Addis Ababa: A volcano in Ethiopia’s north-eastern Afar region has erupted for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, blasting a towering column of smoke and ash high into the sky and sweeping its dust all the way across the Red Sea toward Yemen and Oman.
The Hayli Gubbi volcano, in a remote stretch of the Rift Valley about 500 miles north-east of Addis Ababa, roared to life on Sunday, erupting for several hours in a rare geological event that has startled residents and scientists alike.
There were no casualties, but the fallout has unsettled communities that depend on livestock. Ash has blanketed several villages, leaving animals with little to graze. The volcano had no known record of past eruptions and expressed concern over the impact on families already living in harsh conditions.
Residents reported hearing a thunderous explosion, followed by a wave of smoke and ash that swept through the area. Standing about 500 metres high, Hayli Gubbi sits on one of the world’s most active geological fault lines where two tectonic plates meet. The Afar region is no stranger to earthquakes, but an eruption of this scale is unprecedented in living memory.
Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia has erupted for the first time in thousands of years🌋
Satellite images from @CopernicusEU Sentinel-5P (left) and @eumetsat‘s Meteosat-12 (right) captured the ash plume spreading across the region. pic.twitter.com/ynG1zVAV3v
— ESA Earth Observation (@ESA_EO) November 24, 2025
The ash cloud travelled far beyond Ethiopia. The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre reported that winds carried it over Yemen, Oman, India, and northern Pakistan, reaching heights of nearly 9 miles.
According to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, Hayli Gubbi has no recorded eruption during the Holocene period, which began roughly 12,000 years ago.
Volcanologist Simon Carn of Michigan Technological University confirmed that the volcano has no history of erupting in this era, making the event both scientifically significant and unusually unpredictable.
While the immediate danger has eased, residents now face the challenge of dealing with ash-covered grazing lands and the risk of further geological activity. Authorities are monitoring the situation as experts assess what the eruption means for the region’s long-term stability.
Indian carriers Air India and Akasa Air announced that they had cancelled several flights after ash clouds disrupted operations. Air India said it cancelled 11 flights on Monday and Tuesday to conduct precautionary checks on aircraft that flew over regions affected by the eruption, in line with a directive from India’s aviation regulator. Akasa Air also suspended flights to Middle Eastern destinations, including Jeddah, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi, scheduled for the two days.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the ash cloud is drifting toward China and is expected to clear Indian airspace by 1400 GMT on Tuesday.
