What's the real role of volcanoes in climate change?

First, a roundup of the latest data for December from the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

On a global scale, December 2021 was 0.3 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average, making it the sixth warmest December on record.

In Europe there was a striking contrast in temperatures. Western and southern Europe were much warmer than average last month. So much so that Bala in the UK hit a new record high of 16.5 degrees on New Year's Eve. Across Scandinavia, the Baltics and northern Russia it was colder than usual. Sweden had its first colder-than-average December since 2012.

With 2021 behind us we can now say last year fits into the overall warming trend since 1970, with 2021 classed as one of the seven warmest years on record, despite being cooler than the most recent years.

Do the gases thrown out by volcanoes have a long-term impact on our atmosphere? Last month, with the volcano eruption in La Palma still underway, we set off to the Canary Islands to investigate.

Volcanologists Ana Pardo Cofrades and Catherine Hayer from the University of Manchester.html) in the UK worked every day since the eruption began in September 2021 to measure the quantities of sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide and other gases emitted by the Cumbre Vieja volcano.

Pointing to the plumes of white steam rising from the hillside, Cofrades explains: "We have the lower vents there that are just degassing...the gas is coming from the magma. So as long as there's magma down there, there's emission of gases,"

The gases are a danger for people close to the volcano, but overall they have been less of a problem for the people of La Palma than the lava and ash. Three thousand buildings have been destroyed by lava flows, and the fine silicate ash is to be found