The South Pacific archipelago of Tonga could spend days, or even weeks, cut off from the rest of world because of difficulties in repairing its sole undersea communications cable, which an operator said was ruptured during a massive volcanic eruption.

In the aftermath of a 13-mile-wide volcanic eruption in Tonga, it could take weeks to repair an undersea communications cable that connected the South Pacific archipelago to the rest of the world.

Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai, an underwater volcano off the coast of Tonga, erupted Saturday, carrying volcanic ash nearly 20 kilometers into the air and causing tsunami waves that reached the western shores of the U.S. On Tuesday, the Tongan government confirmed three fatalities in its first official update following the eruption.

The archipelago relied on a single fiber optic cable for global communications, Reuters reported. But the cable ruptured amid the 7.6-magnitude earthquake as the volcano erupted.

“Due to the damage to the international fibre optic cable, the internet is down,” according to the Tongan government’s statement. “The two communications operators are working on satellite options to restore some services including the internet.”

WEATHER
The volcano in Tonga is still erupting which could make clean up difficult.

Since the eruption, internet traffic in Tonga has plummeted, according to data from Cloudflare.

Operators in Tonga will prioritize the restoration of international calling and other communications services, such as email, according to the statement. Domestic calls are also limited, according to the statement.

Craige Sloots, marketing and sales director at Southern Cross Cable Network says if all goes well, it could take two weeks for it to arrive.

Snow has settled on the sand of the Sahara Desert after temperatures dropped below freezing.

Ice blanketed the dune in the rare phenomenon in the largest desert in the world, where temperatures of 136.4F (58C) have been recorded.

Ice blanketed the dune in the unusual phenomenon in the largest hot desert in the world, where temperatures of 58C have been recorded.

The ice created stunning patterns in the sand after the area saw a sprinkling of snow fall unexpectedly.

The dusting of snow is the fifth time in 42 years that the town has seen snow, with previous occurrences in 1979, 2016, 2018 and 2021.

Ain Sefra – known as The Gateway to the Desert – is around 3,000ft above sea level and surrounded by the Atlas Mountains.

Overnight, the mercury in the Algerian town is currently plummeting to -2C (28F) as snow continues to be dumped on the dunes

The ice created stunning patterns in the sand after the area saw a sprinkling of snow fall unexpectedly

The dusting of snow is the fifth time in 42 years that the town has seen snow, with previous occurrences in 1979, 2016, 2018 and 2021

Ain Sefra – known as The Gateway to the Desert – is around 3,000ft above sea level and surrounded by the Atlas Mountains.

The Sahara Desert covers most of Northern Africa and it has gone through shifts in temperature and moisture over the past few hundred thousand years.

Although the Sahara is very dry today, it is expected to become green again in about 15,000 years.

Last year, camels were seen surrounded by snow as North Africa was gripped by extreme temperatures in the summer and winter months.

Last January also saw snow blanket the Saharan dunes (pictured) in the region which has only seen snow five times in 42 years

Sheep were seen standing on the ice-covered dunes in the Algerian Sahara in January 2021 as temperatures dipped below zero

Residents of Saudi Arabia expressed joy and excitement over the rare snowfall in the country’s Aseer region last year

How common is snow in the desert?
Snow and ice are unusual in desert regions but not completely unknown.

Temperatures in deserts can drop dramatically overnight but any snowfall is usually melted early the following day.

In cases like those seen this month in Algeria, high pressure systems of cold air have moved over land to the deserts, causing lower temperatures.

Such anticyclones tend to reach Saudi Arabia by moving clockwise out from Central Asia, picking up moisture en route which cools to form snow.

January 2022 and 2021 saw snow come to the Sahara and Saudi Arabia but it is not the first time these usually blisteringly hot spots have been blanketed in white.

In 2018, Ain Sefra was dusted in snow for the third time in 40 years.

The phenomenon has been noted in the town in 2021, 2018 and 2017, with the last recorded snowfall before that being in 1979.

Temperatures in the town usually range from 12C in January, the coldest month, to nearer to 40C in July.

While the Asir region of Saudi Arabia had its first snowfall in half a century last January, snow has hit elsewhere in the desert kingdom in recent years.

In 2020, temperatures dipped below freezing in the country’s mountainous northwestern regions including Tabuk, as a blizzard prompted officials to warn residents to keep warm.

A year earlier, snow fell in April.

scientists studying satellite images have warned the huge volcanic eruption in the Pacific island nation of Tonga could cause long-lasting damage to coral reefs, erode coastlines and disrupt fisheries.

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, an undersea volcano, erupted on Saturday triggering tsunami warnings across the Pacific.

In the first official update, Tonga’s government on Tuesday said multiple people have been injured and three have died.

The eruption has been releasing sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide – two gases that create acid rain when they interact with water and oxygen in the atmosphere.

“There is likely to be acid rain around Tonga for a while to come,” Shane Cronin, a volcanologist at the University of Auckland said.

Acid rain causes widespread crop damage and could affect Tongan staples such as taro, corn, bananas and garden vegetables. “Depending on how long the eruptions last, food security could be compromised,” Cronin said.

Satellite imagery suggests the plume is spreading westwards, which means Tonga could be spared some of the acid rain at the expense of Fiji.

The United Nations humanitarian affairs office said Fiji was monitoring its air quality and has advised people to cover their household water tanks and stay indoors in the event of rain.