he massive eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano this January in Tonga, in the south Pacific Ocean, was the volcanic equivalent of a 'near miss' asteroid whizzing by the Earth. The eruption was the largest since Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines blew in 1991, and the biggest explosion ever recorded by instruments.Ash fell over hundreds of kilometres, affecting infrastructure, agriculture and fish stocks. The damage caused amounted to 18.5% of Tonga's gross domestic product. Submarine cables were severed, cutting off Tonga's communications with the outside world for several days; farther afield, the blast created a worldwide shockwave and tsunamis that reached Japanese and North and South American coastlines. Mercifully, the eruption