Beautiful, mesmerizing, but dangerous: Kamchatka's Klyuchevskoy volcano has begun actively erupting lava.
According to the latest data, lava fountaining today reached 500 meters above the crater rim. Staff from the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences are warning local residents that the volcano could soon enter its most violent phase of eruption, when the entire crater cavity is exposed.
“In this case, the height of the ash column could reach 12 km, lava flows could extend for several kilometers, and extensive mudflows could arise from the melting glacier,” — scientists write and ask tourists not to visit the volcano.
Klyuchevskoy is the highest volcano in Eurasia. It was dormant for three years but became active last fall. Its latest phase of activity has been ongoing for the past few weeks.
Photos and videos: Yuri Demyanchuk/IVS FEB RAS, Elena Vereshchaka/TASS, savinskyv