NOAA-7 satellite image of the area around the erupting El Chichon volcano, Yucatan, Mexico, taken on 29th March 1982, 1 day after the eruption began. An infra-red sensor onboard the satellite records the temperature distribution over the area, producing a colour-coded image. The eruption (& subsequent ones on 3rd & 4th April 1982) destroyed about 100 square kilometres of rainforest, sending a sulphur- laden plume of ash 17 kilometres into the atmosphere. During the following weeks a cloud of sulphuric acid vapour encircled the Earth, apparently affecting global weather patterns.