A volcanic eruption that has seen lava meander down the side of a mountain in Iceland, just 20 miles from the country’s main airport, has prompted warnings today that it is spewing “life-threatening toxic gas pollution”.
The volcano, which is located on Mount Fagradalsfjall, erupted on Monday after increased seismic activity in the area.
Dramatic video shows the volcano spewing a continuous stream of bubbling lava that began meandering down the mountain, about 20 miles southeast of Keflavik International Airport.
Residents of the nearby Reykjanes Peninsula have been confined to their homes and encouraged to sleep with windows closed and ventilation turned off due to the risk of the volcano emitting deadly toxic gases.
Icelandic police have also restricted access to the volcano, located 20 miles from the capital Reykjavik, due to the risks posed by “life-threatening toxic gas” and urged hikers in the area to return.
A volcanic eruption that has seen lava meander down the side of a mountain in Iceland, just 20 miles from the country’s main airport, has prompted warnings today that it is spewing “life-threatening toxic gas pollution”.
This aerial photo taken Monday shows smoke billowing from flowing lava during a volcanic eruption.
People watch the lava flow during a volcanic eruption near the mountain. Authorities have now told people to return home due to the risk of toxic contamination from the volcano.
Icelandic authorities warned onlookers Tuesday to stay away from an erupting volcano spewing noxious lava and gases.
The volcano, which is located on Mount Fagradalsfjall, erupted on Monday after increased seismic activity in the area. It is located 20 miles from Keflavik Airport.
“The police, after the advice of scientists, have decided to restrict access to the eruption site due to the huge, life-threatening toxic gas contamination,” the civil protection and emergency management department said.
‘For the next [few] hours, it is very likely that gas will accumulate around the eruption site due to the lack of wind. Those who have already undertaken the trek to the eruption site, or are already there, are strongly advised to leave the area,” he said Monday night.
“It’s not a short hike,” said Kristin Gudmundsdottir, a natural hazards specialist with the Weather Bureau. “We have to wait and see how the eruption develops.”
The eruption follows intense seismic activity in the area in recent days.
The area, widely known as the Fagradalsfjall volcano, has erupted twice in the last two years without causing damage or disruption to flights, despite being close to Keflavik airport, Iceland’s international air traffic hub.
The airport said Tuesday that it remained open and no flights were affected. Some domestic flights were delayed yesterday after the eruption created a plume of smoke over a highway connecting Reykjavik and Keflavik airport.
The latest eruption is classified as a fissure eruption, which does not typically result in large explosions or significant amounts of ash in the stratosphere, the Icelandic government said in a statement late Monday.
Lava streaks across the Icelandic landscape as Fagradalsfjall begins to erupt following several earthquakes in recent days.
A person walks near lava flowing from a fissure in the Fagradalsfjall volcano, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of Reykjavik.
Lava emerges from a fissure in the Fagradalsfjall volcano near the Litli-Hrutur mountain
Lava erupts from a fissure in the Fagradalsfjall volcano as Icelandic authorities warned onlookers to stay away on Tuesday.
Smoke billows and lava jets after a volcano eruption, on the Reykjanes peninsula, near the capital Reykjavik, on Monday.
Hikers watch smoke and lava pour out of the volcano in Iceland on Monday.
Smoke is seen rising from flowing lava during a volcanic eruption near Litli Hrutur
People watch lava flow during a volcanic eruption near Litli Hrutur, southwest of Reykjavik in Iceland on Monday.
This aerial photo taken on July 10, 2023 shows smoke rising from lava during a volcanic eruption in southwest Iceland.
The volcano, which is located on Mount Fagradalsfjall, began to erupt on Monday following increased seismic activity in the area.
Smoke clouds and lava jets after the eruption of a volcano, in the Reykjanes peninsula, on Monday.
Pictured: Smoke rises from flowing lava during the volcanic eruption in Iceland on Monday.
“The eruption is small and there is currently no ash emission into the atmosphere,” the Icelandic Met Office said last night. Lava is emerging as “a series of fountains” from a 200-meter (656-foot) long fissure in the mountain’s slopes, she added.
“The lava fissure appears small at first glance,” TV reporter Kristjan Unnarsson, who was aboard a helicopter about an hour after the eruption began Monday afternoon, told onlookers.
A 2021 eruption in the same area produced lava flows for several months. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to see the spectacular sight.
Iceland, which sits on top of a volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic, averages one eruption every four to five years.
The most disturbing in recent times was the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in 2010, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and caused a widespread closure of airspace in Europe.
More than 100,000 flights were cancelled, stranding millions of international travelers and halting air travel for days over concerns that ash could damage plane engines.
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