Bardarbunga, Iceland's second largest volcano, is 'prepared to erupt', sparking fears of travel chaos across Europe. Scientists suggest that Bardarbunga, which is currently being shaken by earthquakes, will emit a huge cloud of ash that will cover Europe and make flights in this part of the world impossible.. Daily Mail writes about this.

Bardarbunga experienced 130 earthquakes in just five hours. According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), this is a key sign that an eruption is imminent..

As a precautionary measure, Bar?arbunga's aviation color code has been raised from green to yellow, indicating "

Aviation color codes provide pilots and aviation authorities with information about the possible presence of volcanic ash in the atmosphere that could interfere with flights.

The Bardarbunga volcano, located beneath Iceland's largest ice cap (Vatnajokull) in the center of the country, last erupted ten years ago, prompting a red alert for travelers..

A previous volcanic eruption in 2014/15 released large amounts of sulfur dioxide and affected air quality. However, flights outside the immediate area were not significantly affected as volcanic ash was not released in large quantities.

" The observed seismicity is consistent with increased pressure caused by the accumulation of magma, which has continued since the last eruption in 2015,” seismologists note that the volcano began “shaking” on December 14. And it continues to this day.

Over the past four years, the Icelandic volcanoes Fagradalsfjall and Sundhnukur have made headlines for their constant eruptions, even though they are located further southwest, closer to the capital Reykjavik. Bardarbunga, named after a settler who once lived in the area, is located in a more remote area, meaning people and infrastructure are at less risk.

Many of these eruptions were preceded by earthquakes of magnitude five to six.

Iceland is a hotspot for seismic activity because it lies on a tectonic plate boundary called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Unrest in the area is gradually driving North America and Eurasia apart.

There are only a few places on Earth where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge makes landfall, but Iceland, located right in the middle of the ridge, is one of them.

However, Iceland is also located above a mantle plume - a column of hot molten rock that rises from deep within the Earth's mantle to the surface and turns into lava when it erupts..

Over the past four years, Iceland has experienced a series of eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula, a volcanic point southwest of the capital Reykjavik..

After 800 years of inactivity, the Reykjanes Peninsula suddenly became active again in 2021 when the Fagradalsfjall volcano began to erupt.. Because of this, the fishing village of Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon resort had to be evacuated.

In November 2024, the geothermal resort closed when its parking lot was flooded by lava, although Blue Lagoon's website states that "

However, Bardarbunga may well repeat the situation in 2010, when the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano led to the world's largest disruption of air travel since the Second World War.

The eruption was small - just one out of seven on the scale used to measure eruptions. On a global scale, this seemed like a relatively small event at the time.

However, Eyjafjallajokull released a huge ash cloud that covered large areas of Northern Europe in mid-April.

Around 20 countries closed their airspace to commercial aircraft, affecting around 10 million travelers, with around 100,000 flights to, from and within Europe canceled over a six-day period.

Several sporting matches were postponed and Liverpool Football Club had to travel by bus to Madrid to play a Europa League match.

Let us recall that earlier scientists warned that a catastrophic volcanic eruption could occur on Earth, which would provoke “climate chaos.”. Moreover, scientists cannot say exactly where this eruption will occur..