NASA
A satellite image shows ash rising from the eruption of the Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia
It seemed as if a bomb had suddenly been dropped. A volcano in Ethiopia has erupted for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, sending a huge cloud of ash over key Red Sea air corridors and forcing airlines in India and the Middle East to cancel or divert flights.
The volcano Here’slocated in Ethiopia’s Afar region near the border with Eritrea, erupted on Sunday for several hours, spewing ash up to about 14 km altitude.
Thick columns of ash were tracked as they drifted over Yemen and Oman, before spreading across Pakistan and arrive in northern India on Monday and Tuesday, according to the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center and the India Meteorological Department.
According to local officials cited by , there were no victimsbut villages close to the volcano were covered in ash.
Mohammed SeidAfar regional official, told journalists that although no people or livestock died, “many villages were covered in ash and, as a result, animals have very little to eat”.
“It seemed like a bomb had suddenly been dropped.with smoke and ash”, reported Ahmed Abdelaresident in the Afar region, where ash covered houses and left travelers heading towards the Danakil desert ashore.
The Afar region, part of the active Vale do Rift, where tectonic plates are slowly moving apart, it is particularly prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity. The eruption occurs near Erta Ale, one of the most active volcanoes in Africa, located about 15 km away.
Although, there is no known record of eruptions of Hayli Gubbi during the Holocene, the geological period that began around 12,000 years ago. Simon Carnvolcanologist at Michigan Technological University, stated on the Bluesky social network that the volcano “There is no record of eruptions in the Holocene”.
The drift of the ash cloud caused significant disruptions in the airspace of western and northern India.
Air India announced the cancellation of 11 flights on Monday and Tuesday to carry out precautionary inspections of aircraft who had flown near the affected areas following a directive from the Indian aviation regulator.
Akasa Air canceled flights to Jeddah, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, while IndiGo diverted a Kannur-Abu Dhabi flight to Ahmedabad on Monday night. THE KLM also canceled a flight from Amsterdam to Delhi due to the volcanic ash plume.
Volcanic ash clouds contain tiny abrasive particles which are released into the atmosphere during an eruption, explains . These particles can damage aircraft engines, contaminate airfields and reduce visibility, making flight operations dangerous.
These volcanic ash clouds are rare phenomena. But when the volcano Eyjafjallajökullin Iceland, erupted in 2010, causing global chaos in air traffic. Airspace over much of Europe has been closed or partially closed, causing worst disruption in air travel since World War II.
The ash cloud released by Hayli Gubbi reached northern India at a time when the Air quality in the region is already extremely degradedwith several ongoing protests. Some people expressed fear that the ash cloud could further worsen air quality.
The ash plume is now expected to head towards Bangladesh, and could reach parts of Myanmar, China and south coast of Japan.
