A volcano in southwestern Iceland began erupting on Wednesday, the country’s weather agency said — just eight months after the last eruption officially ended.
The Icelandic Meteorological Service has urged people to stay away from the Fagladalsfjar volcano, about 20 miles southwest of the capital Reykjavík.
The eruption in the uninhabited valley is not far from Keflavik Airport, Iceland’s international air traffic hub. The airport remained open and flights were uninterrupted.
A live video feed from the site shows magma erupting from a narrow fissure about 100 to 200 meters (109 to 218 yards) long above the lava field from last year’s eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula for the first time in nearly 800 years. I showed that.
Scientists had predicted an eruption somewhere on the peninsula after a series of earthquakes last week indicated volcanic activity near the crust.
Volcanologist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson told the Associated Press that the eruption appeared small.
“But I don’t know where it is in the process.
A 2021 eruption in the same area produced spectacular lava flows over several months. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to see the spectacle.
Situated on top of a volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic, Iceland erupts on average every four to five years.
The 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, most disturbing in recent times, released clouds of ash and dust into the atmosphere, and the volcanic ash can damage jet engines, prompting a surge in Europe and North America. Air travel between has been suspended for several days. Over 100,000 flights have been canceled and millions of passengers stranded.
Shares of Icelandair, Iceland’s flag carrier, jumped 6% on Wednesday when news of the eruption broke. Investors and residents alike were apprehensive about the possibility of a more devastating eruption in densely populated areas of the peninsula.
