Ethiopia’s Hayli-Gubbi Volcano Erupts After Over 10,000 Years of Dormancy

By Staff, Agencies

The Hayli-Gubbi volcano in northeastern Ethiopia has erupted for the first time in over ten millennia, according to VolcanoDiscovery. The Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center [VAAC] reported that the eruption began around 8:30 a.m. UTC on Sunday, producing explosive activity that lasted for several hours and launching ash up to roughly 45,000 feet [13.7 km] into the atmosphere.

Local official Mohammed Seid told AP that no people or livestock were harmed, though ash now covers many villages, leaving grazing animals with little available food. Professor Atalay Ayele of Addis Ababa University explained to Afar TV that the eruption was triggered by the movement and interaction of magma beneath the region.

VAAC mapping shows lower-level ash drifting toward Djibouti and Yemen, while higher-altitude material is moving east across Oman and the Arabian Sea. The tallest ash plumes are forecast to reach as far as Iran, Pakistan, and India. The Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program notes that Hayli-Gubbi had no confirmed eruptions since the early Holocene, more than 12,000 years ago.

Experts cited by multiple outlets say the eruption generated a massive ash cloud heading toward Yemen and Oman. The event follows a series of renewed volcanic activities in Ethiopia earlier this year: in January, thousands were evacuated near the long-quiet Dofen volcano in the Afar region due to intense steam emissions, and in late December 2024 heightened seismic activity was detected around the Fentale volcano in Oromia.

Volcanic unrest is also rising elsewhere in Africa. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Nyamulagira volcano entered another eruptive phase in October 2024, producing gas and ash plumes reaching nearly 4 km above sea level, according to The Watchers. Nyamulagira remains one of the continent’s most active volcanoes, known for frequent eruptions and extensive lava flows across the Virunga region.