Places around Australia and New Zealand have been experiencing unusual sunrises and sunsets for the past few weeks, and it is believed that Tonga’s volcanic eruption in January may be behind the event.
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Volcanic eruptions in Tonga have caused large-scale changes in sunrises and sunsets across Australia and New Zealand. (Photograph: Getty)
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The amount of aerosols near New Zealand has doubled since the January eruption in Tonga, and air particles are said to cause refraction and transform the sky into beautiful masterpieces.
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The Lauder Atmospheric Research Station in central Otago confirmed the presence of abnormal spikes in aerosols in the stratosphere. (Photo: AFP)
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Aerosols have spread to Australia and other neighboring countries over the past few weeks, with researchers in New Zealand hoping that more countries could experience similar events in the coming months.
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This is not the first time a ‘volcanic eruption’ has occurred in New Zealand. Similar changes have taken place in the sky since the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991.