bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Glowing red lava spewed on Saturday from a volcano that erupted near Iceland’s capital Reykjavik after being dormant for more than 900 years.
But officials said the eruption was small and did not appear to represent a danger to people.
Dramatic images filmed by a coast guard helicopter showed streams of red lava bubbling and flowing out of a fissure in a valley in Geldingadalur, close to Mount Fagradalsfjall on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland.
As the lava continued to flow on Saturday, clouds of blue gas were also swirling from the site, located just 40 kilometres from the capital and near the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, a popular tourist destination.

The eruption occurred on Friday around 2045 GMT, lighting up the night sky with a crimson glow, after hundreds of small earthquakes shook the area.
While Iceland’s Keflavik International Airport and the small fishing port of Grindavik are just a few kilometres away, the zone is uninhabited and the eruption did not appear to present any danger.
Sicily’s Mount Etna continues its spectacular explosions
“The eruption is considered small,” the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), which monitors seismic activity, said in a statement Saturday.
It said the “eruption fissure” is estimated to be about 500-1,000 metres long. The lava was estimated to be less than 1 square kilometre in size, it added.
“There is little eruption activity in the area,” the IMO said.


The eruption took place in the Krysuvik volcanic system, which does not have a central volcano, about 5 kilometres inland from the southern coast.
There were no reports of ash fall, although tephra – solidified magma rock fragments – and gas emissions were to be expected.
The public was advised to stay away from the scene and access to the area has been blocked off.

Police ordered residents living east of the volcano to close their windows and stay indoors due to the risk of possible gas pollution carried by the wind.
Scientists were measuring gas emissions but no information had been disclosed by Saturday morning.
Gases – especially sulphur dioxide – can be elevated in the immediate vicinity of a volcanic eruption, and may pose a danger to health and even be fatal.
Pollution can exceed acceptable limits, even far away, depending on the winds.

Eruptions in the region are known as effusive eruptions, where lava flows steadily out of the ground, as opposed to explosive ones which spew ash clouds high into the sky.
The Krysuvik system has been inactive for the past 900 years, according to the IMO, while the last eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula dates back almost 800 years and lasted about 30 years, from 1210 to 1240.
But the region has been under increased surveillance for several weeks after a 5.7-magnitude earthquake was registered on February 24 near Mount Keilir on the outskirts of Reykjavik.
Since then an unusual number of smaller tremors – more than 50,000 – had been registered, the highest number since digital recordings began in 1991.
The seismic activity gradually moved several kilometres southwest after the quake, concentrating around Mount Fagradalsfjall, where magma was detected just 1 kilometre under the Earth’s surface in recent days.
Seismic activity had however subsided in the past few days.
New Zealand marks one year since White Island volcano eruption
Iceland has 32 volcanic systems currently considered active, the highest number in Europe. The country has had an eruption every five years on average.
The vast island near the Arctic Circle straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack on the ocean floor separating the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.
The shifting of these plates is in part responsible for Iceland’s intense volcanic activity.
The most recent eruption was at Holuhraun, beginning in August 2014 and ending in February 2015, in the Bardarbunga volcanic system in an uninhabited area in the centre of the island.
That eruption did not cause any major disruptions outside the immediate vicinity.
But in 2010, an eruption at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano sent huge clouds of smoke and ash into the atmosphere, disrupting air traffic for more than a week with the cancellation of more than 100,000 flights worldwide which left some 10 million passengers stranded.


From tropics to tundra: why Filipinos are flocking to Iceland

Cathay apologises over 54-hour delay to flight going from Toronto to Hong Kong

Seventh eruption in a year for Iceland volcano – stunning pictures

Where is the ‘Queen of Experimental Pop’ Björk in 2024? With 4 decades in the industry, the Icelandic artist is passionate about environmental activism – and released a song with Rosalía last year

Iceland

Iceland volcano dormant for 900 years erupts, lights up night sky near capital Reykjavik

Lava flows from the erupting Fagradalsfjall volcano near the Icelandic capital Reykjavik on Friday. Photo: Icelandic Coast Guard/AFP

The night sky glows following the eruption of a volcano on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula not far from the capital Reykjavik, late Friday March 19, 2021. The long dormant volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland flared to life Friday night, spilling lava down two sides in that area's first volcanic eruption in nearly 800 years. (Hildur Hlín Jónsdóttir via AP)

The red shimmer from magma flowing out from the erupting Fagradalsfjall volcano behind the landmark Blue Lagoon, some 45 km west of the Icelandic capital Reykjavik, on March 19, 2021. - A volcano erupted in Iceland on Friday some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the capital Reykjavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said, as a red cloud lit up the night sky and a no-fly zone was established in the area. (Photo by Halldor KOLBEINS / AFP)

HANDOUT - 20 March 2021, Iceland, Reykjanes Peninsula: An aerial from a coast guard helicopter shows the eruption at Fagradalsfjall volcano near the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management urged residents to stay calm and warned against approaching the volcano. Photo: -/Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management in Iceland/dpa - ATTENTION: editorial use only and only if the credit mentioned above is referenced in full

Bodies of rich man and slave scalded to death by volcanic eruption 2,000 years ago unearthed in Italy

The skeletons were found during excavation of a villa in Italy’s Pompeii. Photo: AP

Remains of two men who died in the volcanic eruption that destroyed the ancient Roman city of Pompeii in 79 AD are discovered in a dig carried out during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Pompeii, Italy November 18, 2020. Picture taken November 18, 2020. Luigi Spina/Handout via REUTERS REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.

Semeru volcano on Indonesia’s Java island spews hot clouds into the area

Mount Semeru spews volcanic material during an eruption in Lumajang, East Java, Indonesia on Saturday. Photo: National Disaster Mitigation Agency via A

Eastern Caribbean islands issue rare evacuation alerts as volcanoes rumble

Soufriere Hills Volcano on Montserrat, Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. Photo: Tim Pile

In the shadow of Indonesia’s active volcanoes, life goes on

Students practise karate at Fort Oranje in the shadow of Mount Gamalama on Ternate. Photo: Putu Sayoga

A father and daughter walk home as Mount Agung erupts at Datah Village, in December 2017. Photo: Putu Sayoga

-ONE TIME USE ONLY-People drive 4x4 cars during a lava tour  at mount Merapi, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, August 02, 2019.  Merapi last erupted in 2010 and destroyed a nearby village, killed 270 people. [05JULY2020 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Putu Sayoga

-ONE TIME USE ONLY-A man with goat during Kasada ritual on Mount Bromo, Indonesia, 18 July 2019. Once a year around June to August on the active volcano Mount Bromo in East Java Indonesia, Tenggerese people celebrating the annual Kasada ritual. It is the main ritual to honor the mountains god. During the ritual they  bring offerings of rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers and livestock and throw them into the volcano's caldera.[05JULY2020 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Putu Sayoga

-ONE TIME USE ONLY-A member of staff looks at data on the screen to monitor mount Agung volcano from the Rendang Volcano Monitoring Post, December 2017.[05JULY2020 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Putu Sayoga

-ONE TIME USE ONLY-Electronic devices, destroyed by the eruption of mount Merapi, at a museum in Yogyakarta, Indoenesia, April 04, 2018.  The display highlights the 2010 eruption of mount Merapi, which  last erupted in 2010 and destroyed a nearby village, killed 270 people. [05JULY2020 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Putu Sayoga

-ONE TIME USE ONLY-Geothermal power plants in Dieng., Indonesia, July 23, 2019. Dieng Plateau is a volcanic complex located in Wonosobo, Central Java, Indonesia. The volcanic complex consists of two or more stratovolcanoes and more than 20 small craters. In 1979 one of the volcanos erupted spewing toxic gas that killed 155 people. [05JULY2020 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Putu Sayoga

-ONE TIME USE ONLY-Thedamaged pillar of a concrete building, hit by a tsunami after the eruption of Anak Krakatoa, Indonesia, taken on January 01, 2019. In December 2018 Anak Krakatau, a volcano located in the ocean between Java and Sumatra, erupted, causing a tsunami that killed 430 people.  [05JULY2020 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Putu Sayoga

-ONE TIME USE ONLY-A miner carries sulfur from Mount Ijen located in Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia, August 31, 2018. The crater is the place for mining sulfur.[05JULY2020 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Putu Sayoga

-ONE TIME USE ONLY-Two girls pose for a portrait in Siosar, close to Mount Sinabung, Indonesia, on March 11, 2019.  After 400 years of idleness, out of the blue Mount Sinabung in Karo District, North Sumatra, vented. The first one took place in 2010 and the status has ever since been in ÒWatchÓ or level IV, the highest for active volcanoes in Indonesia. Resident around the volcano have been resettled to areas further away form the danger. [05JULY2020 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Putu Sayoga

-ONE TIME USE ONLY-The headless statue of a dinosaur, destroyed by a tsunami after the eruption of  Anak Krakatoa, Indonesia, taken on January 01, 2019. In December 2018 Anak Krakatau, a volcano located in the ocean between Java and Sumatra, erupted, causing a tsunami that killed 430 people.  [05JULY2020 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Putu Sayoga

-ONE TIME USE ONLY-A boy jumps to the sea against the background of Mount Tidore, Indonesia on June 28, 2019.  Ternate is an island in North Mollucas, Indonesia. The island has a population of 204,215 and sits on 114,4 km2-wide island which itself is a volcano named Gamalama, which last had a small cough in 2018, and fortunately did not cause significant harm to the island's communities.[05JULY2020 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Putu Sayoga

-ONE TIME USE ONLY-An emergency bunker that is now a tourist attraction, with mount Merapi in the background, Kaliadem, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, August 04, 2019.  Merapi last erupted in 2010 and destroyed a nearby village, killed 270 people. [05JULY2020 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Putu Sayoga

Students practise volcano evacuation drills in Bebandem village, Bali, Indonesia, last August. Photo: Putu Sayoga

News

World

Europe


A no-fly zone was established in Fagradalsfjall and residents were ordered to stay indoors as a crimson glow lit up the night sky
The eruption took place in the Krysuvik volcanic system, which has been inactive for the past 900 years



A no-fly zone was established in Fagradalsfjall and residents were ordered to stay indoors as a crimson glow lit up the night sky.


Volcanoes

Natural disasters

Iceland volcano dormant for 900 years erupts, lights up night sky near capital Reykjavik

A no-fly zone was established in Fagradalsfjall and residents were ordered to stay indoors as a crimson glow lit up the night sky The eruption took place in the Krysuvik volcanic system, which has been inactive for the past 900 years

A no-fly zone was established in Fagradalsfjall and residents were ordered to stay indoors as a crimson glow lit up the night sky

The eruption took place in the Krysuvik volcanic system, which has been inactive for the past 900 years