The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic blast late last year is now making its consequences felt.

A massive volcanic eruption has accelerated a hole in the ozone layer.

The delayed effect of the eruption of Tonga’s underwater Hunga volcano last year has caused an ozone hole over Antarctica to open weeks earlier than usual.

The hole in the ozone layer – the portion of the stratosphere that protects our planet from the Sun’s ultraviolet rays – has been gradually healing over the past few decades thanks to the 1987 Montreal Protocol’s phase-out of ozone-destroying chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Still, this layer thins every September to form an ‘ozone hole’ above the South Pole.

In recent years, the hole has started to open in mid-to-late August, when spring begins in the southern hemisphere.

The increasing sunlight also drives the ozone-destroying activity of the remaining CFCs in the atmosphere. It then closes in November or early December.

This year, the ozone hole has started to open several weeks earlier at the beginning of August. By August 10, it had already grown to over 3 million square kilometres in size.

In comparison, it was still completely closed on the same date in 2021 and 2022.

Chris Lucas at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology attributed this early opening to the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano.

The eruption, considered the most explosive of the 21st century, injected vast amounts of water vapour into the stratosphere.

Above Antarctica, this water vapour has since turned into icy clouds that provide a surface on which CFCs can react with ozone, thereby speeding up its depletion, said Mr Lucas......

Not that it's much of a holiday place these days by all reports, but it was rockin'.

‘Whole villa shaking’: Bali holiday-makers rocked by 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

A second earthquake within 24 hours has been recorded near Indonesia, with the aftershocks being felt as far away as Darwin.

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake was recorded off the coast of Indonesia near the Banda Sea about 2.30pm AEST on Tuesday.

The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed there is no tsunami threat to Australia, despite the earthquake being felt more than 700km away in the Northern Territory....

4.4 about 8 miles south of me. Very light shaking motion. Moments ago. (4:13.10 UT) 14 km SSW of Westley, CA

Our Kiwi cousins across the gutter got shaking again.

New Zealand hit by magnitude-6 earthquake, no serious damage reported.

The ring grew a pimple.

World’s newest island forms near Japan after volcanic eruption.

A brand new island has burst from the Pacific Ocean after a powerful volcanic eruption that brought it to life.

The world’s newest island, which hasn’t been named, formed off the coast of Japan as a result of an undersea volcanic eruption on October 30, according to the country’s meteorological agency.

Its incredible rise from the ocean was documented in real-time in pictures and video....

Cheers.

Earthquake in the Philippines.

Magnitude 6.7 earthquake shakes southern Philippines, killing one.

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Grant
Darwin NT

Papua New Guinea's tallest volcano Mount Ulawun erupted:
https://apnews.com/article/papua-new-guinea-volcano-eruption-ulawun-8a7d6d1ba15713398b0b9c57af9e7415 wrote:

One of the South Pacific nation’s most active volcanoes, Mount Ulawun erupted on Monday, spewing ash as high as 15 kilometers (50,000 feet).

Papua New Guinea’s Geohazards Management Division said while the eruption had been downgraded since Monday from the maximum alert level, there were no signs that it was ending.

The division said heavy coatings of black ash were causing leaves to droop in palm oil plantations near the volcano and were accumulating on roofs.

A bit more shaking is going on.

Alaska Earthquake Strikes Off Coast as Tremors Detected.

An earthquake measuring a 5.6 magnitude rocked several islands near Alaska on Monday night.

The tremors were felt across the Fox Islands and the Aleutian Islands at 9:13 p.m.

The United States Geological Survey(USGS), a government agency, shared the details on its website giving the time of the earthquake in Coordinated Universal Time as "6:13 a.m. UTC."....

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/magnitude-76-earthquake-strikes-mindanao-philippines-emsc-2023-12-02/

Dec 2 (Reuters) - An earthquake of at least magnitude 7.5 struck Mindanao in the southern Philippines late on Saturday, triggering evacuation orders for some areas and southwestern Japanese coasts because of warnings of tsunami waves of a metre (3 feet) or more.

The Philippine Seismology Agency Phivolcs said the waves could hit the Philippines by midnight (1600 GMT) and continue for hours.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said there could be waves of up to 3 metres above the tide level along some Philippine coasts.

Still a lot of shaking going on.

Tsunami warnings lifted after Philippines magnitude-7.5 earthquake triggers hundreds of aftershocks.

Stay safe.

You have to wonder why people want to visit volcanoes.

Climbers killed, survivors found after Indonesia's Mount Marapi volcano erupts.

The bodies of 11 climbers have been found following the eruption of Indonesia's Mount Marapi volcano, while a search to find 12 more missing people has been halted temporarily over safety concerns.

Three more survivors were found on Monday along with the bodies of the 11 climbers, who were among the 75 in the area at the time of the eruption, according to Jodi Haryawan, the spokesperson for the local search and rescue team.

There were 49 climbers evacuated from the area earlier on Monday and many were being treated for burns, he said.

The 2,891 metre high volcano on Sumatra island erupted on Sunday, spewing ash as high as 3 kilometres into the air.

Authorities have raised the alert to the second-highest level and prohibited residents from going within 3km of the crater......

I can think of a lot of safer activities to do.

More shaking going on.

Vanuatu, New Caledonia: 7.3-magnitude earthquake rocks Pacific.

A tsunami warning was temporarliy issued for the island nations of Vanuatu and New Caledonia after an earthquake rocked the South Pacific on Thursday evening.

The quake hit at a depth of 48 kilometres about 123 kilometres south of the town of Isangel on one of Vanuatu’s southernmost islands and 338 kilometres from its capital, Port Vila, according to the United States Geological Survey.

It measured 7.3-magnitude on the Richter scale.

The tsunami warning was later rescinded after the threat passed.

Both Vanuatu and its closest neighbour, New Caledonia, the latter an overseas territory of France, are located some 3200 kilometres east of Australia.

“Hazardous waves from this earthquake are possible within 300 kilometres of the epicentre along the coasts of Vanuatu and New Caledonia,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said when it fiorst issued the warning.

There were no immediate reports of damage.....

Stay safe.

Now for a message for those Darwin Award participants.

Officials have a serious warning for tourists about Bali’s highest mountain, which people climb for its sweeping views of the island.

Good luck.

Just to the north of here.

A powerful earthquake has rocked Indonesia’s eastern region of Papua.

The magnitude 6.5 earthquake was located 162km northeast of Abepura, a district of Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said.

The agency said the quake had a depth of about 10km and hit early Sunday morning.

There have been no reports of serious damage or injuries.....

This doesn't look good.

Magnitude-7.6 earthquake hits north central japan, prompts tsunami warnings

Waves more than one metre high hit the coast of Wajima City in Ishikawa Prefecture, public broadcaster NHK reported.
A Tsunami of up to five metres high is believed to be reaching Noto in Ishikawa Prefecture — more than 500km west of Tokyo — according to the weather agency.

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Grant
Darwin NT

And the shaking continues as deaths are being reported. :-(

Four people have been confirmed dead following a powerful earthquake that rocked Japan, as residents to brace for tsunamis.

Stay safe.

And then on the other side of it.

4.1 earthquake rattles Southern California.

A 4.1 magnitude earthquake rattled Southern California just hours after it rang in the new year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS reported Monday that the 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck about 12 miles south of Ranchos Palos Verdes just before 8:30 a.m. local time. The USGS also noted that the earthquake had a depth of about 7 miles.....

Stay safe.

The death toll climbs in Japan as aftershocks continue. :-(

Powerful earthquakes leave at least 55 dead, destroy buildings on Japan's western coast.

The death toll continues to rise with still over 200 missing. :-(

Survivors are found in homes smashed by Japan earthquake that killed 94 people.

Over a Dozen Earthquakes Strike California in 25 Minutes

The first quake in the series measured a 4.8 on the magnitude scale, meaning that although it could be felt, it should have caused little damage. There was another similar-sized tremor when a 4.5 magnitude struck about six minutes later, but the rest were all under 4.0 with a few even under 3.0.

The first quake hit northwest of El Centro, which is nestled in the Imperial Valley in the southern California border region. The tremors continued around the area until the 13th quake was recorded some 25 minutes later in the early hours of Monday at 1:01 a.m. PST.