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21-12-2023
REYKJAVIK: Gas pollution could hit Iceland’s capital after a volcano began erupting late on Monday, the country’s meteorological office has said.
The eruption, which broke out on the Reykjanes peninsula of south-west Iceland, comes after weeks of intense earthquakes and tremors.
Fumes could reach Reykjavik by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.
About 4,000 people were evacuated last month from Grindavik, a fishing town threatened by the lava flow.
A resident living near Grindavik described “crazy” and “scary” scenes on Monday night and said she could still see the volcano exploding on Tuesday.
The smell of smoke and ash is being picked up as far as 30km from the eruption site and a media team could even feel occasional vibrations in the ground.
Iceland has been braced for volcanic activity for weeks. Since late October, the region around Reykjavik has been experiencing an increase in earthquake activity.
The eruption can be seen from Reykjavik, which is about 42km north-east of Grindavik.
An eyewitness in the capital told media that half of the sky in the direction of the town was “lit up in red” from the eruption, and smoke could be seen billowing into the air.
On Tuesday, British tourists Amrit and Peter, a married couple in their 20s, took selfies with the bright orange lava in the background.
Speaking to media, Peter said: “We are not scared at all, the Icelandic authorities are handling this well and keep giving us information. We feel totally safe.”
In 2010, a volcanic eruption caused an ash plume to rise several kilometres into the atmosphere, leading to several days of air travel disruption in Europe.
Volcanologist Dr Evgenia Ilyinskaya told media that there would not be the same level of disruption as 2010, as these volcanoes in south-west Iceland were “physically not able to generate the same ash clouds”.
Speaking from Iceland, Dr Ilyinskaya, associate professor of volcanology at Leeds University, said local people had been both “fearing and waiting for” the volcano to erupt.
She added that authorities were preparing for potential lava flows that could destroy homes and infrastructure, including the Blue Lagoon, a popular tourist destination.
“At the moment it seems not to be threatening, although it remains to be seen,” she said.
The Icelandic Met Office said at 12:30 GMT on Tuesday that the power of the eruption was decreasing, but that gases from the volcano could still reach Reykjavik. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
