Iceland’s Fagradasfjall volcano, about 25 miles south of Reykjavik and even closer to the island nation’s international airport, appears to be on the verge of a major eruption, heralded by days of minor and some medium-strength earthquakes.
Authorities have already evacuated the nearest town, Grindavik, warning that a pool of magma below the town’s surface could cause fissures in the earth. The area has had several eruptions since 2021, but the present situation, experts say, is significantly more intense.
Iceland’s Meteorological Office has declared an emergency, and has said that there may be an eruption anywhere from hours to days away, possibly shutting down international air travel not only at the airport, but possibly generating a smoke plume similar to the one that closed all trans-Atlantic air traffic a few years ago when a different volcano erupted in Iceland.
Fagradalsfjall, unlike a number of other Icelandic volcanoes, had been dormant for over 6,000 years when it began its smaller eruptions in 2019.
