Global warming may pause due to a supervolcano

The volcanic winter that could follow the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano in the United States could temporarily slow the pace of global warming. This was announced on September 22 by the vice president of the American Climate Central Center, climatologist Kristina Dahl.

The expert noted that the consequences of such a large-scale natural phenomenon can weaken the warming effect caused by human activity. Dahl cited the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 as a historical example. This event was the second largest in the 20th century and led to a decrease in global temperature by about 0.6 degrees.

According to the EBSCO portal, the eruption of Pinatubo in 1991 caused a temporary cooling of the Earth's surface. This was due to the release of about 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere. In the atmosphere, this substance turns into sulfuric acid, which effectively blocks solar heat. After the Pinatubo incident, this effect persisted for more than a year.

At the same time, the expert stressed that the anthropogenic factor remains dominant. According to the estimates of the climatologist, the increase in the temperature of the planet due to human activity is about 1.4 degrees.

""In a typical year, the impact of emissions of heat-trapping gases on the temperature of our planet far exceeds the impact of volcanic activity," Dahl added in an interview with RIA Novosti."

In July of this year, an earthquake of magnitude 3.3 was recorded in the caldera area of the Yellowstone supervolcano in Wyoming. It became the most powerful since the beginning of 2026, and the main shock was preceded by 11 weaker seismic events. Some researchers believe that the object may be closer to the active eruption phase than previously thought.

The Yellowstone caldera has experienced three catastrophic eruptions over the past 2.1 million years. Despite the concerns of a number of scientists, the US Geological Survey (USGS) says that there are currently no signs of a supervolcano preparing for a new giant explosion.

According to the publication Wide Open Spaces, seismic activity in the region has been recorded before. So, in the first week of 2024, a "swarm" of earthquakes was observed in Yellowstone, including two tremors of magnitude 3.1 that occurred on January 1 and 3.

According to the Buckrail portal, citing a statement by Michael Poland, a representative of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, such seismic swarms are often caused by the interaction of water with existing rock faults. According to the scientist, such events are not a sign of an imminent eruption.

In general, the level of seismic activity in the park remains within the normal range. According to the Buckrail report, in 2023, the geological situation was characterized as relatively calm: about 1.6 thousand events were recorded, while the annual average is considered to be a range from 1.5 thousand to 2.5 thousand tremors.