11:45 a.m. ET, December 19, 2023
Lava flow down to “one-quarter” of Monday level — but gas pollution may hit Reykjavik, weather service says
This image made from video and provided by the Icelandic Coast Guard shows magma flowing on a hill near Grindavik, Iceland, late Monday night.
Icelandic Coast Guard via AP
The size of the volcanic eruption on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula “continues to diminish,” with the lava flow reducing to just “one-quarter” of the levels seen on Monday, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said in an update Tuesday.
Gas pollution might be noticeable on Tuesday in Vestmannaeyjar, an archipelago off Iceland’s southern coast, but other populated areas will be unaffected, the IMO added.
Due to the weather forecast, however, gas pollution may reach the capital area, where Reykjavík is situated, late Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, according to the IMO.
Magma fountains are lower than at the start of the eruption, “reaching about 30 meters at their highest,” which is about 98 feet, the IMO said. There are currently five eruption vents spread along the original volcanic fissure, but the length of the fissure remains unchanged, the met office added.
Meanwhile, Landsnet, a power distribution agency in Iceland, has increased its alert to “emergency level,” a Landsnet spokesperson told CNN in an email.
Landsnet is “looking at possible lava flow scenarios and estimating whether further preparations to protect transmission infrastructure are necessary,” the spokesperson said.
The company is looking to build defenses around three power masts located outside the protective wall around the Svartsengi power plant, but the spokesperson told CNN that they do not foresee any power outages.
The main power line supplying the Reykjanes peninsula, called “Suðurnesjalína 1,” has not been affected by the volcanic eruption and is not in any danger, the spokesperson added.
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