A thick cloud of volcanic ash from Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano, which has erupted for the first time in thousands of years, is expected to reach northwest India on Monday night, meteorological experts said.
Officials aware with the matter said that aircraft operations over parts of Indian airspace are already beginning to feel the impact as the ash advances towards the region. Further disruptions are likely through the night, HT reported earlier.
How will the ash impact Indian cities
The ash plume is likely to enter Gujarat before moving towards Rajasthan, Delhi–NCR, and Punjab in the next few hours.
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According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the plumes are rising 10–15 kilometres above the Earth’s surface and contain volcanic ash, sulphur dioxide, and fine rock particles. The weather department further said the phenomenon will primarily affect flight operations.
IMD director general M Mohapatra told HT that the plumes are in the "upper-levels" so people will not see a significant impact near the surface. "It will appear as a hazy, cloudy sky with its impact expected for a few hours, as it continues to move further eastwards,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}IMD director general M Mohapatra told HT that the plumes are in the "upper-levels" so people will not see a significant impact near the surface. "It will appear as a hazy, cloudy sky with its impact expected for a few hours, as it continues to move further eastwards,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Mohapatra added that the impact on cities "will mainly be a marginal rise in the temperature".
"Similar to clouds, the minimum will rise. It is unclear whether it will impact air quality, but any significant impact is unlikely as it is at higher levels," he said.
Airlines started cancelling flights on Monday afternoon as the ash cloud travelled across the Red Sea and drifted towards the Middle East and Central Asia. A Mumbai airport official added that several flights were being rerouted through Pakistan’s airspace to avoid the affected region.
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“Flights either have to be re-routed or cancelled. While the impact on flight operations are minimal today, the situation is expected to be worse on Tuesday,” another person close to the development said.
“The ministry officials as well as the DGCA are keeping a close eye on the matter. If the ashes settle over Delhi and Jaipur by Tuesday, Indian aviation is expected to be impacted severely,” he added.
Meteorological experts said the plume was moving rapidly across Central Asia and into India.
This is expected to possibly spike the already high pollution levels in the region too. Already, air quality in NCR was on the brink of ‘severe’ at most locations. Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 382 at 4 pm on Monday. It was 396 (very poor) at Ghaziabad at the same time; 397 in Noida; 382 at Greater Noida and 232 (poor) in Faridabad.