The skies over France could become blotted out by a sulphur dioxide cloud emanating from a volcanic eruption on the Canary Island of La Palma, which could lead to acid rain, according to French weather experts.
Mainland France is expected to face storms, according to forecasts, which will be "accompanied by sulphur dioxide, and therefore sulphuric acid, making them a bit more acidic than they usually are”, BFMTV weather expert Christophe Person said.
The eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano began on Sunday and has continued since, releasing some 6,000-11,500 tonnes of sulphur dioxide every day. According to estimates, however, the acidity of this week's rain is expected to remain “quite weak because [the sulphur dioxide] has been dispersed".
European climate observation programme Copernicus researcher Mark Parrington said that “the impact of the sulphur dioxide released by Cumbre Vieja on weather conditions and air quality will probably be very slight".
“The majority of SO2 emitted is sitting very high in the atmosphere, and the further away from the source it travels the higher it gets", he said, as cited by The Connexion.
The La Palma volcano eruption has prompted the evacuation of over 5,000 residents and destroyed some 100 houses. Certain airspace areas over the island have been restricted, with only government and emergency planes allowed to fly there.
According to estimates made by local volcanologists, the eruption could last “between 24 and 84 days”.