A volcano in Iceland can be seen brewing to life on live cams as authorities announce a "significant likelihood of a volcanic eruption in the coming days."
Iceland is one of the most volcanically volatile areas in the world, with around 30 active sites. The Fagradalsfjall volcano was dormant for over 800 years until it erupted in 2021, and in the years since erupted in 2022 and in July 2023. The Eyjafjallajökull volcano caused weeks of airline disruptions in the wake of its 2010 eruption.
The volcanic region threatening to erupt is in the vicinity of the Fagradalsfjall volcano, situated on the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland, around 30 miles from the capital city of Reykjavík, with the highest levels of seismic activity being detected between the towns of Sundhnúkur and Grindavík.
Live cams dotted around the peninsula—including near the Fagradalsfjall volcano, which shows Grindavík in the background—show the possible calm before the storm, as the Icelandic Meteorological Office predicts that an eruption is imminent, calling for the nearby area to be evacuated.
"Since midnight November 12th, around 1000 earthquakes have been recorded within the dyke, and all of them have been below M3.0 in magnitude. The most seismic activity has been located in the region north of Grindavík," the Icelandic Meteorological Office said in a statement on Sunday.
Nine hundred further earthquakes were detected since midnight on November 13.
The quakes are being caused by a nine-mile-long river of magma, known as a magma intrusion, running beneath the peninsula. This magma is thought to be situated around 2,600 feet below the ground and is moving towards the surface, threatening to burst through the surface as a volcanic eruption.
"Magma temperature varies between 500 to 1,200 degrees C (932 to 2192 degrees F), causing rapid evaporation of water to steam that could lead to an explosion of steam, water, ash, rock, and volcanic bombs," Alberto Ardid, a volcanologist and geophysicist at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, told Newsweek.
Certain areas of the peninsula have seen large cracks and deformations forming in the ground over the weekend due to the magma river's seismic activity.
"The imagery shows up to 1 m of vertical ground displacement in the western part of Grindavík, caused by the propagation of the magma intrusion. From geodetical modelling results, we infer that (as of 12 November) the greatest area of magma upwelling is sourced close to Sundhnúkur, 3.5 km north-northeast of Grindavík," the Icelandic Meteorological Office said on Monday.
Iceland has declared a state of emergency, and ordered the evacuation of thousands of people in Grindavík in preparation for a possible eruption. The famous Blue Lagoon just north of Grindavík was closed on Thursday.
"Remain calm, because we have a good amount of time to react," Iceland's Civil Protection Agency said on Friday, stressing that the evacuation was not an emergency, but a measure to prevent any harm in the case of an eruption.
"There is no immediate danger imminent, the evacuation is primarily preventive with the safety of all Grindavík residents as the principal aim."
The roads into the town have been closed by local police, but Grindavík locals were allowed to briefly return home for valuables and essentials on Monday afternoon.
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