Cumbre Vieja 2-Month Eruption Creates Same Amount Of SO2 As EU In 2019 - Scientists

The Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma island, Spain, emitted the same amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2) during two months of its ongoing eruption as the whole of the European Union in 2019, the Volcanology Institute of the Canaries (INVOLCAN) said on Thursday

MADRID (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th November, 2021) The Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma island, Spain, emitted the same amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2) during two months of its ongoing eruption as the whole of the European Union in 2019, the Volcanology Institute of the Canaries (INVOLCAN) said on Thursday.

"The research carried out by scientists from the Volcanology Institute of the Canaries (INVOLCAN) and the University of Manchester (UK) shows that the amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2) that the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja 2021 has emitted into the atmosphere during the first 59 days (of the eruption) is practically the same as the amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2) generated by human or anthropogenic pollution emitted into the atmosphere by 28 member states of the European Union in 2019," INVOLCAN posted on Facebook.

Moreover, INVOLCAN notes that when comparing the level of emissions during the same period of time, which is 59 days, emissions from the Cumbre Vieja eruption are seven times greater than generated by the whole EU in 2019.

The ongoing eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano began on September 19, followed by a few thousand earthquakes of various magnitude. The eruption led to the evacuation of more than seven thousand people, the destruction of thousands of buildings, and lava covering more than 850 hectares.