Iceland on Friday issued red alert after lava fountains were found dancing along an extended volcanic fissure near the Bardarbunga volcano system on Sunday.
The small eruption prompted the authorities to raise the aviation warning to the highest level, signaling closure of the surrounding airspace.
Making an statement in this regard, the National Crisis Coordination Center said, “The Icelandic Met Office has raised the aviation color code over the eruption site to red and the Icelandic Air Traffic Control has closed down the air space from the earth up to 18,000 feet.”
On a five-color scale, red is considered to the maximum alert level. It suggests that an eruption is impending and have a risk of ash.
The authorities also confirmed that no sign of ash were found following the small eruption that could have potential to affect the air travel in Europe.
“No volcanic ash has been detected with the radar system at the moment. Seismic eruption tremor is low indicating effusive eruption without significant explosive activity,” the National Crisis Coordination Center said.
The meteorological agency of the country said that the authorities are doing close monitoring over the eruption in the Holuhraun lava field, which is located about five kilometers north of the Dyngjujoekull glacier which covers part of Bardarbunga system.
According to the Reykjavik’s Meteorological Office, a small eruption began in a lava field just after midnight local time. The experts said that an ash cloud is at highest risk during a sub-glacial eruption.
According to the met department, the fissure eruption on Sunday was more powerful than the one occurred on Friday. But the experts stressed that the condition is not worrisome as it is unlikely to result into the aviation chaos that occurred following the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption.
In April 2010, an eruption at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano led to the cancellation of more than 100,000 flights due to the official closure of Europe’s air space, wreaking havoc on millions of travelers.
