10,000-Year Dormancy Ends: Hayli Gubbi Volcano Erupts in Ethiopia

An enormous ash cloud from the Hayli Gubbi volcano, which burst in a rare explosive eruption on Sunday in the remote Afar region of Ethiopia, is disrupting international air travel and air quality monitoring today across an enormous swath of the Middle East and South Asia. Part of the Erta Ale Volcanic Range, Hayli Gubbi was thought to have lain dormant for between 10,000 and 12,000 years, making its sudden awakening a major geological event.

The Eruption and Ash Plume Trajectory

According to the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, explosive activity began at around 8:30 AM UTC on Sunday. The eruption sent an enormous column of ash and gases to as high as 45,000 feet-which is about 14 km altitude.

Although the most violent eruptive phase reportedly has passed, the resulting ash cloud has been blown several thousand kilometers eastward by high-level winds. Its path has taken it across the Red Sea toward Yemen and Oman, before drifting over the Arabian Sea and impacting the airspace above western and northern India, including regions like Gujarat, Delhi-NCR, and Punjab.

Global Aviation and Environmental Impact

It has most prominently affected air safety: the ash is made up of small particles of rock and glass, which are highly dangerous to jet engines, and the high-altitude plume created by the eruption resulted in immediate international action through organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization.

• Flight Disruptions: Carriers flying between the UAE, the Middle East, and South Asia-a list that includes low-cost carriers Air Arabia and IndiGo-have canceled or rerouted flights, leading to substantial delays in travel.
• Air Quality Concerns: The authorities in Oman and India issued advisories as the ash plume drew nearer, raising concerns that the fine particles could worsen air quality, particularly in places like Delhi that already face high levels of pollution. Experts have said that though a bulk of the plume stays at high altitude, its ground-level effects were observed as a fine haze.

Local Effects and Geological Context

Locally, the Hayli Gubbi eruption blanketed the nearby village of Afdera with dust and ash; though no lives were lost, the eruption presents an economic menace to the local community of livestock herders as grazing lands have been grossly affected by the ashfall. The area falls within the Afar Rift, where tectonic plates-the African, Arabian, and Somali plates-are being pulled apart in a process termed continental breakup, and is thus characterized by extreme geological activity.

Given that the volcano is in a very remote part of the desolate Danakil Depression, one of the hottest and lowest places in the world, scientists are relying heavily on satellite imagery and remote sensing. This unusual awakening of such a long-dormant volcano presents a unique opportunity for the volcanologists to investigate the deeper magma dynamics of this highly active rift zone.