Source: Irish Weather Online

Volcanic activity decreased Sunday 10 July as this image of the Mt Etna at 1pm GMT shows

Dramatic footage has been released of Mount Etna in Sicily (Italy) blasting out lava and producing a dense ash plume that extended more than two kilometres into the air.

The volcanic eruption took place on Saturday.  The wind carried eruption fragments to Italy’s second largest city of Catania (pop. 752,895 in the Metropolitan Area), where flights at the country’s largest airport were grounded overnight. Ash falls were also reported in Nicolosi, Viagrande,  Trecastagni and Acireale.

Italian officials said 11,000-foot-tall Mount Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, has calmed down after a week of activity.  They warned however, that the Sicilian volcano might have fallen back into a short-lived slumber and another “active phase may just be around the corner.”

Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of activity. Saturday’s Strombolian explosions and lava flows represented the fifth such eruption since the beginning of 2011. On  12-13 January 2011 lava fountaining occurred from the vent on the east flank of Etna’s Southeast Crater cone, lasting more than 1.5 hours. Italian Authorities were forced to temporarily close airports for a couple of hours while the ash cloud cleared.

Mt. Etna live webcam here and here

Mt. Etna Eruption 12 January 2011