The only active volcano in India, Barren Island volcano in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is spewing ash again. Researchers from the National Institute of Oceanography said that the volcano, which was dormant for 150 years, had begun showing signs of activity in 1991. It continues to show “intermittent activity”, NIO said in a statement.
“On the afternoon of January 23, 2017, the scientific team on board CSIR-NIO’s research ship R V Sindhu Sankalp were busy collecting sea floor samples in the Andaman Basin near the Barren volcano when it suddenly started spewing ash,” the NIO said. “Clouds were seen at the crater mouth where the smoke was bellowing out in otherwise clear sky.”
The statement added that the team, led by Abhay V Mudholkar, did not land on the volcanic island as it would have been unsafe. In the evening, the team also saw “red lava fountains spewing from the crater into the atmosphere and hot lava flows streaming down the slopes of the volcano.”
Members of the public can only visit the island after getting permission from Port Blair’s Forest Department.
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