Bezymianny Volcano, located on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula west of the Aleutian Islands, erupted early Wednesday morning. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency the blast sent volcanic ash 40,000 feet into the atmosphere. Winds have begun pushing the ash towards the western Bering Sea.
According to Rick Thoman with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, there doesn’t appear to be a threat to planes traversing the Bering Sea at this time.
“The winds aloft over the volcano are not very strong at the moment, they will pick up and eventually they will start to move east, especially if the volcano keeps going,” Thoman explained. “But at this point, it doesn’t look like a big threat for Alaska airspace.”
Bezymianny was considered extinct until it violently erupted in 1956, an eruption similar in size to that of 1980’s Mount St. Helens. It’s now considered to be one of the most active volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The July 24 event is the latest in an ongoing series of eruptions that began in 2017. Thoman shared that the eruptions are a “somewhat regular occurrence”. Impacts to western Alaska will depend on if the eruption persists and potential changes in wind patterns.
