A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s eastern Kamchatka Peninsula earlier this week, triggering tsunami waves that reached several countries. The quake occurred 136 km east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
While no fatalities have been confirmed, minor injuries and limited structural damage have been reported. Authorities in Russia, Japan, and the United States have since downgraded their alerts, indicating that the immediate danger has passed.
In response to public concerns over whether climate change influenced the event, UCT climate expert Professor Peter Johnson clarified that tsunamis are not climate-related.
“Let’s look at what causes tsunamis,” Johnson explained. “Tsunamis are the result of earthquakes—shifts in tectonic plates beneath the Earth’s surface, typically around 10 to 50 kilometres deep. These quakes cause massive vibrations which, when transmitted to the ocean, create large waves.”
Johnson continued: “When that wave reaches the shore, it can pull water away from the coast and then come crashing back in, often causing significant destruction inland. These phenomena occur primarily along tectonic boundaries like the Ring of Fire, which includes Japan.”
Addressing the link to climate change, he stated, “At no point did I mention the climate system, ocean, atmosphere, or sun as part of the cause. There is no scientific evidence that climate change leads to more or stronger earthquakes. Tsunamis remain environmental hazards, but they are entirely geological in origin.”
Listen to the full interview below:
VOC News
Photo: Pixabay
