Earth-shattering shockwaves from a colossal undersea volcanic eruption in the Pacific Ocean was felt nearly 10,000 miles away in Tayside.
Dramatic satellite images showed the long, rumbling eruption of Tonga’s Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano, which spewed smoke and ash miles into the atmosphere on Saturday.
The eight-minute eruption triggered a 7.4 magnitude earthquake and was heard across the Pacific, with a thunderous roar heard 6000 miles away in Alaska.
The seismic natural event also triggered tsunami waves that crashed into Hawaii as well as North America’s west coast 5000 miles away.
A tsunami warning was also issued for parts of Australia’s East Coast, while in Fiji, almost 500 miles away, capital Suva reported “loud thunder sounds”.
But the eruption was also observed on the other side of the world by weather watcher Graham Smith, who runs the Fife Weather website.
Graham, who lives in Lochgelly near the Kinross-shire border, used his equipment which picked up the arrival of the shockwave which caused a small spike in air pressure at around 6pm on Saturday.
A second spike was recorded at around 2am on Sunday, as the shockwave travelled west in the opposite direction.
“I never thought I’d record something like that when I set my weather station up. It’s a timely reminder that we all live on the same planet,” he said.
The Met Office also confirmed Tonga’s huge volcanic eruption caused changes to air pressure waves across the UK.
Meteorologists confirmed a ‘ripple’ effect as the eruption sent air pressure rising across the eastern coastline, following Saturday’s massive volcanic eruption.
The Met Office showed readings of the shockwave in a tweet at the weekend, adding: “Our atmosphere acts as a fluid, like dropping a pebble in a still pond and seeing the ripples.”
