near the Pacific nation of Tonga in January 2022.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What are Submarine Volcanoes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>These are <strong>volcanoes located beneath the ocean&#8217;s surface<\/strong> and their eruptions throw rock and ash into the water, while molten lava glows beneath the surface.<\/li>\n<li>There are <strong>three ways<\/strong> in which they can take place &#8211;\n<ul>\n<li>Due to rift zones which are found in all of Earth\u2019s major ocean basins.<\/li>\n<li>Due to the collision of crustal plates.<\/li>\n<li>Occurs as a result of a magma plume rising through the Earth\u2019s crust overlying an area of melting in the Earth\u2019s mantle.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>According to the NOAA, <strong>the earth&#8217;s major ocean basins contain rift zones<\/strong> (at depths greater than 2,000 metres), also known as seafloor spreading centres or divergent plate boundaries, where crustal plates are formed.<\/li>\n<li>Therefore, <strong>around three-quarters<\/strong> (more than 70%) of all volcanic activity on Earth occurs as deep, underwater eruptions.<\/li>\n<li>However, the <strong>effects of these deep eruptions cannot be seen from the ocean&#8217;s surface<\/strong> because they are hidden beneath thousands of feet of water.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Significance of Submarine volcanoes:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>They create unique habitats, which makes them even more interesting.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Seamounts<\/strong>, which are underwater mountains formed by volcanic activity, are biologically diverse areas.<\/li>\n<li>Their shape aids in the deflection of <strong>food-carrying currents <\/strong>upward and attracts a variety of sessile fauna as well as the crustaceans and fish that feed on them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Submarine Volcano Eruption near the Pacific Nation of Tonga:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiram-prod.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/Submarine_Volcano_Eruption_near_the_Pacific_Nation_of_Tonga_f8db100d7f.png\" alt=\"Submarine Volcano Eruption near the Pacific Nation of Tonga\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Kingdom of Tonga<\/strong> is an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean (south of Samoa), about 2000 miles east of Brisbane, Australia.<\/li>\n<li>A violent eruption of an underwater volcano (in January 2022) near two small uninhabited islands of Tonga (<strong>Hunga-Ha\u2019apai and Hunga-Tonga<\/strong>) has sent shock waves around half the world.<\/li>\n<li>The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha&#8217;apai volcano has erupted on a regular basis in recent decades, but this was <strong>one of the massive explosions <\/strong>the volcano is capable of producing roughly every 1000 years.<\/li>\n<li>There can be<strong> two theories<\/strong> associated with this massive volcanic eruption &#8211;<strong>Fuel-coolant (magma-cold water) interaction and Explosion of a hidden caldera<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The eruption also caused a tsunami that swept through Tonga as well as neighbouring Fiji and Samoa.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Impact of Volcanic Eruption on Climate &#8211; Why is the Tonga Volcano an Exception?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The June-August (2023) period was the <strong>warmest on record worldwide<\/strong>, with heat waves occurring from Japan to the United States.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The 2015 Paris Agreement <\/strong>seeks to limit the rise in average temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times to avert the worst of climate change, from floods to wildfires.\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Temperatures are already up 1.2C (2.2F).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Many scientists say more research into volcanoes is vital <\/strong>to gauge how far eruptions can briefly affect the long-term trend of global warming, driven by burning fossil fuels.<\/li>\n<li><strong>While most big volcanic eruptions cool the planet with a sun-dimming haze<\/strong>, the eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha&#8217;apai blew ~60,000 Olympic swimming pools of <strong>water into the stratosphere.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Water vapour is a natural greenhouse gas (GHG)<\/strong>, trapping heat as it swirls around the globe.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hence, the Tongan volcano is an exception to the rule<\/strong> &#8211; the first volcano in the observational record that may warm rather than cool the surface.<\/li>\n<li>The eruption slightly increased the risk that global temperatures <strong>would temporarily breach 1.5C<\/strong> in at least one of the next five years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Some scientists say climate change might make eruptions more frequent.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In certain icy areas, a thaw could unleash eruptions because the weight of thick glaciers keeps a lid on some volcanoes.<\/li>\n<li>And downpours linked to climate change could erode the sides of volcanoes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Volcanoes inspire &#8216;geoengineers&#8217; to cool the planet.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Some scientists favour deliberately dimming sunshine as a shortcut to cool the Earth.<\/li>\n<li><strong>For example,<\/strong> a U.S. start-up recently launched balloons into the stratosphere carrying sulphur dioxide.<\/li>\n<li>An aerosol like sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere would reflect the sun rays back upwards, shading the earth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>However, many scientists oppose such &#8220;geoengineering&#8221;, as it might disrupt weather patterns and give some nations an excuse to avoid deep cuts in emissions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"media\">\n<div data-oembed-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=IwqvwpDRFhs\">\n<div><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IwqvwpDRFhs\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Q1) What is geoengineering?<\/h3>\n<p>Geoengineering, also known as climate engineering, describes a range of ways to intervene on a large scale in the Earth&#8217;s natural systems &#8211; the oceans, soils and atmosphere &#8211; to directly combat climate change.<\/p>\n<h3>Q2) Why do volcanoes erupt?<\/h3>\n<p>When enough magma (melted rocks) builds up in the magma chamber, it forces its way up to the surface and erupts, often causing volcanic eruptions.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><u>Source:<\/u><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.context.news\/climate-risks\/why-is-2023-so-hot-a-rare-pacific-volcano-is-among-the-suspects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Why is 2023 so hot? A rare Pacific volcano is among the suspects<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A violent eruption of an underwater volcano near islands of Tonga slightly increased the risk that global temperatures would temporarily breach 1.5C.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":37339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-37338","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}