A volcano in Ethiopia erupted for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, sending clouds of thick smoke 14 kilometres into the sky and over the Red Sea.
Satellite imagery captured by NASA shows the Afar region of Ethiopia, where the Hayli Gubbi volcano is located, with a brownish plume of smoke hanging over the area after it erupted over several hours on Sunday.
The local authorities shared photos and videos of a towering ash plume rising from the volcano.
In this photo released by the Afar Government Communication Bureau, ash billows from an eruption of the long-dormant Hayli Gubbi Volcano in Ethiopia’s Afar region on Nov. 23, 2025.
Afar Government Communication Bureau via AP
According to the Guardian, Mohammed Seid, a local official, said no one was injured but warned that the eruption could have negative economic implications for farming communities, adding that there is no previous record of the volcano erupting.
“While no human lives and livestock have been lost so far, many villages have been covered in ash and, as a result, their animals have little to eat,” he said.
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As of Monday afternoon, smoke from the volcano was heading towards China, according to the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center.
The Afar region is prone to earthquakes, resident Ahmed Abdela told The Associated Press. He said he heard a loud sound and described what he called a shock wave.
“It felt like a sudden bomb had been thrown with smoke and ash.”
A village near the Danakil Desert, a tourist attraction, was still covered in ash on Monday, and tourists and guides heading to the desert were stranded in the village, according to Abdela.
— With files from The Associated Press
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