A volcano that had been inactive for approximately 12,000 years has suddenly erupted, covering a nearby village in ash and soot. Residents likened the eruption to the sound of an exploding bomb.
This volcanic activity, the first in modern times for this particular volcano, named Hayli Gubbi, occurred in Ethiopia’s Afar region near the Eritrean border. The eruption lasted for several hours on a Sunday morning, sending ash clouds high into the sky and settling a layer of dust over the village of Afdera. The ash plumes spread beyond the country’s borders, reaching as far as the Red Sea, Yemen, Oman, and India.
Local resident Ahmed Abdela described the sudden eruption as resembling a bomb explosion with smoke and ash. While no human fatalities or livestock losses have been reported, numerous villages have been covered in ash, leaving animals with scarce food.
The eruption has led to significant travel disruptions in neighboring countries and continents. Although Ethiopia, a major flight hub in Africa, has not experienced flight cancellations, several airlines, including Air India, IndiGo, Akasa, and KLM, have preemptively canceled flights due to the volcanic ash.
In response to the volcanic eruption, Air India canceled 11 flights, while Akasa suspended flights bound for Jeddah, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi. According to Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, the Director General of the India Meteorological Department, the eruption has impacted altitudes between 8.5km and 15km above sea level, potentially affecting satellite operations and flight activities. However, weather conditions and air quality are not expected to be significantly impacted.
Skymet Weather, a private agency, has faced challenges in assessing the extent of volcanic ash contamination resulting from the eruption due to the limited preparation time provided by the Hayli Gubbi volcano.
Despite the difficulties in measurement, Skymet Weather and the IMD are monitoring the situation closely to determine when the ash cloud is expected to disperse. The IMD forecasts that Delhi’s skies should clear from the volcanic ash by Tuesday evening.
