A protracted-inactive volcano in northern Ethiopia unexpectedly erupted on Sunday, sending up plumes of volcanic ash and mud, which have since unfold throughout continents and disrupted flights in India and the United Arab Emirates.
No casualties had been reported in Ethiopia following the eruption, however native authorities officers advised reporters they’re involved concerning the influence of the eruption on native communities and their livestock within the Afar area, the place the volcano is situated.
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Ethiopia has 50 recognized volcanoes, in accordance with the Smithsonian, a number of of which have been dormant for hundreds of years.
The Ethiopian Rift Valley, the place most of the volcanoes are situated, extends from Afar southwards via neighbouring international locations. It was fashioned by shifting tectonic plates, which pulled aside to type the land lots of Africa and Arabia, and is among the most necessary geological websites on the earth.
Right here’s what we learn about Sunday’s volcanic eruption and its native and worldwide influence:
What occurred?
Hayli Gubbi, which varieties a part of the Erta Ale volcano vary within the northern Afar Area of Ethiopia, erupted at roughly 11:30am native time (08:30 GMT) in accordance with an advisory issued by the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Heart (VAAC) in France.
Following the eruption, residents advised reporters they’d seen faint smoke from the volcano about three days earlier than. Nonetheless, there have been no reported scientific forecasts for the eruption.
The volcano has not beforehand erupted within the present Holocene Period, which started about 12,000 years in the past on the finish of the Ice Age, in accordance with the Smithsonian Establishment’s World Volcanism Program.
Satellite tv for pc imagery shared on social media channels reveals the eruption as considered from area, with a mass of billowing ash capturing up and visibly spreading east in the direction of the Crimson Sea. Footage captured from the bottom additionally confirmed enormous mountains of ash rising into the skies above the mountain vary, blanketing the horizon.
VAAC reported that the large waves of volcanic ash plumes emitted rose to about 45,000 metres (148,000 toes) in top on the time of the eruption, and that the ash moved primarily in a northwesterly path.
Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia has erupted for the primary time in hundreds of years🌋
Satellite tv for pc photographs from @CopernicusEU Sentinel-5P (left) and @eumetsat‘s Meteosat-12 (proper) captured the ash plume spreading throughout the area. pic.twitter.com/ynG1zVAV3v
— ESA Earth Commentary (@ESA_EO) November 24, 2025
How have native communities been affected?
Native media in Ethiopia have reported that plumes of ash blanketed the areas across the volcano, together with hilly villages that are well-known vacationer attraction websites. Within the neighbouring village of Afdera, one resident advised The Related Press he had heard a loud sound because the eruption occurred.
“It felt like a sudden bomb had been thrown with smoke and ash,” Ahmed Abdela advised The AP. He added that by Monday, the village was nonetheless lined in ash, and that vacationers and guides heading to the close by Danakil Desert had been stranded.
Afar TV reported that vibrations and reasonable tremors had been felt in Ethiopia’s Wollo space, within the northern Tigray area, and as far-off as within the neighbouring nation of Djibouti.
Within the speedy aftermath of the eruption, darkish smoke, relatively than white ash, enveloped the world, plunging it into near-darkness, residents stated.
There are issues about how the eruption has affected air high quality within the close by villages.
Native administrator Mohammed Seid additionally advised The AP the eruption might have financial implications for the local people, the place most are livestock herders and rely upon forage – vegetation eaten by animals – for his or her livestock. A lot of that is now lined with a thick layer of mud. “Whereas no human lives and livestock have been misplaced to date, many villages have been lined in ash, and in consequence, their animals have little to eat,” he stated.
What do we all know concerning the Hayli Gubbi volcano?
Hayli Gubbi, a defend volcano – named so as a result of it has a low profile and resembles a defend when considered from above – is situated about 800km (500 miles) northeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital metropolis.
Hayli Gubbi, which rises to 500 metres (1,640 toes), is the southernmost volcano of the Erta Ale Vary, a sequence of low-lying defend volcanoes within the Afar area. It has had no recognized eruptions for 12,000 years.
Erte Ale volcano, certainly one of Ethiopia’s most lively, can be situated inside this vary, which itself is ready within the Rift Valley. Erte Ale, whose identify means “smoking mountain” in Afar, final overflowed with lava in January 2023, in accordance with The Smithsonian Establishment’s World Volcanism Program.
The place has the ash travelled and the way have flights been affected?
Clouds of ash have travelled throughout the Crimson Sea, first over Yemen and Oman, after which on to Pakistan and India, in accordance with monitoring web site Flightradar24.
Volcanic ash clouds include abrasive particles which may enter and harm plane engines, contaminate airfields, and scale back visibility, making flying hazardous.
Present (black) and forecasted (inexperienced +6hr , yellow +12, pink +18) ash cloud observations from as we speak’s eruption of Hayli Gubbi volcano in northern Ethiopia. pic.twitter.com/96vtwvLD20
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) November 23, 2025
The eruption has, due to this fact, induced widespread journey disruption in neighbouring international locations and continents, though there are to date no reviews of flight delays in Ethiopia, which is certainly one of Africa’s largest flight hubs.
India
In India, the ash had reached the Western Rajasthan area by Monday night after which moved northeast, in accordance with native newspaper The Hindu.
The ash prompted a number of airways, together with nationwide provider Air India, IndiGo and Akasa, in addition to Dutch provider KLM, to cancel their flights as a precaution. Air India cancelled 11 flights on Monday and Tuesday whereas Akasa scrapped flights scheduled on the identical day to Jeddah, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, in accordance with the Reuters information company.
The nation’s Directorate Normal of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued advisories on Monday urging airways to keep away from affected altitudes and areas, and warning that volcanic ash might hurt plane engines, in accordance with The Hindu.
The company additionally suggested airways to conduct precautionary checks on plane which had already flown over affected routes, and to report any suspected influence of ash on engine efficiency, or any smoke or odours within the cabin. Airports had been additionally ordered to examine runways for contamination.
The plumes have reportedly unfold throughout the states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab. India is anticipated to have clear skies by 14:00 GMT on Tuesday because the ash cloud strikes in the direction of China, in accordance with the India Meteorological Division (IMD).
Pakistan
In Pakistan, the nation’s meteorological service reported that the ash cloud was seen 60 nautical miles (111km) south of the port metropolis of Gwadar on Monday, in accordance with native newspaper Daybreak.
Gulf
Air Arabia cancelled a number of flights from Sharjah, UAE, on Tuesday.
In Oman, the Atmosphere Authority activated its emergency response to watch the ash clouds however reported no speedy influence on air high quality, in accordance with Occasions of Oman.
When have volcanic eruptions induced journey chaos previously?
Extreme volcanic ash eruptions that result in widespread disruptions like this one have been uncommon.
The final reported incident was in 2010, when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland erupted constantly between March and June, sending plumes of volcanic ash over swaths of Scandinavia, the UK and different European international locations. The eruption ejected ash as much as 11km (seven miles) into the environment. That ash had small, sharp particles of glacial particles as a result of the eruption had occurred beneath glacial ice.
In April that 12 months, the UK was pressured to shut down its complete airspace for six days, throughout which era some 95,000 flights had been cancelled. In keeping with the Heart for Economics and Enterprise Analysis, the UK airline trade misplaced $1.45bn in the course of the extended shutdown. Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria and Germany had been additionally pressured to shut airspace in Could.
Air site visitors throughout Europe throughout that interval was severely restricted as many international locations continued to intermittently shut their airspace. About 1.2 million passengers had been stranded every day throughout what was the most important air site visitors shutdown since World Conflict II.
