Anak Krakatoa’s Eruption

The volcano, located in Indonesia, already common in the history books because of the catastrophic eruptions provoked by its “father”, Krakatoa, in 1883 and itself in 2018, was the focus of Indonesian news Saturday (April 11th). 

Anak Krakatoa only emerged in 1928 and already has more than 18 miles of length. Two violent eruptions, one following the other, not only scared the regions’ residents but brought back dark memories from past explosions. The eruptions that caused nine miles of smoke to fire up the air occurred from 9:58 to 10:35 p.m. on Friday (April 10th) and were the biggest since 2018 when the volcano caused a tsunami that provoked the death of more than 400 people.

Ninety miles away, citizens of Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, reported “lots of thunder-like noises” right after the explosion. Seventy-nine miles closer, in the Sebesi Island, locals were presented with thick smoke blurring their vision as soon as they left home. Thankfully, there were no deaths or injuries derived from the incident.  

Days later, Indonesia’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation emitted a level 2 (out of 4) alert which means the volcano has lengthening risks of a potential eruption. Fortunately, a NASA study made with the Landsat 8’s (satellite) footage from the area shows that the two eruptions and a possible new one have zero to the very slim risk of causing any change in the area’s climate since the smoke appears to be mostly composed of water vapor and gas, without any indications of ashes.