Royston (Iceni) Weather Station

Mount Pinatubo eruption reaches out to Royston - 1

After several ominous warnings in the preceding days, on 15th June 1991 Mount Pinatubo (15° 13' N, 120° 35'E) on the island of Luzon in the Philippines erupted catastrophically after some 600 years of inactivity. The explosion caused the top 500 ft of the mountain to be blown off.  

Large quantities of sulphur dioxide gas and fine volcanic ash were ejected into the atmosphere from the volcano. The fine particles of ash gradually spread out across the globe from their source, and by December 1991 had reached the British Isles. This resulted in a succession of brilliant sunsets in Royston, the intense and fiery nature of which had not seen before (or since) at Royston (Iceni) Weather Station.

By early January 1992 the veil of ash began to recede from the British Isles and the spectacular sunsets quickly faded. On a historical note it has been reported that the Krakatoa eruption in 1883 similarly gave a series of brilliant sunsets around the world.

The two photographs below were taken from Royston (Iceni) Weather Station in December 1991. Two further photographs can be seen by following the link below.

More photographs - click here

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