Following the earthquake, Iceland is experiencing its third volcanic eruption in three years

For the third year in a row, Iceland has experienced a volcanic eruption with spectacular images. The eruption began late Monday afternoon (local time) on the same peninsula southwest of the capital Reykjavik where bubbling and spewing lava had been making its way to the Earth’s surface for the past two years. It is unclear how long the renewed natural spectacle can be seen this time. The Icelandic government said there is no need to fear disruption to air traffic.

The eruption began around 4:40 p.m. just northwest of Mount Litli-Hrútur on the sparsely populated Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland’s Vedurstofa Meteorological Agency said. A 900 meter long canyon has now formed and the lava is flowing much faster than in the area’s previous eruptions.

The eruption doesn’t look like what many people imagine a classic volcanic eruption to be: Instead of a huge lava flow shooting into the air from a cone-shaped volcano, lava gushed out of an elongated fissure in the earth. This type of eruption is also known as a fissure eruption. It usually does not lead to large explosions or huge ash columns.

However, live images from the area showed thick plumes of smoke above the glowing lava. The weather bureau warned of strong and dangerous gas formation that could spread to the capital region. Travelers should avoid the volcanic area until experts assess local conditions. The two eruptions in 2021 and 2022 had attracted many volcanologists, as well as hikers and tourists.

The volcanic area is located about 40 kilometers from Reykjavik on the southwestern tip of the island, not far from the capital’s airport. The last volcanic eruptions in the area were in August 2022 and before that in March 2021, which were heralded by numerous earthquakes. Also this time, experts expected a new outbreak due to thousands of earthquakes in the region. The most violent of the current magnitude 5.2 earthquake swarm was late Sunday evening.

While Reykjavik, with its nearly 390,000 inhabitants, is the main metropolitan area of ​​the North Atlantic island, relatively few people live on the Reykjanes Peninsula. The Icelandic government said the risk to residential areas and vital infrastructure is considered low. International flight corridors also remained open.

Things looked very different in the spring of 2010: a major volcanic eruption suddenly catapulted Iceland to the front pages of the international media. The eruption of the hard-to-pronounce volcanic glacier Eyjafjallajökull has thrown international air traffic into chaos for days. (sda/dpa)