In Iceland, there was a powerful volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula, in the southwest of the country. The eruption, which began around 22:17 GMT on Monday, produced spectacular images of orange lava rising into the night sky, surrounded by rising red smoke. The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said the eruption occurred about 4 km from the city of Grindavik.
The eruption opened a 4 km fissure from which fountains of lava were ejected. At its southernmost point, the rupture was 3 km from Grindavik, the nearest fishing town, where nearly 4,000 residents had been evacuated a month earlier for fear of an imminent eruption after thousands of small earthquakes shook the region.
The eruption released 100 to 200 cubic meters of lava per second, several times more than previous eruptions in the region. Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a scientist who flew over the eruption site with the coast guard, estimates that twice as much lava has already been released than during the month-long eruption on the peninsula this summer.
Gudmundsson said he expects the intensity of the eruption to gradually decrease, but scientists are not sure how long it will last. "It may end within a week, but it may last much longer," he said.
Police raised the alert level and civil defense authorities warned residents and tourists not to approach the eruption area. "This is not a tourist attraction and should be observed from a distance," said Vidir Reynisson, head of Iceland's Civil Protection and Emergency Management.
The Reykjanes Peninsula is a volcanic and seismic hotspot in southwest Iceland, close to the capital, Reykjavik. The region is known for its volcanic activity, being part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack in the ocean floor that separates the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.
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