Volcanoes are openings or vents in the earth, which spews molten rocks called magma combined with gases into the air. Molten rock is called lava once it is spewed out of the volcano.  There are about 15,000 volcanoes around the world with more than 80% of it preponderant around the Pacific regions called the ‘˜ring of fire’.

Fact 1.   During March 2010, air travel was disrupted within Europe for six days due to the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland.

Fact  2. Volcanic ash can damage aircraft engines but are not visible on the radar of airplanes. Nine volcanic ash centres around the world track the path of volcanic ash and pre-empt aircraft of any dangerous situations.  

Fact 3.   The year of 1816 is synonymously also known as the ‘˜Year without Summer’ or the year ‘˜eighteen hundred and froze to death’ within the Northern Hemisphere when there was a dip in the temperatures of about 3 – 30C. One of the reasons for this was due to the volcanic eruption of Mount Tamobora in Indonesia.

Fact 4. The word volcano originates from the Roman god of fire Vulcan.

Fact 5.  Volcanoes have also been known to house castles. In Scotland, Edinburgh Castle, dated as 12th century is situated on an extinct volcano.

Fact 6.  Volcanic soil is considered one of the most fertile soils on earth attracting intense agricultural activities from Italy to Indonesia.

Fact 7. More than three-quarters of all volcanoes erupt under the oceans.

Fact 8.  The volcanic eruption scale is measured on the volcanic explosivity index (VEI). Similar to Richter scale for earthquakes, it measures the height of explosion, duration and volume of ash produced.

Fact 9. Krakatoa in Indonesia still reigns as one of the biggest of volcanic eruption (VEI 6). It erupted in 1883 bringing down global temperatures by 1.2 0C, due to the huge volume of sulphur dioxide  resulted in clouds reflecting light from the sun.

Fact 10.  Lake Toba in Indonesia is the largest volcanic caldera in the world spanning 100 km long, 30 km wide and 505m at its deepest. Having a VEI of eight, which is regarded as mega colossal, it can be considered as the mother of all volcanic eruptions within the last two million years.