Ash clouds from volcanic eruption in Ethiopia reached parts of India on Tuesday affecting flight operations but it had no impact on the weather or air quality, according to government agencies.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the ash plumes are drifting towards China and will move away from India by 7.30 pm on Tuesday. The IMD and the civil aviation ministry said they are closely monitoring the situation.
Some flights were cancelled and many were delayed due to the ash cloud, the ministry said.
Earlier in the day, Air India cancelled 13 flights, including some international services, as some of its aircraft that flew through the affected regions underwent checks. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology at the IMD, said the impact was limited to higher skies.
"The volcanic ash is being seen only in the upper troposphere and it is affecting flight operations. It has no impact on air quality or weather. The ash cloud is drifting towards China and will move away from Indian skies by 7.30 pm," Mohapatra said.Volcanic ash reached the skies over Gujarat, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday.
The Hayli Gubbi volcano
The Hayli Gubbi volcano, located in Ethiopia's Afar region about 800 kilometres (500 miles) northeast of Addis Ababa near the Eritrean border, erupted on Sunday for several hours.
The volcano, which rises about 500 metres in altitude, sits within the Rift Valley, a zone of intense geological activity where two tectonic plates meet.
Ash clouds from the volcano drifted over Yemen, Oman, India, and northern Pakistan, the VAAC said.
In videos shared on social media, which AFP could not immediately verify, a thick column of white smoke can be seen rising.
The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program said Hayli Gubbi has had no known eruptions during the Holocene, which began around 12,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age.
Simon Carn, a volcanologist and professor at the Michigan Technological University, confirmed on Bluesky that Hayli Gubbi "has no record of Holocene eruptions".
Afar authorities have not yet responded to AFP inquiries about possible casualties or the number of displaced people.
