Ash from Shiveluch volcano may be dangerous to aircraft

The Shiveluch volcano in Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula is spewing ash to an altitude of four to 5.5 kilometers above sea level, posing danger to aircraft, a source from the Kamchatka branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Geophysical Service told Itar-Tass on Monday. In accordance with Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) classification, the volcano was awarded the orange aviation code, which is the second highest, warning about possible danger for aircraft flying over Kamchatka. This information is sent to all major airlines of the world. According to the Service, the volcano is demonstrating increased seismic activity. Ash emissions could be seen from the settlement of Klyuchi, located 50 kilometers away from the volcano. An avalanche was also fixed. Thermal anomaly is fixed in the active part of the volcano. The highest in Eurasia Klyuchevskoy volcano (4,750 meters) is also demonstrating activity. The volcano spouts four lava streams. The length of the longest of them has already reached two kilometers. Glow is seen over the crater in the dark time of the day. According to the Kamchatka department of the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations, the volcano poses no danger to local settlements. No volcanic ash fallouts have been reported in the nearby settlements. Shiveluch is the northernmost active volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula. It is located 450 kilometers northeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The highest point of its active part, called Young Shiveluch, is 2,500 meters above sea level, the diameter of the crater is 1.5 kilometers. Catastrophic eruptions took place in 1864 and 1964, when a large part of the lava dome collapsed and created a devastating debris avalanche. Young Shiveluch has been active since September 1980. Specialists have been continuously monitoring the volcano for more than 30 years. So far the volcano poses no threat to neighboring populated localities.