LONDON (AP) – A volcanic eruption in southwestern Iceland appears to have subsided, though scientists are warning that the area may experience further eruptions in the coming months.
Iceland´s Meteorological Office said late Thursday that the eruption had decreased significantly.
The eruption began at about 6 a.m. local time on Thursday in the area northeast of Mount Sýlingarfell, the Met Office said. It prompted the evacuation of the popular Blue Lagoon thermal spa and cut off heat and hot water to several communities on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern corner of the island.
Molten lava is seen overflowing the road leading to the famous tourist destination “Blue Lagoon” near Grindavik, western Iceland on February 8, 2023. A volcanic eruption started on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland on Thursday, the third to hit the area since December, authorities said. (Photo by Kristinn Magnusson / AFP) / Iceland OUT (Photo by KRISTINN MAGNUSSON/AFP via Getty Images)
GRINDAVIK, ICELAND – 8 FEBRUARY 2024: (SOUTH AFRICA OUT) A natural and infrared satellite image of the lava flow from Sylingarfell volcano, north of the town Grindavik on 8 February 2024. This image is part of a series. (Photo by Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2024)
Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said authorities hope to restore hot water to the area by midday on Friday, national broadcaster RUV reported.
The eruption site is about 4 kilometers (2½ miles) northeast of Grindavik, a coastal town of 3,800 people that was evacuated before a previous eruption on Dec. 18. The town wasn´t threatened by Thursday´s eruption.
Benedikt Ófeigsson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Met Office, told RUV that the area can expect an eruption every month or so over the next few months.
“In the long term, it´s very difficult to say, but in the short term, the next months, we will probably continue to see repeated magma intrusions and eruptions,´´ he said.
GRINDAVIK, ICELAND – FEBRUARY 8: Emergency services close a road as lava erupts from a fissure on February 8, 2024 in Grandavik, Iceland. A volcanic fissure opened north of Grindavik near the power plant and blue lagoon, cutting off power to the international airport at Keflavik.
GRINDAVIK, ICELAND – FEBRUARY 8: ( —-EDITORIAL USE ONLY – MANDATORY CREDIT – ‘ICELAND CIVIL DEFENCE / HANDOUT’ – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS—-) An aerial view shows lava after volcano eruption northeast of Sylingarfell, near Grindavik, Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland early Thursday, February 8, 2024. (Photo by Iceland Civil Defense/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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