After weeks of seismic activity, a volcano has erupted, with geysers of molten lava shooting into the sky, on the southwest of Iceland’s capital & largest city Reykjavik.
According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula, just north of the fishing town Grindavik, began yesterday night, after a series of small shakes.
The intensity of the eruption had stabilised and the activity was decreasing, although was unable to estimate how long it would last, the met office added.
Iceland’s capital could be at risk from toxic fumes that are currently billowing from the volcano. While Iceland’s Met Office said the power of the eruption itself was decreasing on Tuesday, it warned locals that gas pollution could still occur in the area of the capital Reykjavik late on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.
President Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson has said that protecting lives and infrastructure was the priority. He said they are waiting to see what the forces of nature have in store. Head of the Department of Civil Protection, Vidir Reynisson, urged people to stay away from the area.
For weeks, the Nordic country had been anticipating an eruption on the peninsula after intense earthquake activity, which prompted authorities to evacuate thousands of people and close the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, famed for its turquoise waters.
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