Hayli Gubbi Volcano Erupts After 12,000 Years, Ash Cloud Reaches India

Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano erupted for the first time in 12,000 years, sending a massive ash plume that drifted across parts of northwest India, including Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Punjab on the night of 24 November.

• The Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program confirmed that Hayli Gubbi had no known eruptions during the Holocene (last 12,000 years).

About Hayli Gubbi Volcano

• Location and type

• Situated in Afar, northeastern Ethiopia, Hayli Gubbi is a shield volcano in the Erta Ale Range.
• It lies along the East African Rift, where the African and Arabian tectonic plates are slowly pulling apart.

• Shield volcano characteristics

• Broad, gently sloping structure formed by repeated outpouring of thin, fluid lava flows.
• Eruptions are generally less explosive, and lava spreads widely, resembling a warrior’s shield.

• Magma composition and eruption style

• Composed mainly of dark basaltic lava, but also contains trachytes and rhyolites (silica-rich).
• These lighter magmas trap more gases, making eruptions more explosive and capable of sending ash high into the atmosphere—explaining the long-distance ash transport.

Basic Concepts: Volcanoes and Their Behaviour

• What is a volcano?

• A place where gases, ash, and molten rock (lava) escape onto the Earth’s surface.

• Magma vs Lava

• Magma: molten material in the upper mantle, particularly from the weaker asthenosphere.
• Lava: magma that reaches or flows onto the surface.

• Materials released during eruptions

• Lava flows
• Pyroclastic debris, volcanic bombs, ash, dust
• Gases: nitrogen compounds, sulphur compounds, minor chlorine, hydrogen, argon

Types of Volcanoes

1. Shield Volcanoes

• Largest volcanoes on Earth (barring basalt flows).
• Built from basaltic lava, broad and gently sloping.

2. Composite Volcanoes (Stratovolcanoes)

• Formed from eruptions of cooler, more viscous lava than basalt.
• More explosive than shield volcanoes; produce pyroclastic material.

3. Caldera Volcanoes

• Most explosive type.
• Eruptions are so powerful that the volcano collapses inwards, forming a large depression (caldera) instead of building a tall cone.

Sources: TH & NCERT