A single day of attacks on four Iranian oil refineries produced as much sulfur dioxide (SO2) as a volcanic eruption, a new analysis finds.
Remote sensing from Chinese and European meteorological satellites has revealed that fires caused by Israeli airstrikes launched on Iranian refineries and storage facilities on March 7 emitted a total of around 33,000 tons (29,800 metric tons) of SO2 by March 8. The toxic gas cloud had traveled roughly 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers) by March 9, reaching as far as East Asia, according to a study published Tuesday (May 26) in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences.
