EarthSky posted an interesting story this week about a new study that indicates that the eruption of tropical volcanoes like Mount Pinatubo in 1991 can lead to the development or strengthening of El Niño conditions. While we can’t predict when a large tropical eruption will occur, once it does we can use the results of this study to determine what the likely climate conditions will be for the next few years following the eruption. Eruptions are already known to cause cooling in the atmosphere for up to five years (depending on how much sulfuric acid is lofted high in the sky by the eruption), but knowing that an El Niño is likely will give us additional information about the regional patterns of weather expected. You can read about it at https://earthsky.org/earth/tropical-volcanoes-trigger-el-ninos?mc_cid=910e322a75&mc_eid=b22da16cce.
