What is Volcanic winter?
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}} A '''volcanic winter''' is a [[climate]] cooling caused by an extremely large [[volcano|volcanic]] eruption. Such an eruption releases [[Volcanic ash|ash]] and [[sulfur dioxide]] in huge quantities. They form [[aerosol]]s of [[sulfuric acid]]. When they reach the [[stratosphere]] more [[sunlight]] is [[reflection|reflected]], and some is [[Absorption|absorbed]] by the stratosphere. These reactions heat up the stratosphere, but lead to a drop in the temperature on the ground. The [[Siberian Traps]], [[Emeishan Traps]], and [[Deccan Plateau#The Deccan Traps|Deccan Traps]] are huge [[flood basalt]] provinces caused by volcanism. They are the cause, or part of the cause, of several [[List of extinction events|mass extinctions]], especially the [[Permian–Triassic extinction event]]. [[Nuclear winter]] is a [[theory]] of similar effects which might be caused by a large-scale [[nuclear war]]. ==Recent events== [[Image:Pinatubo early eruption 1991.jpg|thumb|Pinatubo early eruption 1991]] The effects of recent volcanic eruptions on winters are modest in scale but historically their effects have been significant. <!--most recent first--> Most recently, the 1991 explosion of [[Mount Pinatubo]], a stratovolcano in the [[Philippines]], cooled global temperatures for about 2–3 years.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Brohan P. | display-authors = etal |year=2006|title=Uncertainty estimates in regional and global observed temperature changes: a new dataset from 1850|journal=J. Geophysical Research|volume=111 | issue = D12 |pages=D12106|doi=10.1029/2005JD006548|bibcode=2006JGRD..11112106B| s2cid = 250615 | url = https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/11273977/UNCERTAINTY2006.pdf }}</ref> In 1883, the [[explosion]] of [[Krakatoa]] (Krakatau) created volcanic winter-like conditions. The next four years after the explosion were unusually cold, and the winter of 1887 to 1888 included powerful blizzards.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=University of Minnesota |title=With a bang: not a whimper |url=http://clima