Ethiopian volcano erupts after 12,000 years: What we know

A long-inactive volcano successful bluish Ethiopia unexpectedly erupted connected Sunday, sending up plumes of volcanic ash and dust, which person since dispersed crossed continents and disrupted flights successful India and the United Arab Emirates.

No casualties were reported successful Ethiopia pursuing the eruption, but section authorities officials told reporters they are acrophobic astir the interaction of the eruption connected section communities and their livestock successful the Afar region, wherever the volcano is located.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4Ethiopian volcano erupts aft lying dormant for 12,000 years
• list 2 of 4Ethiopia inaugurates GERD dam amid downstream tensions with Egypt, Sudan
• list 3 of 4Non-native histrion devastates Ethiopia’s ecosystems and threatens livelihoods
• list 4 of 4Tigray fighters participate Ethiopia’s Afar region, stoking fears of caller conflict

Ethiopia has 50 known volcanoes, according to the Smithsonian, respective of which person been dormant for thousands of years.

The Ethiopian Rift Valley, wherever galore of the volcanoes are located, extends from Afar southwards done neighbouring countries. It was formed by shifting tectonic plates, which pulled isolated to signifier the onshore masses of Africa and Arabia, and is 1 of the astir important geological sites successful the world.

Here’s what we cognize astir Sunday’s volcanic eruption and its section and planetary impact:

In this photograph released by the Afar Government Communication Bureau, ash billows from an eruption of the long-dormant Hayli Gubbi Volcano successful Ethiopia’s Afar region, Sunday, November 23, 2025 [Afar Government Communication Bureau via AP]

What happened?

Hayli Gubbi, which forms portion of the Erta Ale volcano scope successful the bluish Afar Region of Ethiopia, erupted astatine astir 11:30am section clip (08:30 GMT) according to an advisory issued by the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) successful France.

Following the eruption, residents told reporters they had noticed faint fume from the volcano astir 3 days before. However, determination were nary reported technological forecasts for the eruption.

The volcano has not antecedently erupted successful the existent Holocene Era, which began astir 12,000 years agone astatine the extremity of the Ice Age, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program.

Satellite imagery shared connected societal media channels shows the eruption arsenic viewed from space, with a wide of billowing ash shooting up and visibly spreading eastbound towards the Red Sea. Footage captured from the crushed besides showed immense mountains of ash rising into the skies supra the upland range, blanketing the horizon.

VAAC reported that the monolithic waves of volcanic ash plumes emitted roseate to astir 45,000 metres (148,000 feet) successful tallness astatine the clip of the eruption, and that the ash moved chiefly successful a northwesterly direction.

Hayli Gubbi volcano successful Ethiopia has erupted for the archetypal clip successful thousands of years🌋

Satellite images from @CopernicusEU Sentinel-5P (left) and @eumetsat's Meteosat-12 (right) captured the ash plume spreading crossed the region. pic.twitter.com/ynG1zVAV3v

— ESA Earth Observation (@ESA_EO) November 24, 2025

How person section communities been affected?

Local media successful Ethiopia person reported that plumes of ash blanketed the areas astir the volcano, including hilly villages which are well-known tourer attraction sites. In the neighbouring colony of Afdera, 1 nonmigratory told The Associated Press helium had heard a large dependable arsenic the eruption occurred.

“It felt similar a abrupt weaponry had been thrown with fume and ash,” Ahmed Abdela told The AP. He added that by Monday, the colony was inactive covered successful ash, and that tourists and guides heading to the adjacent Danakil Desert were stranded.

Afar TV reported that vibrations and mean tremors were felt successful Ethiopia’s Wollo area, successful the bluish Tigray region, and arsenic acold distant arsenic successful the neighbouring state of Djibouti.

In the contiguous aftermath of the eruption, acheronian smoke, alternatively than achromatic ash, enveloped the area, plunging it into near-darkness, residents said.

There are concerns astir however the eruption has affected aerial prime successful the adjacent villages.

Local head Mohammed Seid besides told The AP the eruption could person economical implications for the section community, wherever astir are livestock herders and beryllium connected forage – plants eaten by animals – for their livestock. Much of this is present covered with a heavy furniture of dust. “While nary quality lives and livestock person been mislaid truthful far, galore villages person been covered successful ash, and arsenic a result, their animals person small to eat,” helium said.

What bash we cognize astir the Hayli Gubbi volcano?

Hayli Gubbi, a shield volcano – named truthful due to the fact that it has a debased illustration and resembles a shield erstwhile viewed from supra – is located astir 800km (500 miles) northeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s superior city.

Hayli Gubbi, which rises to 500 metres (1,640 feet), is the southernmost volcano of the Erta Ale Range, a concatenation of low-lying shield volcanoes successful the Afar region. It has had nary known eruptions for 12,000 years.

Erte Ale volcano, 1 of Ethiopia’s astir active, is besides located wrong this range, which itself is acceptable successful the Rift Valley. Erte Ale, whose sanction means “smoking mountain” successful Afar, past overflowed with lava successful January 2023, according to The Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program.

Where has the ash travelled and however person flights been affected?

Clouds of ash person travelled crossed the Red Sea, archetypal implicit Yemen and Oman, and past connected to Pakistan and India, according to monitoring website Flightradar24.

Volcanic ash clouds incorporate abrasive particles which tin participate and harm craft engines, contaminate airfields, and trim visibility, making flying hazardous.

Current (black) and forecasted (green +6hr , yellowish +12, reddish +18) ash unreality observations from today’s eruption of Hayli Gubbi volcano successful bluish Ethiopia. pic.twitter.com/96vtwvLD20

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) November 23, 2025

The eruption has, therefore, caused wide question disruption successful neighbouring countries and continents, though determination are truthful acold nary reports of formation delays successful Ethiopia, which is 1 of Africa’s biggest formation hubs.

India

In India, the ash had reached the Western Rajasthan portion by Monday evening and past moved northeast, according to section paper The Hindu.

The ash prompted respective airlines, including nationalist bearer Air India, IndiGo and Akasa, arsenic good arsenic Dutch bearer KLM, to cancel their flights arsenic a precaution. Air India cancelled 11 flights connected Monday and Tuesday portion Akasa scrapped flights scheduled connected the aforesaid time to Jeddah, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, according to the Reuters quality agency.

The country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued advisories connected Monday urging airlines to debar affected altitudes and regions, and informing that volcanic ash could harm craft engines, according to The Hindu.

The bureau besides advised airlines to behaviour precautionary checks connected craft which had already flown implicit affected routes, and to study immoderate suspected interaction of ash connected motor performance, oregon immoderate fume oregon odours successful the cabin. Airports were besides ordered to inspect runways for contamination.

The plumes person reportedly dispersed crossed the states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab. India is expected to person wide skies by 14:00 GMT connected Tuesday arsenic the ash unreality moves towards China, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Pakistan

In Pakistan, the country’s meteorological work reported that the ash unreality was seen 60 nautical miles (111km) southbound of the larboard metropolis of Gwadar connected Monday, according to section paper Dawn.

Gulf

Air Arabia cancelled respective flights from Sharjah, UAE, connected Tuesday.

In Oman, the Environment Authority activated its exigency effect to show the ash clouds but reported nary contiguous interaction connected aerial quality, according to Times of Oman.

When person volcanic eruptions caused question chaos successful the past?

Severe volcanic ash eruptions that pb to wide disruptions similar this 1 person been rare.

The past reported incidental was successful 2010, erstwhile the Eyjafjallajokull volcano successful Iceland erupted continuously betwixt March and June, sending plumes of volcanic ash implicit swaths of Scandinavia, the UK and different European countries. The eruption ejected ash up to 11km (seven miles) into the atmosphere. That ash had small, crisp particles of glacial debris due to the fact that the eruption had occurred beneath glacial ice. 

In April that year, the UK was forced to adjacent down its full airspace for six days, during which clip immoderate 95,000 flights were cancelled. According to the Center for Economics and Business Research, the UK hose manufacture mislaid $1.45bn during the prolonged shutdown. Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria and Germany were besides forced to adjacent airspace successful May.

Air postulation crossed Europe during that play was severely restricted arsenic galore countries continued to intermittently adjacent their airspace. About 1.2 cardinal passengers were stranded each time during what was the largest aerial postulation shutdown since World War II.