A long-inactive volcano in northern Ethiopia unexpectedly erupted sending up plumes of volcanic ash and dust, which have since spread across continents and disrupted flights in India and the United Arab Emirates.
No casualties were reported in Ethiopia following the eruption, but local government officials told reporters they are concerned about the impact of the eruption on local communities and their livestock in the Afar region, where the volcano is located.
Ethiopia has 50 known volcanoes, according to the Smithsonian, several of which have been dormant for thousands of years.
The Ethiopian Rift Valley, where many of the volcanoes are located, extends from Afar southwards through neighbouring countries. It was formed by shifting tectonic plates, which pulled apart to form the land masses of Africa and Arabia, and is one of the most important geological sites in the world.
The volcano has not previously erupted in the current Holocene Era, which began about 12,000 years ago at the end of the Ice Age, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program.
Satellite imagery shared on social media channels shows the eruption as viewed from space, with a mass of billowing ash shooting up and visibly spreading east towards the Red Sea. Footage captured from the ground also showed huge mountains of ash rising into the skies above the mountain range, blanketing the horizon.
