The Philippines is home to Mount Pinatubo, whose 1991 eruption was one of the 20th century’s largest.
Mount Pinatubo is a volcano on Luzon, on the boundary of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga provinces. Before 1991 it was heavily forested and considered dormant, but a sequence of earthquakes and volcanic activity preceded the major eruption.
The climactic eruption occurred on 15 June 1991, producing a huge ash column and pyroclastic flows. It was rated VEI 6 and ejected roughly 5 cubic kilometres of dense-rock equivalent magma, making it among the largest eruptions of the 20th century.
Sulfur dioxide injected into the stratosphere spread around the globe and contributed to temporary global cooling. The eruption also caused extensive lahar flows for years afterward, as rain remobilized volcanic ash on the mountain’s slopes. Its effects were intensified by Typhoon Yunya, which arrived during the eruption.