The pressure fluctuation is likely due to the volcanic eruption in Tonga, IRM meteorologist David Dehenauw said on Sunday. He points out that such a wave of pressure does not have a negative impact on the population. “Saturday between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. the pressure rose from 1.025 to 1.026 hectopascals before falling,” says David Dehenauw. “We suspect the fluctuation is related to the volcanic eruption. We see no other explanation.” That this fluctuation took place is mainly an astonishing fact, according to the meteorologist. “This eruption happened on the other side of the world and we notice something on our measuring instruments.”
David Dehenauw finds this observation striking. “You sometimes see atmospheric pressure fluctuations during gusts, in a thunderstorm or during a squall (suddenly high wind). Sometimes you get a slightly higher pressure peak, which then disappears when the gust has passed. I n “I’ve never seen this from such an underwater tremor or during a volcanic eruption. Probably it’s happened before, but we had never measured it.”