A massive ash cloud from the Shiveluch Volcano in Kamchatka, Russia's Far East, has reached the regional administrative center of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and the main air hub, Yelizovo Airport.
The Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT), part of the Russian Academy of Sciences, reported that the ash cloud, measuring 222 by 45 kilometers, had reached the regional capital. The organization announced that a red alert, the highest level of danger for aviation safety, had been issued and that ashfall was possible.
According to experts, the ash cloud resulted from eruptions that began on the evening of July 5 and reached an altitude of 12 kilometers above sea level. As of Monday morning, no new eruptive activity had been recorded.
Shiveluch, the northernmost active volcano in Kamchatka, is located 45 kilometers from the settlement of Klyuchi, which has a population of about 5,000, and 440 kilometers from the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The volcano, estimated to be 60,000 to 70,000 years old, is considered one of the largest in the region.