Volcanic erupts in South West Iceland after weeks of quake activity

A volcano erupted late on Monday, 18 December 2023 in southwest Iceland, spewing lava and smoke across a wide area after weeks of intense earthquake activity threatening a nearby town.

Fearing a significant eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula, authorities last month evacuated the nearly 4,000 inhabitants of the fishing town of Grindavik and closed the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa.

There are no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland and international flight corridors remain open.