Volcanic eruption in Iceland prompts warning of ‘life-threatening toxic gas pollution’

A volcanic eruption that saw lava spiral down a mountainside in Iceland – just 20 miles from the country’s main airport – has prompted warnings today that it is spewing “life-threatening toxic gas pollution.”

The volcano, which is located on Mount Fagradalsfjall, began erupting Monday after increased seismic activity in the area.

Dramatic video shows the volcano spewing a continuous stream of bubbling lava making its way down the mountain some 20 miles southeast of Keflavik International Airport.

Residents of the nearby Reykjanes Peninsula are confined to their homes and are encouraged to sleep with windows closed and ventilation turned off because of the risk of deadly toxic gas emanating from the volcano.

Icelandic police have also restricted access to the volcano, located 20 miles from the capital Reykjavik, due to risks from the “life-threatening toxic gas” and urged all hikers in the area to turn back.

This aerial image, taken Monday, shows smoke rising from flowing lava during a volcanic eruption

People watch flowing lava during a volcanic eruption near the mountain. Officials have now told people to return home because of the risk of toxic pollution from the volcano

Authorities in Iceland on Tuesday warned onlookers to stay away from a newly erupting volcano spewing lava and noxious gases

The volcano, which is located on Mount Fagradalsfjall, began erupting Monday after increased seismic activity in the area. It is 20 miles from Keflavik Airport

“Police, on the advice of scientists, have decided to restrict access to the site of the eruption due to the massive and life-threatening pollution from toxic gases,” said the civil protection and disaster management department.

“In the next few hours it is very likely that gas will build up around the eruption site because of the low winds. Those who have already undertaken the hike to the site of the eruption, or are already there, are strongly advised to leave the area,” it said Monday night.

“It’s no small hike,” said Kristin Gudmundsdottir, a wildlife risk specialist at the Met Office. “We have to wait and see how the eruption develops.”

The eruption follows intense seismic activity in the area in recent days.

The area, commonly known as the Fagradalsfjall volcano, has erupted twice in the past two years without causing damage or flight disruptions, despite being near Keflavik Airport, Iceland’s international air traffic hub.

The airport said on Tuesday it remained open and no flights were affected. Some domestic flights were delayed yesterday after the eruption sent a plume of smoke over a road between Reykjavik and Keflavik airport.

The latest eruption is classified as a fissure eruption, which usually does not result in large explosions or a significant amount of ash in the stratosphere, the Icelandic government said in a statement late Monday.

Lava cuts through the Icelandic landscape as Fagradalsfjall begins to erupt in another eruption following a number of earthquakes in recent days

A person walks near lava emerging from a fissure of Fagradalsfjall volcano, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of Reykjavik,

Lava emerges from a fissure of Fagradalsfjall volcano near Litli-Hrutur mountain

Lava emerges from a fissure of the Fagradalsfjall volcano as authorities in Iceland on Tuesday warned onlookers to stay away from a newly erupting volcano

Clouds of smoke and lava spatter after the eruption of a volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula, near the capital Reykjavik, Monday

Hikers look at smoke and lava from the volcano in Iceland on Monday

Smoke is seen pouring out lava during a volcanic eruption near Litli Hrutur, southwest of Reykjavik in Iceland on Monda

People watch flowing lava during a volcanic eruption near Litli Hrutur, southwest of Reykjavik in Iceland, on Monday

This aerial image, taken on July 10, 2023, shows smoke rising from flowing lava during a volcanic eruption in southwest Iceland

The volcano, which is located on Mount Fagradalsfjall, began erupting Monday after increased seismic activity in the area

Clouds of smoke and lava spatter after the eruption of a volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Monday

Pictured: Smoke rises from flowing lava during Monday’s volcanic eruption in Iceland

“The eruption is small and there are currently no ash emissions into the atmosphere,” the Icelandic Meteorological Office said last night. Lava emerges as “a series of fountains” from a 200-meter-long fissure on the mountain’s slopes, it added.

“The lava fissure looks small at first glance,” television reporter Kristjan Unnarsson, who was aboard a helicopter about an hour after the eruption began Monday afternoon, told viewers.

A 2021 eruption in the same area produced spectacular lava flows for months. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to witness the spectacular spectacle.

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic, has an eruption every four to five years on average.

The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed massive clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.

More than 100,000 flights were grounded, stranding millions of international travelers and shutting down air traffic for days over concerns the ash could damage jet engines.