The Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia’s Afar region erupted on Sunday morning (23 November), covering nearby villages in ash.

Professor Atalay Ayele, head of the seismology department at the Institute of Geophysics, Space Science, and Astronomy at Addis Ababa University, said seismic activity in the Afar region had increased over the past year, with the eruption occurring near the Erta Ale volcanic range.

“Erta Ale is a magma lake. Because the magma is close to the surface, this eruption occurred without significant earthquake activity, but it was energetic enough to create a very large volcanic plume in the atmosphere,” Ayele said.

The professor added that while volcanic eruptions in Afar are not unusual, there are no previous records of activity at Hayli Gubbi.

“A volcano is considered active if it has erupted in the last 10,000 years. There are no records for this volcano. It may be extinct, or it is so remote that any past activity was never noticed or recorded,” he explained.

Although relatively small, the eruption released kilotons of ash and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, which were carried by winds to distant areas including Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and even as far as India.

Air travel was affected. Air India cancelled several flights on Tuesday (25 November), while Air Alaska suspended services to Jeddah, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi. Ethiopian Airlines said its operations had not been affected so far.

Ayele also warned that volcanic ash can pose serious risks to aircraft and advised caution for flights in affected areas.

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