In the past two days, about 2,200 low-intensity earthquakes were recorded less than 40 kilometers from the Icelandic capital Reykjavík, hinting at the impending volcanic eruption, the Icelandic Meteorological Institute reported Wednesday.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said the tremors began around 4:00 PM GMT on Tuesday under Mount Fagradalsfjall, on the Reykjanes Peninsula, in the far southwest of Iceland and where two eruptions occurred in 2021 and 2022 .
“About 2,220 earthquakes were detected and measured, the most important of which were felt in the capital region”the agency said in a statement Wednesday, admitting it expects seismic activity throughout the day.
By noon local time on Wednesday, four of the quakes recorded were magnitudes greater than 4 on the Richter scale, with seismic activity prompting the IMO to raise the aviation color code from “green” to “orange.” to warn the aviation industry of the risk of blowout.
While no “volcanic tremor” (the multiple continuous harmonic tremors that occur before and during a volcanic eruption) has yet been observed, the likelihood of an eruption “in the coming hours or days” has increased, the IMO stressed.
Located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a fault line that separates the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, Iceland is the largest and most active volcanic region in Europe.
In the past two years, lava has erupted violently twice near the 385-meter-high mountain Fagradalsfjall, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists.
Source: DN
