Iceland volcano: Astonishing footage of spewing lava captured by a drone
Astonishing drone footage has emerged showing both the beauty and destructive nature of Iceland’s erupted volcano.
A gash two miles long has opened up on the Reykjanes peninsula, spewing between 100 and 200 cubic metres of lava every second.
The erupting lava has now been filmed from above, capturing the burning bright molten rock spewing from the earth, before splitting into small tributary-like flows.
Iceland volcano – latest: Warning volcanic eruption could last ‘for months’
Though the lava flow has abated, the Icelandic Met Office says more magma could yet flow from deep within the earth to fuel the fire fountains and perhaps open up new fissures.
Experts say the lava flow could stop over the weekend or next week, or could carry on at a slower rate for weeks or months.
‘Don’t visit the site’
It comes as people in Iceland have been told to stay at home and “get into the Christmas spirit” rather than attempt the risky journey to the eruption site.
Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, communications director for Iceland’s civil defence department, told Icelandic broadcaster RUV that while the lava flow has become less intense, things could still change quickly.
Ms Gudmundsdottir also said teams had spent “a lot of time” turning away people trying to reach the site.
A close up of part of the volcano. Pic: AP
She told RUV that the walk to the fissure is “particularly difficult” and there is a risk of people falling into cracks in the ground.
It would be better to do some Christmas shopping, “get into the Christmas spirit or maybe just have a hot cocoa at home and wrap Christmas presents”, Ms Gudmundsdottir said.
Vidir Reynisson, the head of Iceland’s Civil Protection and Emergency Management, had previously warned that the eruption site was “not a tourist attraction” and warned people to stay away from the area.
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‘Fears more magma could rise up’
It comes after Icelandic media reported that a hiker had to be rescued after getting lost near the eruption site last night.
News website Iceland Monitor cited coast guard officer Asgeir Erlendsson as saying the man had been found safe after a search and brought to safety in a helicopter.
“The helicopter found him and took him back to town,” Mr Erlendsson told the website.
“He had become very cold and had left his equipment with a flashlight in another place, which is why it was thought that these were two men.”
‘Definitely reducing’
It is five weeks since 4,000 people were evacuated from the nearby fishing town of Grindavik in the middle of the night after an intense swarm of earthquakes.
A map showing the location of the fissure in relation to the town of Grindavik
Iceland is at the centre of the meeting point between the Eurasian tectonic plate and the North American tectonic plate
Seismic activity petered out in the following days and scientists began to wonder whether the magma would solidify and never reach the surface.
But on Monday night there was another earthquake swarm and the surface ripped open soon after.
Scientists are using GPS signals from space to precisely measure the height of the ground around the volcanic site.
It had risen by 35cm in some areas, pushed up by the magma rising from beneath.
Pic: Department of Civil Protection
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What is happening under the volcano’s surface?
Since the eruption it has slumped back down by 5cm, an indication that at least some of the pressure below ground has been vented.
But the Icelandic Met Office says more magma could yet flow from deep within the earth to fuel the fire fountains and perhaps open up new fissures.
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Eruption happened ‘in best possible spot’
Dr Katie Reeves, a teaching fellow at the University of Warwick, told Sky News it has been a “really intense but shorter event”.
“The actual lava output is quite significant in this eruption. I believe it’s comparable to the month-long eruption in [July and August] 2023 already in a couple of days,” she said.
The eruption fissure has localised into two “active areas” where cones are now building, Dr Reeves said, though its intensity is “definitely reducing”.
“It may continue at this rate. It may also increase in its rate or open up further along the actual fissure system,” Dr Reeves said.
Pic: Icelandic Coast Guard/Reuters
Halldor Geirsson, associate professor at the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland, added: “It is difficult to see exactly what is going on, but when you get some glimpses through the snow it is obvious that it is just less and less lava flow.”
Mr Geirsson said the eruption could stop over the weekend or next week, or lava flows could carry on at a slower rate for weeks or months.
The “most likely scenario is that it just stops”, he said.
“But if that happens, the pressure will start building again in the magma chamber, which is likely to trigger another eruption after a few weeks,” he added.
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The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.
The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.
Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries such as the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.
It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.
But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.
Bolivia’s lead negotiator Diego Pacheco called it an “insult”, while the Marshall Islands’ Tina Stege said it was “not nearly enough, but it’s a start”.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.
“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps.”
The funding deal was clinched more than 24 hours into overtime, and against what felt like all the odds.
The talks were rocked from the start by the incoming presidency of climate denier Mr Trump, the moment Argentina’s team were recalled back to Buenos Aires by their right-wing president and a controversial letter that sent shockwaves through the United Nations.
Pic: AP
The fraught two weeks of negotiations pitted the anger of developing countries who are footing the bill for more dangerous weather that they did little to cause, against the tight public finances of rich countries.
A relieved Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, climate envoy for Panama, said there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Just hours ago, the talks almost fell apart as furious vulnerable nations stormed out of negotiations in frustration over that elusive funding goal.
They were also angry with oil and gas producing countries, who stood accused of trying to dilute aspects of the deal on cutting fossil fuels.
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Climate-vulnerable nations storm out of talks
The UN talks work on consensus, meaning everyone has to agree for a deal to fly.
A row over how to follow up on last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was left unresolved and punted into next year, following objections from Chile and Switzerland for being too weak.
A draft deal simply “reaffirmed” the commitment but did not dial up the pressure in the way the UK, EU, island states and many others here wanted.
Saudi Arabia fought the hardest against any step forward on cutting fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change that is intensifying floods, drought and fires around the world.
Governments did manage to strike a deal on carbon markets at COP29, which has been 10 years in the making and will allow countries to trade emissions cuts.
‘Not everything we wanted’
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The UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said the deal is “not everything we or others wanted”, but described it as a “step forward”.
“It’s a deal that will drive forward the clean energy transition, which is essential for jobs and growth in Britain and for protecting us all against the worsening climate crisis,” he added.
“Today’s agreement sends the signal that the clean energy transition is unstoppable.
“It is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century and through our championing of it we can help crowd in private investment.”
Protesters at the summit in Baku. Pic: AP
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The Azerbaijan team leading COP29 said: “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator.
“We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.”
At least 20 people have been killed and 66 injured in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.
Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.
The attack destroyed an eight-storey residential building and badly damaged several others around it in the Basta neighbourhood at 4am (2am UK time) on Saturday.
The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut
The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack and has not commented on the casualties.
At least four bombs were dropped in the attack – the fourth targeting the city centre this week.
A separate drone strike in the southern port city of Tyre this morning killed two people and injured three, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The victims were Palestinian refugees from the nearby al Rashidieh camp who were out fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area.
Israel’s military warned residents today in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 metres away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centres and weapons storage facilities.
Pic: AP
Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.
Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,670 people have been killed in Israeli attacks there, with more than 15,400 wounded.
It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
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‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike
Meanwhile, six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Some 44,176 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.
Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.
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