Krakatoa is a part of Indonesian archipelago. In the year of 1883, a huge volcanic eruption took place. It had disastrous effects. The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) began in the afternoon of Sunday, 26 August 1883 (with origins as early as May of that year), and peaked in the late morning of Monday, 27 August when over 70% of the island and its surrounding archipelago were destroyed as it collapsed into a caldera. The 1883 eruption was one of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic events in recorded history. At least 36,417 deaths are attributed to the eruption and the tsunamis it created. Significant additional effects were also felt around the world in the days and weeks after the volcano's destruction. At the local time 14:00 hrs in Krakatoa, a black cloud of ash could be seen 27 km (17 mi) high. At this point, the eruption was virtually continuous and explosions could be heard every ten minutes or so. Ships within 20 km (12 mi) of the volcano reported heavy ash fall, with pieces of hot pumice up to 10 cm (4 in) in diameter landing on their decks. Between 18:00 and 19:00 hours, a small tsunami hit the shores of Java and Sumatra, some 40 km (25 mi) away.The pressure wave generated by the colossal fourth and final explosion radiated out from Krakatoa at 1,086 km/h (675 mph). The eruption measured an ear splitting 310 dB, loud enough to be heard clearly 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) away. It was so powerful that it ruptured the eardrums of sailors 64 km (40 miles) away on ships in the Sunda Strait. The sound was 3 times the sound you occasionally hear in Rock Concerts. In the year following the 1883 Krakatoa eruption, average Northern Hemisphere summer temperatures fell by as much as 1.2 °C (2.2 °F). The weather patterns were severely effected.
Effects before and after the eruption
The Krakatoa eruption injected an unusually large amount of sulfur dioxide gas high into the stratosphere, which was subsequently transported by high-level winds all over the planet. This led to a global increase in sulfuric acid concentration in high-level cirrus clouds. The resulting increase in cloud reflectivity (or albedo) reflected more incoming light from the sun than usual, and cooled the entire planet until the suspended sulfur fell to the ground as acid precipitation.
Coral block (c. 1885) thrown onto the shore of Java after the eruption
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