What negative effects can explosive volcanoes have on the people living in Iceland and surrounding areas?
The major dangers to humans on Iceland include flooding, lung damage (the ash is like very fine shards of broken glass), poisoning by fluoride, livestock loss, agricultural damage, and disruption of life due to thick deposits of ash over everything. Dust from volcanic eruptions eventually settles out of the atmosphere. Lightning discharges occur over the currently erupting volcano. Strong surface winds are also associated with the eruption. In some volcanoes, rising water vapor triggers huge thunderstorms. Climate is only locally affected by most ash eruptions. If a much larger eruption shoved ash into the upper atmosphere, the Earth’s temperature can be affected. A Philippine volcanic eruption in the early 1990’s lowered world temperatures almost a degree Fahrenheit.
