Already last year the Fagradalsfjall spits lava for several months. The volcano in Iceland is now erupting again. The greatest danger currently comes from gas releases.
A volcano has erupted near the capital Reykjavik in Iceland. "The eruption started near Fagradalsfjall," the Icelandic Meteorological Agency (IMO) said. According to them, the eruption occurred in the valley of Meradalir, about 40 kilometers from the capital.
Live footage from Icelandic media showed lava gushing from a crack in the ground. According to the IMO, no ash cloud rose. Nevertheless, contamination due to gas releases is possible. Flights were initially unaffected, the Icelandic airport authority told the AFP news agency. Airplanes should not fly over the immediate area. Helicopters are on site to assess the situation.
Fagradalsfjall Mountain is part of the Krysuvik volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland. Intense seismic activity had been measured around the volcano since Saturday. As of Monday, the IMO registered more than 10,000 earthquakes there, two of them with a magnitude of over 5.0. Satellite imagery also confirmed deformation of the Earth's crust caused by the inflow of magma at relatively shallow depths below the surface.
Similarly, an eruption of the Fagradalsfjall had been announced last year. It lasted from March 19 to September 18, 2021, making it the longest volcanic eruption on the island in 50 years. The rock field that formed is called Fagradalsfjallhraun.
In April 2010, the eruption of the smaller volcano Eyjafjallajökull paralyzed air traffic in Europe for a month. More than 100,000 flights were canceled at the time, and a good ten million travelers were stuck at airports for days.
