A rarely seen volcanic eruption shook northern Ethiopia on Sunday, as the Hayli Gubbi volcano in the Afar region sprang into life for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, leaving nearby villages cloaked in thick ash.
Residents in the village of Afdera, located close to the volcano, said the explosion felt like a “sudden bomb” that released a blast of smoke and ash. Witnesses report that the ground trembled, while a shock wave reverberated through the atmosphere as the volcano erupted for several hours.
The eruption produced a towering plume of ash, estimated to rise between 9 and 14 kilometers into the sky, according to the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC). That ash cloud did not remain localized — satellite images and tracking data show it drifting across the Red Sea toward Yemen and Oman and even spreading eastwards toward northern India and Pakistan.
Despite the ferocity of the eruption, local authorities report no immediate human or livestock casualties. However, the fallout may have serious economic implications for the region’s pastoralist communities: thick ash has blanketed grazing lands, raising concerns about the ability of herders to feed their animals.
The volcano’s reawakening is striking from a geological perspective. Experts note that there has been no known eruption of Hayli Gubbi during the Holocene epoch — the current geological epoch that began around 12,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age. Simon Carn, a volcanologist at Michigan Technological University, confirmed via online posts that there is no recorded Holocene activity at this volcano.
Hayli Gubbi is a shield volcano in the Erta Ale Range, within the geologically active East African Rift. Its sudden eruption underscores the unpredictability of volcanic systems that lie dormant for millennia. Scientists are closely monitoring the situation to assess further activity and evaluate the long-term impact on surrounding communities.
In the immediate aftermath, the thick ash cloud has disrupted aviation. Airlines, particularly in India, have begun canceling and rerouting flights. Meanwhile, tourists and guides in Afdera — a gateway to the Danakil Desert — found themselves stranded, as ash continued to cover the area even a day later.
As the ash drifts further, meteorological and aviation agencies around the world remain alert. This eruption, after more than ten millennia of inactivity, has drawn attention not only to the vulnerability of nearby communities but also to the challenges posed by sudden natural events in remote and geologically unstable regions.
