A volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula has erupted yet again, just three weeks after the previous eruption ended. The eruption began at the Sundhnúkur crater, about 2 miles northeast of the town of Grindavík, on February 13, 2023, at approximately 1 p.m. local time.
According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), the eruption has created a 1.5-mile-long fissure that is spewing lava up to 165 feet into the air. The fissure is currently growing, and experts believe that the eruption could continue for several weeks.
This is the eighth eruption on the peninsula since March 2021 and the fifth since December 2023. The last eruption, which occurred from March 16 to May 8, 2024, produced lava flows that covered a wide area and disrupted air travel across northern Europe.
The recent flurry of volcanic activity in Iceland has been preceded by weeks of localized earthquakes, which have prompted authorities to evacuate 4,000 people from Grindavík and close the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa.
Volcanologist and professor of Earth sciences at the University of Oxford, U.K., David Pyle, believes that the eruptions are part of a cycle that began in 2021 and could disrupt the Icelandic peninsula for centuries to come. The unrest is caused by two tectonic plates that are being pulled apart, resulting in bursts of seismic and volcanic activity.
