# Icelandic Volcano--Weather effects? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 15, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255 "2010-04-15T20:51:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/1 "2010-04-15T20:51:41Z")
So. Iceland is having a very, very big volcanic eruption, shutting down Euro-airspace. Since big volcanic eruptions have caused cold weather in the past, will this eruption have an effect on the weather, & how much? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/2 "2010-04-15T21:55:07Z")
Well, the eruption of Tambora cooled things off the following year but Tambora was a _lot_ bigger than this volcano is. As such I doubt this one will have much of an effect. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/3 "2010-04-15T22:16:52Z")
Weather effects depend in part on how long this eruption continues, as well as how intensely it erupts. Probably too early to say, though at this point I doubt it’s put out enough debris to have much effect. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Philosopher)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/4 "2010-04-15T23:52:27Z")
I can say it hasn’t had any effect on the weather here in the UK so far, even though the cloud’s been directly overheard for a good 7-10 hours now. If you didn’t pay attention to the news you’d have literally no way of telling. The sun was just as bright earlier, the stars are just as clear now, the temperature’s the same as it’s been for a week. I know the ash is supposed to be in the upper atmosphere but I at least thought it was going to be noticeable when there were no clouds! Flights here are supposed to resume tomorrow morning and there’s been no mention of long-lasting weather effects so it seems like the answer is that there won’t be much effect on the weather at all. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/5 "2010-04-16T00:24:08Z")
From the [New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/science/16erupt.html): > [@](#): > > “It’s not enough that it’s probably going to be cooling the whole climate,” [volcanologist Bill Burton] added. But on a regional basis it could create what is called volcano weather, with smoglike conditions. That is what happened during the eruption of another Icelandic volcano in 1783, which spewed sulfur dioxide and other compounds and created a persistent haze. … > > Dr. Burton said the eruption ranked low on a measure of power called the volcanic explosivity index — certainly nowhere near Pinatubo, which rated a 6 on the 1 to 8 scale, or the 1980 explosive eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State, which rated a 5. > > Pinatubo spewed so much ash, dust and aerosol particles into the atmosphere that it lowered average air temperatures worldwide for several years, as the particles blocked some sunlight from reaching the Earth. So far the Icelandic eruption has spewed far less material, and its location, in the high latitudes, also reduces its global impact. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/6 "2010-04-16T06:25:57Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > So. Iceland is having a very, very big volcanic eruption, Actually, it isn’t. This is a fairly normal eruption for an Icelandic volcano, which means it isn’t terribly large on a world scale. What makes it newsworthy is the ash cloud - it happens to be spewing a lot of ash, and the winds are carrying it into an area that significantly disrupts air travel. Oh, and is making the air downwind smell a bit odd. I’m not getting the rotten egg smell some people have complained about, more a major fire in a hot dog factory kind of smell, but it’s still weird and not exactly pleasant. I think I could fit in a few more weasel words if you’d like. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/7 "2010-04-16T11:28:49Z")
As \*\*flodnak \*\*says, Eyjafjallajoekull is fairly small beer. According to some [of the reports](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8623239.stm) the worry is that this is a precursor to an eruption of the much larger Katla which is linked. ps It’s great hearing the newsies trying to say “Eyjafjallajoekull” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/8 "2010-04-16T11:56:55Z")
> [@MarcusF](#): > > ps It’s great hearing the newsies trying to say “Eyjafjallajoekull” 😃 It annoys me that journalists are writing it this way. The original Icelandic term is Eyjafjallajökull. I can understand that when transliterating into English, you have to do something about that diaresis over the o. But Icelandic is not German, and ö is not optionally written as oe. I mean, when’s the last time you saw an English news report about the singer Bjoerk? So BBC, _Evening Standard_, et al., if you feel you must transliterate, then just leave the damn accent off. Quit pretending that Iceland is a German province. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Philosopher)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/9 "2010-04-16T12:36:31Z")
> [@MarcusF](#): > > As \*\*flodnak \*\*says, Eyjafjallajoekull is fairly small beer. According to some [of the reports](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8623239.stm) the worry is that this is a precursor to an eruption of the much larger Katla which is linked. > > ps It’s great hearing the newsies trying to say “Eyjafjallajoekull” 😃 OK I assumed it would be pronounced something along the lines of “ey-SHAAF-SHAAL-a-SHO-kull”. But I just listened to the [pronunciation](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull.ogg) on Wikipedia. What the hell is that?! How are English newscasters attempting to pronounce that? ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/10 "2010-04-16T12:44:15Z")
Sounds easy. Eva - lay - vuk ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/11 "2010-04-16T13:05:13Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](#): > > OK I assumed it would be pronounced something along the lines of “ey-SHAAF-SHAAL-a-SHO-kull”. Why would you think that? In most European languages \ is pronounced like the English \. (I don’t know of any in which it’s pronounced like English \.) And with that in mind, the word is pronounced exactly as you would expect, with one exception: in Icelandic \ is usually pronounced as English \, as in “hatless”. So the whole thing would come out as something like “EY-ah-FYAT-lah-YEUH-kutl”, or more precisely /ˈeɪaˌfjatlaˌjœkʏtl/. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/12 "2010-04-16T16:19:40Z")
> [@MarcusF](#): > > As \*\*flodnak \*\*says, Eyjafjallajoekull is fairly small beer. According to some [of the reports](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8623239.stm) the worry is that this is a precursor to an eruption of the much larger Katla which is linked. The BBC news articles doesn’t do the Katla volcano justice. Katla has a history of volcanic eruptions [including very, very large volcanic flows](http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/en/volcanoes/europe/iceland/katla/), floods that rival the annual output of the Amazon River, and [ejecting dust and gases that can disrupt weather patterns for years](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35988484/) and create poison clouds spreading across northern Europe. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/13 "2010-04-17T03:07:12Z")
How will the ash cloud affect the continental U.S. when it gets here? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/14 "2010-04-17T04:59:25Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > How will the ash cloud affect the continental U.S. when it gets here? Probably spectacular sunrises and sunsets at first. Potential short-term weather changes. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-volcano-weather-effects/536255/15 "2010-04-17T07:31:42Z")
There is a [BBC](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8624791.stm) article about a previous eruption in Iceland and it’s effects on the UK.