Tonga Volcano's Eruption Cloud Unexpectedly Destroys Atmospheric Methane

In January 2022, the Hunga volcano in Tonga erupted with a violence that reshaped both the seafloor beneath the Pacific and the chemistry of the atmosphere above it. What scientists discovered in the aftermath — that the eruption's column had chemically destroyed methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases — speaks to how nature's most catastrophic moments can simultaneously wound and instruct. The same event that displaced thousands and triggered a devastating tsunami across the Pacific also opened a rare window into volcanic processes that may quietly shape the climate in ways humanity