The volcanic eruption has begun on the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland, turning the sky orange and putting civil defense on high alert. The eruption appears to have occurred approximately four kilometers from the city of Grindavík around 10:17 p.m. local time (one hour more in Barcelona) after intense earthquakes recorded for sixty minutes, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office. Webcam videos from the site appear to show magma emanating along the ridge of a hill.
Local authorities have reported that early this Tuesday a Coast Guard helicopter will conduct an aerial reconnaissance to confirm the exact location and size of the eruption.
"We have an effusive eruption producing lava in a fissure two to three kilometers north of Grindavik, with lava fountains reaching heights much greater than 100 meters," said Thor Thordarson, professor of volcanology and petrology at the University of Iceland. by phone to the AFP agency. "It's a relatively high discharge eruption, definitely more than what we saw in previous eruptions in this area."
In November, police raided the town of Grindavik after intense seismic activity in the area that damaged homes and raised fears of an imminent eruption.
Grindavik, a fishing town of 3,700, is located on the Reykjanes Peninsula, approximately 50 kilometers southwest of the capital, Reykjavik, and not far from Keflavik Airport, Iceland's main international flight facility. For now, there are no interruptions in aircraft arrivals or departures at the airport. The nearby Blue Lagoon thermal resort, one of Iceland's main tourist attractions, closed in early November due to the imminent danger of volcanic activity.
The entire peninsula had been dormant for almost 800 years until early 2020, when intense seismic activity began and magma rose to the surface in 2021, only to emerge again in August 2022 and July of this year.
Iceland, which has 30 volcanic systems and more than 600 hot springs, is one of the most geologically active places on Earth, due to its position on the mid-Atlantic crest, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates separate. .
