The Fagradals volcano in southwest Iceland had been inactive for 6,000 years. But it follows on Friday evening weeks of earthquakes in the areathe volcano came to life.
The eruption is the first that the Reykjanes peninsula, where the volcano is located, has experienced in 781 years.
Video of the eruption shows the bright lava seeping from the Earth, lighting up an otherwise stark dark night. The glow from the lava could be seen up to 20 miles from Reykjavík, Iceland’s capital, according to the Associated Press and photos of the glow.
Icelandic police tweeted on Friday that people should stay indoors and keep their windows closed to prevent this gas pollutionWhen volcanoes erupt, the lava spews several potentially dangerous gases, including sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen fluoride, according to the United State Environmental Protection Agency.
The Icelandic Meteorological Bureau said Saturday morning that the pollution from this eruption “is not expected to cause much discomfort to humans, except close to the source of the eruption.”
On its website, the office said “no volcanic ash has been detected, but a high level of volcanic gases has been measured near the eruption site.” Scientists and officials are keeping a close eye on emissions.
Saturday morning, the Icelandic Meteorological Bureau reported that volcanic activity had “diminished somewhat” since Friday evening. Scientists from the department have not mentioned any major concern about the people in the area, as the lava area covers less than 1 square kilometer. Erupting fissures – cracks in the Earth’s surface from which lava emerges – are about 500 to 700 meters long, according to the agency.
“Lava fountains are small and lava flows are a very local hazard right now,” the office tweeted.
The Scientific Council for Civil Protection said on Saturday morning that they do not believe the eruption threatens structures.
A small earthquake occurred hours before the volcano erupted.
Southwest Iceland has been hit with one “swarm” of thousands of earthquakes since February 24. Dozens of them had a magnitude of 3 or higher, meaning they could be felt. On Thursday, just a day before the eruption, the IMO reported that there had been 400 earthquakes in a time frame of about seven hours. Despite its magnitude, it was “slightly less” seismic activity compared to other mornings with about 1,000 earthquakes.