A time-lapse video has documented a rare spectacle: a volcano erupting amid the ethereal glow of the northern lights.
Shared by the news agency AP, the footage showcases the volcanic activity on the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland.
The phenomenon of the northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, occurs when solar wind – comprised of charged particles emanating from the sun – interacts with Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere.
The Reykjanes peninsula has experienced multiple eruptions this year, prompting the declaration of a state of emergency in southern Iceland in March.
Magma had been accumulating underground on the peninsula near Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, since the last eruption in February, prompting authorities to warn of an imminent eruption.
Artificial barriers have been successful in steering the lava away from infrastructure, including the Svartsengi geothermal power plant and Grindavik, a fishing town of some 4000 residents.
Footage from public broadcaster RUV showed lava flowing a few hundred metres from the town, which was evacuated during an eruption in November and again after another one in February.
While much of life goes on in Iceland, the eruptions disrupt tourism in a country that relies heavily on visitors.
Tourist bookings in Iceland are growing more slowly than forecast with travellers deterred by high prices and frequent volcanic eruptions, and have been as much as 15 per cent below estimates, according to data compiled by the Icelandic Tourist Board.
The country’s top source of foreign currency, tourism bounced back quickly after the pandemic and was expected to reach new heights this year, until intense seismic activity started rocking the island’s south-west corner in October. The first eruption near a now-devastated fishing town happened on December 18 and there have been three more since.
Lava flowing from the volcano was backdropped by the northern lights on March 24.Credit: AP
Previously, volcanic outbursts in Iceland’s remote areas have helped boost travel, but the fact that activity is now taking place close to the country’s top tourist attraction, the Blue Lagoon spa, as well as inhabited areas is deterring some foreigners.
Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula has seen a string of volcanic eruptions since 2021 when geological systems that lay dormant for about 800 years became active again.
The country’s hot economy is also starting to hurt its attractiveness to foreign visitors. Rapid growth has fuelled price increases, with inflation exceeding 10 per cent last year and remaining persistent since.
“We are simply becoming too expensive,” Icelandic Tourist Board director general Arnar Mar Olafsson said.
AP, Reuters
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