The Russian volcano is preparing for the most powerful eruption in the last 15 years

According to scientists, the Shiveluch volcano in the far eastern Kamchatka peninsula may be preparing for its first powerful eruption in 15 years.

Kamchatka is home to 29 active volcanoes, part of a vast belt of Earth known as the “Ring of Fire” that surrounds the Pacific Ocean and is prone to frequent eruptions and earthquakes.

Most of the peninsula’s volcanoes are surrounded by sparsely populated forests and tundra, so they pose little risk to the local population, but large eruptions can hurl glass, rock and ash into the sky, threatening aircraft.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), these types of eruptions usually occur three to four times a year in Kamchatka, requiring air traffic to be diverted.

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Shiveluch

With a peak reaching 10,771 feet, Shiveluch is one of the peninsula’s most active volcanoes, with an estimated 60 substantial eruptions in the past 10,000 years.

It has become extremely active, threatening a powerful eruption, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team said on Sunday.

Satellite image of the Shiveluch volcano in Kamchatka, Siberia, Russia on March 26, 2010.
(Universal History Archive/Universal Image Group via Getty Images)

“Continued growth of the lava dome, strong activity of fumaroles, incandescence of the lava dome, explosions and hot avalanches accompany this process,” the observatory said.

Domes are mounds that form from the accumulation of lava, and fumaroles are openings through which hot sulphurous gases escape.

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An eruption can pose a risk to international flights and has been marked with an “orange” threat level, KVERT said, meaning it is likely to erupt.

The volcano’s last most powerful eruption occurred in 2007, according to NASA.

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Alexei Ozerov, director of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said on Sunday that the volcano’s dome was very hot.

“At night, the dome glows almost over its entire surface. Hot avalanches with a temperature of 1,832 ° F roll down the slopes, pyroclastic flows descend. This state of the dome is observed, as a rule, before a powerful paroxysmal eruption.” he said