A long-dormant volcano in Ethiopia has violently returned to life, erupting for the first time in approximately 12,000 years and sending plumes of ash across continents, disrupting international air travel.
The Hayli Gubbi volcano, located in the Afar region near the Eritrean border, awoke on Sunday morning, spewing massive amounts of ash and soot into the atmosphere for several hours. The neighbouring village of Afrera was coated in a thick layer of dust, with residents describing the terrifying initial blast as feeling like a bomb.
Local Impact and Eyewitness Accounts
Ahmed Abdela, a local resident, provided a chilling account of the event. “It felt like a sudden bomb had been thrown with smoke and ash,” he said. While thankfully no human or livestock fatalities have been reported, the aftermath has been severe for the local community. Many villages have been covered in ash, leaving their animals with little vegetation to eat.
The volcanic ash clouds were so immense that they drifted far beyond Ethiopia's borders, reaching as far as the Red Sea, Yemen, Oman, and northern India.
Widespread Travel Disruption
The eruption has caused significant travel chaos, particularly for airlines operating in Asian and Middle Eastern airspace. While Ethiopia itself, a major African flight hub, reported no cancellations, several international carriers took precautionary measures.
Air India cancelled 11 flights scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. Similarly, Akasa Air dropped flights to Jeddah, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi. Other affected airlines include IndiGo and Dutch carrier KLM.
Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of the India Meteorological Department, confirmed the ash cloud was affecting altitudes between 8.5km and 15km above sea level. “It will temporarily affect satellite functions and flight operations,” he told the BBC, adding that the ash was moving towards China after passing over northern India.
Uncertainty Over Contamination Levels
Assessing the full environmental impact of the eruption has proven difficult. Private weather agency Skymet Weather stated that the sudden nature of the event left no time for the advanced deployment of sensors needed to properly monitor contamination levels.
G.P. Sharma, president of meteorology and climate change at Skymet, explained, “Measuring contamination caused by volcanic eruptions takes a lot of preparation. This particular volcanic eruption did not provide any room for preparation. So the level of contamination is not known.”
While it is difficult to predict how long the ash will take to fully disperse, the India Meteorological Department has estimated that skies over Delhi could clear by Tuesday evening.
