Mention the global occurrence of volcanic eruptions in 2021 and their impact on regional environment.
Approach · directive: “mention”
What it asks · Name the main 2021 eruptions and their locations, and describe their environmental effects on the surrounding regions, separating local from global effects.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Mention the major volcanic eruptions of 2021 and where they occurred
- Explain their impact on the regional environment, separating local from global effects
Open with · The year 2021 saw notable eruptions in the Atlantic, the Caribbean, Africa, Iceland and the western Pacific, with mainly regional rather than global environmental effects.
Cover
- La Palma (Cumbre Vieja), Canary Islands, September to December: lava destroyed homes and banana farms, entered the sea and released ash and sulphur dioxide.
- La Soufriere, St Vincent, April: explosive eruptions forced evacuations and coated land, crops and water supplies with ash; ash also reached Barbados.
- Nyiragongo, DR Congo, May: fast lava flows towards Goma forced mass evacuation and destroyed land, homes and roads; gas emissions added health risks.
- Fagradalsfjall, Iceland, March onwards: an effusive fissure eruption, the first on the Reykjanes peninsula in some 800 years, with gas pollution but little ash.
- Mount Semeru (Indonesia, December) produced deadly pyroclastic flows; Japan's Fukutoku-Okanoba (August) sent pumice rafts that hindered shipping and fishing; Etna erupted repeatedly.
- Regional effects: ashfall smothers crops and contaminates water; sulphur dioxide brings acid rain and poor air; flights are disrupted; lava and lahars destroy habitat.
- Global effect: none injected enough sulphur into the stratosphere to cool the climate, unlike Pinatubo (1991); volcanic soils and geothermal energy are long-term gains.
Close with · The 2021 eruptions mostly caused local displacement, farmland loss and air pollution; monitoring and timely evacuation kept loss of life low in most cases.
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 237 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
The 2021 eruptions were spread across plate boundaries and hotspots in the Atlantic, the Caribbean, the East African Rift, Iceland and the western Pacific; their environmental effects were regional rather than global.
Major eruptions of 2021
- La Palma, Canary Islands (Cumbre Vieja, September–December): lava buried homes and banana farms, built new land at the sea and released ash and sulphur dioxide.
- La Soufrière, St Vincent (April): explosive eruptions forced evacuations and coated farmland, crops and water supplies with ash that also reached Barbados.
- Nyiragongo, DR Congo (May): fast lava towards Goma forced mass flight and destroyed homes, roads and farmland; gas emissions added health risks.
- Fagradalsfjall, Iceland (March onwards): an effusive fissure eruption, the first on the Reykjanes peninsula in about 800 years, with gas pollution but little ash.
- Semeru, Indonesia (December) sent deadly pyroclastic flows; Fukutoku-Okanoba, Japan (August) spread pumice rafts that choked harbours and fisheries; Etna erupted repeatedly.
Impact on the regional environment
- Ashfall smothered crops and soils and contaminated drinking water; sulphur dioxide brought acid rain and foul air.
- Lava and lahars destroyed habitat, farmland and settlements; ash clouds grounded flights and pumice disrupted shipping.
- Global effect: none injected enough sulphur into the stratosphere to cool the climate as Pinatubo did in 1991; fertile volcanic soils and geothermal energy are long-term gains.
The 2021 eruptions mainly caused local displacement, farmland loss and air pollution; monitoring and timely evacuation kept deaths low in most cases.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.