With ash plumes from Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano reaching Delhi NCR, residents fear its health effects as the national capital has been suffering from poor air quality for over a month.
A volcano in northern Ethiopia has erupted for the first time in nearly 10,000 years, sending tall columns of ash into the atmosphere and triggering meteorological departments around the world. Fast upper-level winds blew debris and ash thousands of kilometers away, with India briefly affected as a cloud passed over its northern and western parts.
How did Ethiopian volcanic ash travel?
The mass of Ethiopian volcanic ash initially entered Gujarat on Monday before spreading to regions including Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi-NCR, Haryana and Punjab overnight.
The volcanic ash plume that moved over northwest India on Monday and briefly disrupted flights has since moved toward China.
Ash from the cloud rose up to a height of 14 kilometers.
Ash columns of Ethiopian volcanic eruptions from the Afar region, approximately 800 km northeast of Addis Ababa near the Eritrean border, were carried across the Red Sea to Yemen and Oman by strong upper-level winds, eventually blowing across the Arabian Sea to western and northern India.
The IMD noted that the plume traveled along high-altitude wind currents that transported it “from Ethiopia across the Red Sea to Yemen and Oman and then across the Arabian Sea towards western and northern India”, with satellite instruments, VAAC bulletins and dispersion modeling assisting in its monitoring.
What is volcanic ash?
Volcanic ash is not the same as the typical ash we see from wildfires. It carries fine particles of fragmented volcanic rock less than 2 mm in diameter.
Volcanic ash is a mixture of rock, mineral and glass particles ejected from a volcano during a volcanic eruption. Due to their small size, they can travel thousands of kilometers and can often cause health problems when inhaled in high concentrations.
Ethiopian Volcanic Ash in Delhi: What are its Health Effects?
According to the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (IVHHN), ash inhalation can cause respiratory effects, eye symptoms, skin irritation and indirect effects.
According to the CDC, most of the health effects of volcanic ash are short-term in nature. These include:
- Eye or respiratory irritation
- Vomiting
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Rapid or difficult breathing
- Vision disorders
- Shocks
You may also experience nasal irritation and runny nose, sore throat and dry cough, among other things.
Long-term effects include bronchitis and lung infections, even lung cancer. People with asthma, children and infants, and people with chronic respiratory or heart disease.
How to protect yourself?
The CDC lists these precautions to protect yourself from volcanic ash –
(Tagtransslate)Ethiopia Volcano Eruption
