The volcanic eruption is more powerful and the gas pollution is greater than has been seen in recent years in Iceland, writes the Icelandic broadcaster RUV. Very dangerous conditions may develop during the eruption tonight. The volcanic eruption started north of Litli Hrútur on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland on Monday. Residents of the Reykjanes peninsula are asked to close windows. – Considerable gas pollution can be expected from the volcano at Litla-Hrútur, the police in Iceland write on their Facebook page. In the week before the eruption, thousands of small earthquakes were recorded in the area, which signaled that the magma in the ground was moving and that an eruption was imminent, writes The Guardian. – It hurts to breathe in At around 23:00 on Monday evening, Virgill Scheving Einarsson went on a shopping trip to Hafnarfjördur. He says it hurts to breathe. – You can see the fire from Vatnsleysustrand. Everything burns there. You can hardly breathe. It’s like being in a factory with toxins all around. It hurts to breathe in. The worst is here above Voga and Vatnsleysustrand, he tells Virgill to RUV. DANGEROUS GASES: The volcanic eruption in Iceland on Monday is releasing dangerous gases, and residents in the area are being asked to close windows. Photo: Juergen Merz – Glacier Photo / Reuters The police have, on advice from scientists, closed access to the area by the volcano due to large and life-threatening gases. – We cannot say it enough, people must stay away from the area. If they are there, they have to get out, says communications director Hjördís Guðmundsdóttir in the police. In a video shared on the police’s Facebook account, which was taken from the Coast Guard’s helicopter on Monday evening, the volcano’s activity can be clearly seen. It is the third year in a row that volcanoes on the Reykjaneshalvøya have erupted. Follow the development in news’s News Centre:
ttn-69