Russia's Shiveluch volcano erupts, sending ash plume 7 km high

MOSCOW

The Shiveluch volcano in the far east Russian region of Kamchatka became more active on Wednesday, spewing a column of ash more than 7 kilometers (4.34 miles) above sea level.

The volcano continues to develop into a lava dome, and the ash plume has spread 110 km (68.4 mi) west of it, according to a regional response group for volcanic eruptions at the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The volcano's summit was assigned an orange aviation danger code, the institute said in a statement on Telegram.

Danila Chebrov, the institute's director, described the eruption as "small" and not cause for concern.

"Shiveluch erupts constantly; it's practically never calming down. It's characterized by small, episodic emissions like these, and that's it. Most often, its eruptions are short-lived," he said.

Chebrov added: "Since it recently erupted quite violently, we probably shouldn't expect such a repeat, but that's nature. A normal moderate ashfall is possible, but nothing like the one in 2023. There's no particular concern."

The activity on the mountain comes amid reports of multiple earthquakes on the nearby Kamchatka Peninsula, most notably last Thursday, when a powerful 6.4 magnitude quake occurred 143 km (89 mi) south of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the region's administrative center.

Shiveluch is about 435 km (270 mi) north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.