Mexican volcano violently spews ash 3 miles into the air; frightens locals

The Popocatépetl volcano as seen from the International Space Station on January 23, 2001. (Image courtesy: Wikipedia)

New Delhi: Volcanic eruptions can be extremely dangerous and pose a threat to the life of people residing in areas around it if the eruptions peak.

There are about 1500 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, aside from the continuous belt of volcanoes on the ocean floor.

One of them, The Popocatépetl volcano in Mexico erupted recently and has been under constant monitoring ever since, because it violently spewed ash vertically into the air, giving the locals a fright.

The eruption reached small towns and villages on the outskirts of the volcano, after the explosion went up to more than five kilometres above the volcano’s crater while it bubbled with ash.

According to Mexico's director of civil protection, Luis Felipe Puente, the explosion consisted of steam, gas,and ash. The volcano has been dormant for more than 20 years since its strong eruption in 1994. There had been records of evacuations in 2000 as scientists warned that it could erupt again, its strongest in the past thousand years, Nature World News reported.

An increase in activity of the volcano has been observed since 2012, which has led to some tension in the area. It has a reputation of being quite erratic and was last recorded spewing ash in April, 2016.

The volcano is a part of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt and is known to be the second highest peak in the country.

Nature World News further reported that, for the  past 24 hours after the Popocatepetl volcano surprised locals, it has been recorded that there were 129 incidents of release of ash columns, there had been three more major explosions and a 1.8 magnitude tremor. Local authorities have prompted warnings to both locals and tourists to stay away from the areas near the volcano, particularly its crater.

Hiking has been strongly prohibited as the erratic spewing of ash is very dangerous. Furthermore, residents around the region has been warned to take extra precautions as the ash can cause breathing issues especially for children, elderly and pre-existing respiratory problems.