Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano has erupted again, and the photos are astonishing.
After several days of increasing earthquake activity in the region, lava and smoke started to spew out of a break in the ground on Wednesday, coming out of the side of the Fagradalsfjall mountain.
There’s currently no immediate risk of damage to critical infrastructure, according to the Icelandic department of civil protection and emergency management.
But, people have ben urged not to go near it by the Icelandic Meteorological Office, which is just 20 miles southwest of the capital Reykjavik.
A code red has been declared to stop airplanes from flying over the site too, although Iceland’s foreign ministry said: “There are no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland and international flight corridors remain open.”
It’s only been eight months since the last eruption ended – and that lasted for six months, from March until September.
The 2021 eruption produced jaw-dropping lava flows which reached up to 500 to 750 metres long, and thousands of tourists flocked to see it.
Luckily, volcanologist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson told the Associated Press that this eruption was small – although, he added: “We don’t know where in the process things are at.”
Iceland is located above a volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic, between Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates, and usually has an eruption every four to five years.
The most disruptive one in recent years was in 2010, when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano sent clouds of ash and dust into the atmosphere, prompting fears jet engines could disrupt air travel – more than 100,000 flights were grounded at the time.
This new eruption has sparked speculation that it will be similar to last year’s.
Here are some of the most jaw-dropping pictures from the last 24 hours:
Social media influencer Bjorn Steinbekk has also captured amazing footage of the eruption, including the build-up over the last few days.