Where is Mount Etna and how dangerous is it?

Authorities announced the closure of two major airports in Sicily after Mount Etna began spewing hot lava.

Flights are suspended at Catania International Airport until at least 8pm and at Comiso Airport until at least 3pm today.

British Airways, Ryanair and easyJet flights to Catania have already been halted after Mount Etna’s latest eruption.

But where exactly is Mount Etna and how dangerous is it? Read on below for everything you need to know about Etna’s potency.

Where is Mount Etna?

Mount Etna is located on the east coast of Sicily, Italy’s largest island, between the cities of Catania and Messina.

Located between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, it erupts almost constantly, with varying degrees of severity.

With a height of 3,324 m, Mount Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe and has erupted regularly over the past 500,000 years.

Scientists believe that Etna was initially a submarine volcano that gradually grew above sea level thanks to the constantly solidifying lava.

The closure of Catania International Airport due to Mount Etna eruptions is nothing new, as it was forced to close for 24 hours in May 2023 after smoke and ash from Mount Etna blanketed the runway.

In 2021, a massive eruption sent lava about 3,000 feet into the air. Experts said the activity was a level of anger “rarely seen for decades.”

How dangerous is Mount Etna?

Europe’s most active volcano can awaken from its slumber several times a year, ejecting lava and ash high above the Mediterranean island.

While tourists may consider it dangerous to visit, it is actually safe to climb as it has not erupted violently for hundreds of years.

The first recorded eruption occurred in 1500 BC.

Mount Etna has erupted many times, the main eruption being an earthquake in 1169 that killed an estimated 15,000 people.

The 700,000-year-old volcano is the second most active on Earth, after Mount Kilauea in Hawaii.

Each year it produces more than ten million tons of lava and more than 7 million tons of carbon dioxide, water and sulfur dioxide.

However, since 1922, Etna has not had a major eruption.

The blasts often create a spectacle of flaming lava, but cloud cover on the rainy day masked the view of this eruption, according to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), which closely monitors Mount Etna with instruments mounted on its slopes. are installed.

The volcano was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013 and attracts thousands of visitors every year.