Iceland: One of Iceland’s most active volcanoes could erupt “any minute” according to seismic researchers.
News that Hekla in South Iceland is ready to go as the pressure inside it skyrocketed, is worrying the troubled British holidaymakers as they recall the widespread travel disruption caused across Europe in 2010 by heavy clouds of ash gushed into the air by another Icelandic monster, Eyjafjallajökull.
More than 100,000 flights were cancelled over six days, stranding 10 million people and costing £1.15 billion (approx. 150 crores) in lost revenue.
If Hekla follows suit, then there's a real possibility the UK could be affected.
The Hekla volcano in the south of the country has been dormant for 16 years.
"Hekla is a dangerous volcano. We could be looking at a major disaster when the next eruption begins if we are not careful," said Páll Einarsson, a professor at the University of Iceland.
Professor Einarsson has studied the peak and suggests it could go off at any moment.
The volcano is nicknamed Gateway to Hell, and the pressure readings from inside it are already higher than they were in 2000 - the date of the last eruption.
Professor Einarsson advised that tourists stay away from the volcano. ”Hekla has become a very popular tourist destination," said Professor Einarsson.
"Nowadays, there are tourist groups on Hekla most of the summer," he said.
“There are also 20-30 planes full of passengers flying right over the top of Hekla every day.”
Iceland has some of the world's most active volcanoes. There are 130 known volcanoes in the country and 30 of them are classed as live volcanic systems.
There has been no official warning as yet from the Icelandic Met Office, and it is not the first time in recent years the volcano has been said to be close to blowing – travellers were warned away from the area in 2013 after an unusual cluster of micro earthquakes around the volcano.
Any explosion or subsequent ash cloud would lead to the cancellation of flights across Northern Europe, as happened in 2010; passengers will be entitled to a full refund, as protected by EU regulations.
