The isolation of island states paradoxically makes them at once vulnerable but also resilient. With smaller populations and dependence on access through shipping or air routes, island states, particularly in the open oceans have key constraints in their resource usage. However, being far from major population centers can also protect these communities from ravages of major global crises.
recent research suggests that this would raise the global temperature anomaly beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius. From a scientific perspective, the Tongan eruption highlights the rapidity of how volcanism can transform the earth. In 2015, an earlier eruption of the same massive undersea volcano had created a new bridging island which connected two surfacing parts of the caldera. NASA scientists were intrigued by how this new bridging island was able to sustain itself despite erosion from the surrounding seas.
Tonga has a population of around 100,000, but over 150,000 Tongans live overseas, mainly in New Zealand, Australia, and the USA. These citizens mobilizedwith the resettlement of residents from two of the islands nearest the volcano which became uninhabitable. These residents are now living on the main island Tongatapu in new villages and getting used to their new lives until they might potentially be able to return.