Etna exploded! The airport is closed! Volcanic eruption at night in Sicily

The seismic activity of Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily has suddenly increased. On Monday night, an eruption was recorded in the southeastern crater of the volcano at an altitude of over 3 thousand meters. Lava flows could be seen by local residents. In the town of Rifugio Sapienza, volcanic ash fell. In the following hours, Etna’s activity began to decline. However, due to ash and smoke, the airport in the city of Catania has been suspended. The authorities also restricted traffic on the roads. Etna is a stratovolcano in Italy, on the east coast of Sicily, near the cities of Messina and Catania. The highest active volcano in Europe. In the recent past, the nature of Etna was quite calm, but now the behavior of the volcano, which was considered active, but not dangerous, is becoming more and more suspicious. Volcanologists warn that the nature of Etna’s eruptions is changing from effusive, in which lava flows slowly to the surface and little gases are released, to explosive.