By: Valentina Cheng

The Icelandic Meteorological Office issued a warning on Tuesday, July 30, for citizens to prepare for a close volcanic eruption. Eruptions like this would be Iceland’s 8th eruption since May 2021.

Three eruptions-or, possibly, one eruption with months-long pauses- in the southern peninsula mark a new geological era in the region as it has been dormant for the past 800 years.

Fagradalsfjall, the volcano that has erupted consecutively in these past years, attracts the attention of the country’s residents and scientists. The first eruption was on March 19, 2021, where signs prior to the outburst, such as earthquakes, left neighboring towns Grindavik and Reykjavik sleepless. The second eruption on August 3, 2022, created large tourist attractions but is also to be approached with caution since the weather can suddenly change. The most recent eruption on May 29, 2024, marks the 5th outflow since December 2023, forcing a significant number of people to evacuate from Grindavik. This town has been deserted since January, as the eruption left the town split in two.

The “volcanic zone,” which started in 2021, is expected to produce magma eruptions occasionally for decades. Iceland usually experiences volcanic activity every 5 years, but at the moment, the eruptions are happening almost every month. Surprisingly, this doesn’t shock many volcanic specialists.

“Iceland has eruptions. It’s a volcanic area,” stated Ed Venzke, who manages the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program database. Along with this statement, Christopher Kilburn, a professor of Volcanology at the University College London, stated that it’s not unusual and that it’s only been a length of time since the last series of eruptions.

Iceland is likely to experience continued volcanic eruptions for several decades due to its unique geological makeup. While these eruptions are a natural phenomenon, they pose a significant risk to people living close to volcanic activity.