Southwest Iceland volcano erupts for sixth time on Thursday, the meteorological office reported, spewing red-hot lava and smoke in its eruption since December. According to the Icelandic Met Office, in charge of volcanic monitoring, the fissure was around 2.42 miles long and expanded by over a mile in roughly 40 minutes.

Livestreams from the volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula revealed that an Iceland volcano had erupted for the sixth time, shooting up from the earth, its bright yellow and orange colours strikingly contrasting with the night sky.

“The impact is limited to a certain area near the eruption site. It poses no threat to life, and the surrounding region has been evacuated,” Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated. It was not pouring towards the nearby fishing town of Grindavik, where roughly 4,000 people have been evacuated since November, according to the Met Office.

The eruption occurred in the Sundhnukar crater row east of Mount Sylingafell, partially overlapping with other recent eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula. This volcanic system, with no core crater, erupts by opening massive fractures in the ground.

The most recent eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula, home to over 30,000 people, or roughly 8% of the country’s entire population, stopped on June 22 after 24 days of pouring molten rock.

The Iceland volcano erupts for sixth time highlight the dilemma that the island nation of roughly 400,000 people faces, with scientists warning that the Reykjanes peninsula might experience recurring breakouts for decades, if not millennia.

According to Halldór Björnsson, head of weather and climate at the Norwegian Meteorological Agency, the current eruption will not affect the town of Grindavik. The town was largely evacuated in December when the volcano erupted after 800 years of dormancy.

Magnús Tuma Guðmundsson, a geophysicist who flew over the eruption centres this evening, stated, “Grindavík is not in danger if the situation continues. Of course, we don’t know what will happen shortly, but it’s possible that this has peaked and will begin to diminish like previous eruptions.”

Nine eruptions have occurred on the peninsula since 2021, resulting from the reactivation of geological systems that had been dormant for 800 years.

In response, authorities built man-made barriers to divert lava flows away from key infrastructure, including the Svartsengi power station, the Blue Lagoon outdoor spa, and Grindavik.

According to Reykjavik’s Keflavik Airport’s website, flights were unharmed, but the neighbouring Blue Lagoon luxury geothermal spa and hotel closed and evacuated its customers. Volcanic eruptions in the Reykjanes peninsula are known as fissure eruptions, and they rarely disrupt air travel because they do not create massive explosions or extensive ash dispersal into the stratosphere.

Iceland, roughly the size of the United States state of Kentucky, has over 30 active volcanoes, making it a popular destination for volcano tourism—a niche market that attracts thrill seekers.

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