People watch as the night sky is illuminated caused by the eruption of a volcano in Grindavik on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Marco Di Marco)
APTOPIX Iceland Volcano
GRINDAVIK, Iceland — A volcano erupted in southwestern Iceland Monday night. The eruption took place about 2½ miles from the town of Grindavik, which is near the main airport. The town was evacuated back in November, after a series of earthquakes signaled scientists that an eruption was imminent. The volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula is about 31 miles southwest of the capital Reykjavik. It could last days, but unlike a volcano that erupted back in 2010, it wont slow down air travel across Europe.
Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages an eruption every four to five years. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.
(This report contains content from the Associated Press)
