{"id":14906,"date":"2021-04-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/22-04-2021\/sulphur-dioxide-emission-from-la-soufriere-volcano\/"},"modified":"2021-04-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-22T00:00:00","slug":"sulphur-dioxide-emission-from-la-soufriere-volcano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-04-2021\/sulphur-dioxide-emission-from-la-soufriere-volcano","title":{"rendered":"Sulphur Dioxide Emission From La Soufriere Volcano"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>In News<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">Recently,<strong> <\/strong>the <strong>World Meteorological Organization<\/strong> announced that the Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) emissions from the <strong>La Soufriere <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/website\/blog\/details\/340\"><strong><span style=\"color:#1155cc\">volcano<\/span><\/strong><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/website\/blog\/details\/340\"> <\/a>eruption reached India<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>About La Soufriere Volcano <\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">La Soufri\u00e8re is an <strong>active<\/strong> <strong>stratovolcano <\/strong>on the <strong>Caribbean island<\/strong> <strong>of Saint Vincent<\/strong> in the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which lies within the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea.<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, located in the <strong>southern Caribbean<\/strong>, consists of more than 30 islands and cays, nine of which are inhabited.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">It is the <strong>highest peak in Saint Vincent<\/strong> and has had five recorded explosive eruptions since 1718, most recently in April 2021.<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">The last time the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/website\/blog\/details\/340\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\">volcano <\/span><\/a>had erupted was in 1979.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cfstatic.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/file_library\/mix_content\/341649108435584700_image.png\" style=\"height:320px; width:334px\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"Table\" style=\"border-collapse:collapse; border:none; width:624px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color:#fff2cc; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:1px solid black; vertical-align:top; width:624px\">\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>Stratovolcano<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">They are steep cones built by<strong> both pyroclastic<\/strong> and<strong> lava-flow eruptions<\/strong>. The cone-shaped form slopes up gradually and becomes steepe<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">Stratovolcanoes are composed of volcanic rock types that vary from basalt to rhyolite, but their composition is generally andesite. They may erupt many thousands of times over life spans of millions of years.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cfstatic.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/file_library\/mix_content\/865177480091264300_image.png\" style=\"height:291px; width:264px\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.istockphoto.com\/illustrations\/stratovolcano\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\">Image Courtesy :Istock<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>Impacts of Eruption<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">Volcanic emissions reaching the stratosphere can have a <strong>cooling effect on global temperatures. <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">The most significant climate impacts from volcanic injections into the stratosphere come from the c<strong>onversion of sulphur dioxide<\/strong> to sulphuric acid, which condenses rapidly in the stratosphere to form f<strong>ine sulphate aerosols.<\/strong><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">The aerosols <strong>increase the reflection of radiation from the Sun<\/strong> back into space, cooling the Earth\u2019s lower atmosphere or troposphere,<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">Bigger eruptions during the past century have caused a decrease in temperature of 0.27 degree Celsius or more on the Earth\u2019s surface for up to three years.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"Table\" style=\"border-collapse:collapse; border:none; width:624px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color:#fff2cc; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:1px solid black; vertical-align:top; width:624px\">\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>Sulphur Dioxide<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">\u00a0<strong>Characteristics<\/strong>: Sulphur dioxide (SO2), a colourless, bad smelling, toxic gas, is part of a larger group of chemicals referred to as sulphur oxides (SOx).<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">It creates secondary pollutants once released into the air.<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">Secondary pollutants formed with sulphur dioxide include sulphate aerosols, particulate matter, and acid rain<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Source<\/strong>:These gases, especially SO2, are emitted by the burning of fossil fuels \u2014 coal, oil, and diesel \u2014 or other materials that contain sulphur. Sources include power plants,metals processing and smelting facilities, and vehicles.<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Sulphur dioxide<\/strong> is also a natural by-product of volcanic activity.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>Impacts of Sulphur Dioxide (SO2)<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Respiratory illness:<\/strong> Sulphur dioxide, associated SOx\u00a0 and secondary pollutants can contribute to respiratory illness by making breathing more difficult, especially for children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing conditions.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Smog<\/strong>: Sulfur dioxide and other SOx are partly culpable in the formation of thick haze and smog, which can impair visibility in addition to impacting health.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Acid Rain: <\/strong>It can cause direct harm to trees and plants by damaging exposed tissues and, subsequently, decreasing plant growth. Other sensitive ecosystems and waterways are also impacted by acid rain.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/news\/natural-disasters\/sulphur-dioxide-from-caribbean-volcano-reaches-india-wmo-confirms-76547\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\">Source :DT<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News Recently, the World Meteorological Organization announced that the Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) emissions from the La Soufriere volcano eruption reached India About La Soufriere Volcano La Soufri\u00e8re is an active stratovolcano on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent in the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which lies within the Lesser Antilles in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[60,26,25,162],"class_list":["post-14906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-environmental-pollution-degradation","tag-gs-3","tag-gs1","tag-volcanic-activity"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/4442416current-affairs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}