volcanic eruption
Etna still active: ten-kilometer-high ash cloud darkens the sky
Etna Volcano, Italy: Etna is active again. Plumes of ash rose about 10 kilometers into the sky. The Sicilian airport in Catania has been closed. At 3330 meters, Mount Etna is the highest volcano in Europe. Despite frequent outbreaks, local residents are usually not in danger.
The Etna volcano in Sicily has been active again since mid-February. Dense clouds of ash recently rose from the south-eastern crater – up to ten kilometers high.
Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily appears to have woken up again following February’s major eruptions. “Further eruptions are quite possible,” said volcano researcher Boris Behncke from the National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in Catania of the German Press Agency on Tuesday. According to his own statements, the German has been living in Sicily for about 25 years and is researching Mount Etna there. On Monday, lava and dense smoke shot out of the more than 3,300 meter high mountain again. The eruption episode, researchers speak of a paroxysm, briefly paralyzed operations at the airport in Catania at the southern foot of Mount Etna. According to the INGV, the column of smoke reached a height of up to twelve kilometers measured at sea level. Ash and dust rained down from the sky in some places around the area.
Etna volcano: local resident thought it was thundering
“I thought there had been a thunderstorm because I heard loud thunder and suddenly the sun was gone,” a resident south of Mount Etna told the German Press Agency on Tuesday. “When the windows and doors started vibrating shortly afterwards, I saw this incredible column of smoke,” she said. According to Behncke, the Etna episodes are not generally dangerous for the residents. Loud thunder can often be heard for minutes. “It rattles decently,” explained the expert. Only the raining ash is a nuisance for the people around the mountain, since the cleaning can sometimes be time-consuming.
Lots of ash, little damage: Etna spits fire
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Highest volcano in Europe
Etna spewed lava and ash in 52 episodes between February and October last year. According to Behncke, these combined were one of the largest eruptions of the past centuries. How things will continue on Etna is difficult to predict. The fact that a series of eruptions could start again like almost at the same time in 2021 is more of a coincidence. “It’s very arbitrary,” added Behncke. Unlike then, less magma has now accumulated in the mountain.