Erupting Ethiopian volcano sends ash plumes to 14 km into atmosphere
A massive ash cloud from the
eruption of Ethiopia’s Hayli
Gubbi volcano disrupted air travel across Pakistan and northern India on
Tuesday, prompting flight cancellations and safety warnings from aviation
authorities.
The Hayli Gubbi volcano in
Ethiopia’s Afar region
erupted on Sunday for the first time on record, sending ash plumes soaring up
to 14 km into the atmosphere, according to seismologists. Satellite imagery
showed the ash drifting across the Red Sea before passing over Yemen and Oman,
eventually spreading into Pakistan and northern India. Tracking data from
Flightradar24 indicated the cloud was continuing its eastward movement toward
China.
India’s meteorological department
said the ash was expected to clear the country’s airspace by 2 p.m.
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Air India cancelled 11 flights on Monday and Tuesday to carry out precautionary inspections of aircraft that had flown over affected areas, following advisories issued by India’s aviation regulator. Akasa Air also suspended several flights to Middle Eastern destinations, including Jeddah, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi.
India’s civil aviation ministry said
only a limited number of flights required rerouting, and the Airports Authority
of India issued notices to aircraft operating in potentially affected zones.
Ethiopia is home to around 50 active
volcanoes, said Atalay Ayele, a seismologist at Addis Ababa University’s
Institute of Geophysics, Space Science and Astronomy. “At any time, the
volcanoes can be active or show manifestations of activity,” he said.
Source: https://www.businessday.co.za/