View bigger. | Popocatépetl volcano in Mexico on Jan. 2, 2021. Image from NASA Earth Observatory by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the US Geological Survey.
NASA Earth Observatory has just published this image, acquired from Landsat 8 on January 2, 2021. It is a plume rising from Mexico’s Popocatépetl volcano, whose nickname is The Popo. This volcano is located in the center of Mexico, just 70 km from Mexico City. Residents of Mexico City can see it on clear days. Kasha Patel from NASA wrote:
Popocatépetl volcano – its name is Aztec for ‘smoking mountain’ – is one of Mexico’s most active volcanoes. The glacier-clad stratovolcano has been erupting since January 2005, with daily low-intensity emissions of gas, steam and ash …
On Jan. 6, the Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) reported a volcanic ash plume rising to about 6,400 meters (21,000 feet) above the volcano. Mexico’s National Center for Disaster Prevention (CENAPRED), which continuously monitors Popo, warned people not to approach the volcano or its crater due to falling ash and rock fragments. Some ash was blown downwind to the city of Puebla, which is about 45 kilometers (30 miles) from the volcano.
At 5,426 meters (17,802 feet) above sea level, Popocatépetl is the second highest volcano in Mexico (after Citlaltépetl). It is composed of alternating layers of volcanic ash, lava and rocks from previous eruptions. The volcano is located about 70 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Mexico City, and more than 20 million people live close enough to be hit by a major eruption. However, most of the eruptions over the past 600 years have been relatively mild.
In short, the Mexican volcano Popocatépetl has been erupting since January 2005. On January 6, 2021, Mexico’s National Center for Disaster Prevention warned that the volcano is continuously monitoring people not to approach due to falling ash and rock fragments.
Via NASA Earth Observatory
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