Magma may have reached very high up in the Earth’s crust, according to Iceland’s meteorological office, which says people will have to “wait in suspense for the next few days” to see how events play out.
“While there is still magma flow into the corridor, and while our data and models show that, that probability is imminent, and we really just have to wait in suspense for the next few days to see what happens,” Kristín Jónsdóttir, head of department at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, said.
She said the decreasing earthquake activity over the last 24 hours could be a sign that magma has reached very high up in the earth’s crust, adding that the scenario is not unlike what was seen prior to a previous eruption in 2021.
The Met Office said magmatic gas has been detected at a borehole in Svartsengi, signalling an imminent eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano over the coming days, with the town of Grindavik most at risk.
“Hagafell is thought to be a prime location for an eruption,” the forecaster said.
An eruption is now feared by many experts to be a case of when, not if.
