Sicily's Mount Etna Erupts in a Fiery Show of Smoke and Ash Miles High
The level of alert due to the volcanic activity was raised at Catania airport, but no immediate interruptions were reported. An official update declared the ash cloud emission had ended by the afternoon.
Italy's INGV National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the spectacle on Europe's most active volcano was caused when part of the southeast crater collapsed, resulting in hot lava flows. It was the 14th eruptive phase in recent months.
The area of danger was confined to the summit of Etna, which was closed to tourists as a precaution, according to Stefano Branca, an INGV official in Catania.
Sicily's president, Renato Schifani, said lava flows emitted in the eruption had not passed the natural containment area, 'and posed no danger to the population.'
The event was captured in video and photos that went viral on social media. Tremors from the eruption were widely felt in the towns and villages on Mount Etna's flanks, Italian media reported.
Video showed tourists running along a path on the flank of the vast volcano with smoke billowing some distance in the background. Excursions are popular on Etna, which is some 3,300 meters (nearly 11,000 feet) high, with a surface area of some 1,200 square kilometers (about 460 square miles).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Pope Speaks About Childhood and Early Mornings as an Altar Boy in Unscripted Visit With Campers
Pope Leo XIV spoke publicly about his childhood in Chicago for the first time as pontiff Thursday, recalling that from the age of six he used to get up early to serve as an altar boy at the 6:30 a.m. Mass before going to school. Leo shared the memories during an unscripted visit with the children of Vatican employees who are attending the Holy See's summer camp. They were joined by other children, including Ukrainian young people who are attending summer programs run by Italy's Caritas charity. The visit, which was not announced in advance, took place in the Vatican's main audience hall, which was decked out with huge inflatable bouncy castles for the estimated 600 kids. One of the young campers, Giulia, asked Leo if he used to go to Mass as a child. The former Robert Prevost, who grew up the youngest of three brothers in the south Chicago suburb of Dolton, said the family always went to Mass on Sundays. 'But starting from when I was around 6 years old, I was also an altar boy in the parish. And so before going to school–it was a parochial school–there was Mass at 6:30 a.m.,' he said, emphasizing how early it was. 'And Mom would wake us up and say 'We're going to Mass!' Because serving Mass was something we liked because starting from when I was young they taught us that Jesus was always close to us.' Leo, who was born in 1955, recalled that at the time Mass was celebrated in Latin. He said he had to learn it to serve Mass even before he made his First Communion, one of the key sacraments in the church. 'It wasn't so much the language that it was celebrated in, but the experience of getting to know other kids who served the Mass together, the friendship and this closeness with Jesus in the church,' he said. Leo's brother, John Prevost, has said his little brother knew from a very young age that he wanted to be a priest. Young Robert used to pretend to celebrate Mass using their mother's ironing board as an altar and Necco candies–a once-popular sweet–as Communion wafers. History's first American pope spoke in Italian, but he switched to English to address a group of Ukrainian children, some of whom held up Ukrainian flags and snagged Leo autographs. He spoke about the benefits of meeting people from different backgrounds, languages, and lands. It was one of the first times Leo has spoken unscripted at length in public, responding to questions posed to him by the children. He has tended to stick to his prepared texts for his audiences so far in his young pontificate.
Arab News
6 days ago
- Arab News
Scorching temperatures grip Europe, putting regions on high alert
ANKARA: Forest fires fanned by high winds and hot, dry weather damaged some holiday homes in Turkiye as a lingering heat wave that has cooked much of Europe led authorities to raise warnings and tourists to find ways to beat the heat on Monday. A heat dome hovered over an arc from France, Portugal and Spain to Turkiye, while data from European forecasters suggested other countries were set to broil further in coming days. New highs are expected on Wednesday before rain is forecast to bring respite to some areas later this week. 'Extreme heat is no longer a rare event — it has become the new normal,' tweeted UN Secretary-General António Guterres from Seville, Spain, where temperatures were expected to hit 42 Celsius (nearly 108 Fahrenheit) on Monday afternoon. Reiterating his frequent calls for action to fight climate change, Guterres added: 'The planet is getting hotter & more dangerous — no country is immune.' In France, which was almost entirely sweltering in the heatwave on Monday and where air conditioning remains relatively rare, local and national authorities were taking extra effort to care for homeless and elderly people and people working outside. Some tourists were putting off plans for some rigorous outdoor activities. 'We were going to do a bike tour today actually, but we decided because it was gonna be so warm not to do the bike tour,' said Andrea Tyson, 46, who was visiting Paris from New Philadelphia, Ohio. Authorities in Portugal issued a red heat warning for seven of 18 districts as temperatures were forecast to hit 43 degrees Celsius, a day after logging a record June temperature of 46.6 degrees C. Almost all inland areas were at high risk of wildfires. In Turkiye, forest fires fanned by strong winds damaged some holiday homes in Izmir's Doganbey region and forced the temporary closure of the airport in Izmir, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Authorities evacuated four villages as a precaution, the Forestry Ministry said. In Italy, the Health Ministry put 21 cities under its level three 'red' alert, which indicates 'emergency conditions with possible negative effects' on healthy, active people as well as at-risk old people, children and chronically ill people. Regional governments in northwestern Liguria and southern Sicily in Italy put restrictions on outdoor work, such as construction and agricultural labor, during the peak heat hours. In southern Germany, temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) were expected on Monday, and they were forecast to creep higher until midweek – going as high as 39 degrees (102F) on Wednesday. Some German towns and regions imposed limits on how much water can be taken from rivers and lakes.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Severe Heat Waves Hit Southern Europe as Local Authorities Warn against Wildfire Risks
Major heat waves across Southern Europe have pushed temperatures above 40 C (104 F) in countries including Italy, Spain and Greece, as local authorities issued fresh warnings against the risk of wildfires. Experts link the rising frequency and intensity of these heatwaves to climate change, warning that such extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common across Europe's southern region. Severe heat waves were recorded in Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal before the weekend, with locals and tourists alike taking shelter from the sweltering conditions, The AP news reported. Two-thirds of Portugal were on high alert on Sunday for extreme heat and wildfires, with temperatures expected to top 42 C (107 F) in Lisbon. In Italy, a few regions — Lazio, Tuscany, Calabria, Puglia and Umbria — were planning to ban some outdoor work activities during the hottest hours of the day in response to the record-high temperatures. Italian trade unions pushed the government to expand such measures at a national level. On Sunday, the Italian Health Ministry placed 21 out of 27 monitored cities under its highest heat alert, including top holiday destinations like Rome, Milan and Naples. In Rome, tourists tried to seek shade near popular spots like the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain, using umbrellas and drinking from public water fountains to stay cool. Similar scenes were reported in Milan and Naples, where street vendors sold lemonade to tourists and residents to offer some refreshment from the heat. Greece was again on high wildfire alert because of extreme weather, with the first summer heat wave expected to continue throughout the weekend. A large wildfire broke out south of Athens on Thursday, forcing evacuations and road closures near the ancient Temple of Poseidon. Strong winds spread the flames, damaging homes and sending smoke across the sky. Greek authorities deployed 130 firefighters, 12 planes and 12 helicopters to battle the blaze, while police evacuated 40 people, with five areas under evacuation orders. In Spain, locals and tourists were desperately trying to keep cool this weekend, as the country sizzled in temperatures as high as 42 C (107 F) in the southern city of Seville along with other locations in southern and central parts of the country. Southern regions of Spain recorded temperatures above seasonal averages, prompting health alerts and safety recommendations from authorities. The country's national meteorological service Aemet has said that June is set to break yet another record, becoming the hottest such month since records started. Experts warned that intense heat can affect daily life, especially for vulnerable populations such as the elderly and children. Local authorities advised against physical activity during the hottest hours of the day, and recommended drinking plenty of fluids. A Lancet Public Health study published last year highlighted the increasing risk of heat-related deaths because of climate change. The study predicted that heat-related deaths could more than quadruple by mid-century under current climate policies. While more people currently die from cold than heat, the study stressed that rising temperatures will offset the benefits of milder winters, leading to a significant net increase in heat-related mortality.
