Volcanic Eruption Covers Russian Towns in Ash, Puts Air Travel on Watch
Ash clouds drifted 300 miles after explosions at the Shiveluch volcano in Russia’s Far East
A strong volcanic eruption in Russia’s Far East covered nearby towns and villages in ash early Tuesday, authorities said, with aviation officials warning of possible impacts for international air travel.
The eruption of the Shiveluch volcano in the northeastern region of the Kamchatka peninsula sent ash billowing more than 26,200 feet into the sky, according to the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team. Explosions were continuing, it said.
Ash clouds drifted about 300 miles south and southwest of the volcano, blanketing homes and vehicles in a thick layer of dust. Further explosions of up to 9 miles could occur at any time, the agency said.
“Ongoing activity could affect international and low-flying aircraft,” said the agency, which is responsible for providing information on volcanic activity to international air navigation.
Images on Russian state television showed settlements in Kamchatka completely covered in ash. The Kamchatka branch of Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations warned that due to a change in wind direction, volcanic ash could fall on several municipal and urban districts, including the Bystrinsky District administrative and municipal district that covers some 9,000 square miles. Roads across several districts had been closed, the agency said.
Russia’s federal agency for air transportation said the volcanic eruption had been assigned a “red aviation hazard code,” the maximum designation, indicating that an eruption is under way with a significant emission of ash into the atmosphere.
It cautioned flight crews to “take into account the peculiarities of this natural phenomenon when choosing routes for domestic and international flights.”
“For the sake of flight safety, flight crews need to constantly monitor changes in meteorological information,” it said.
European and U.S. airlines aren’t currently permitted to use Russian airspace so are less exposed to the eruption of Shiveluch, a spokeswoman for the European Aviation Safety Agency said.
Volcanic monitoring agencies in Anchorage, Alaska, and Tokyo were tracking the situation as the ash plume moved east.