Indonesian authorities are expected to keep Bali’s Denpasar airport closed for another 24 hours
Indonesian authorities have raised the threat alert for Mt Agung to its highest level, as fears of an imminent eruption from the Bali volcano led to the closure of the island’s busy airport and the evacuation of people within 10km of the mountain.
At least 445 flights were disrupted after the Indonesian volcano belched columns of ash into the sky, leaving 59,000 tourists stranded.
Bali’s airport has been closed as a result of the increased warning level, according to Agoes Soebagio, an official at the Transportation Ministry.
According to the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in nearby Darwin, Australia, there is “ash confirmed on the ground at Denpasar Airport” as well as ash at FL300 (which refers to flight level at 30,000 feet, or 9.14 kilometres) in the vicinity of the volcano.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said Bali’s international airport had closed for 24 hours and authorities would consider reopening it on Tuesday after evaluating the situation. Ash clouds from volcanoes can clog the engines of aeroplanes and cause them to stop working altogether.
According to disaster officials said nearby resorts and villages were covered with less than half an inch of volcanic ash as of Sunday and local soldiers and police distributed masks for people on the islands.
More than 140,000 people fled Bali in September when Mount Agung showed signs of activity for the first time in more than half a century. Many residents returned home after the alert was lowered on Oct. 29, but about 25,000 residents are still in temporary shelters.
According to Indonesian authorities although there is still uncertainty at this time as to when or if the volcano will actually erupt, stay informed with the news for the latest information
Teresa Ubide, a lecturer in volcanology from the University of Queensland, explained that the cooling was caused by sulphur emissions from the volcano.
Earlier In 1963, when Mount Agung last erupted, global temperatures dropped by between 0.1C and 0.4C. But volcanos also contribute to global warming by releasing CO2; underwater and land-based volcanoes are estimated to release between 100m–300m tonnes of CO2 each year.