Volcanic ash cloud moves away from Pakistan

KARACHI: The ash cloud from a volcanic eruption in Ethiopia, has cleared away from Pakistan’s atmosphere, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Tuesday.

PMD spokesperson Anjum Nazeer Zaighum said on Tuesday that the ash cloud was now hovering over parts of India.

The Hayli Gubbi volcano, located in Ethiopia’s Afar region about 800 kilometres northeast of Addis Ababa near the Eritrean border, erupted for several hours two days ago. The eruption sent a column of ash and smoke rising nearly 45,000 feet into the atmosphere.

PMD spokesman said that the Met Office had issued a volcanic ash advisory for the aviation industry for the first time in Pakistan’s history following the development.

He also clarified that the ash plume had no environmental impact in Pakistan as it moved at altitudes above 45,000 feet and with a speed of 15 to 20 kilometres per hour.

Pakistan would have faced environmental effects if the eruption had occurred in a country more closely located and “It was too high, “he added.