Air travel in Britain and parts of northern Europe will cease for a few hours today while an ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland passes over the continent.
This ash is capable of shutting down a jetliner's engines, as the crew of a British Airways jumbo discovered in 1982 when the aircraft flew through such a cloud. Fortunately they managed to restart the engines at a lower altitude before the plane crashed into the sea.
There will be another unusual effect felt in areas beneath this ash cloud. People with solar panels providing electricity or hot water will find a drop in performance as the ash acts as a filter to reduce sunlight input.
In this instance the interference will be temporary - and minor.
Volcano's have the capacity for violent explosions that sometimes girdle the earth with a dust cloud that persists for years, and may have been responsible for the ice ages that once persisted for centuries.
A sobering thought for those who demand that we shut down coal fired power stations and rely exclusively on wind and solar for our energy needs.
The wind may continue blowing, but regular sunlight is not guaranteed !
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