ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — A rare awakening of Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi Volcano in the northern Afar region has finally quieted, but not before scattering volcanic ash across villages and snarling air travel from the Middle East to India.
The volcano, dormant for over 10,000 years, burst to life over the weekend in its first documented eruption, spewing plumes that blanketed nearby communities and drifted into key flight corridors. Activity peaked on Sunday, November 23, 2025, with ash billowing high, as captured in images from the Afar Government Communication Bureau. By Tuesday, November 25, the eruption had subsided, according to local authorities, though lingering clouds continued to pose risks.
In the Afdera district, ash coated villages like Fia and Nemma-Gubi, triggering respiratory problems among residents who reported persistent coughing. “Two medical teams have been dispatched to the affected kebeles like Fia and Nemma-Gubi to provide mobile medical services,” said Abedella Mussa, the district’s health official. Livestock fared worse, deprived of clean water and forage as ash smothered grazing lands. Nuur Mussa, the local livestock chief, noted: “Many animals, especially in the two affected kebeles, cannot drink clean water or feed on grass because it is covered by volcanic ash.”
The fallout extended far beyond Ethiopia’s borders. High-altitude ash clouds, carried by strong winds across the Red Sea, Yemen, Oman, and the Arabian Sea, forced dozens of flight cancellations and delays. Air India grounded 11 mostly international routes on Monday, November 24, to comply with inspections mandated by India’s aviation safety regulator for planes potentially exposed to the plume. Akasa Air followed suit, scrapping services to Jeddah, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi over the prior two days. At New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, at least seven international flights were axed and a dozen more held up, an airport official confirmed.
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Experts attribute the event to Ethiopia’s position astride an active rift zone, where seismic and volcanic episodes are commonplace. “This is the first recorded eruption of Hayli Gubbi in the last 10,000 years,” explained Atalay Ayele, a geologist at Addis Ababa University. He predicted the outburst would be brief, tapering off before a long hiatus resumes.
The India Meteorological Department tracked the ash’s path toward China, forecasting clearance from Indian airspace by 1400 GMT on Tuesday. As skies begin to clear, airlines and communities brace for recovery, underscoring the far-reaching ripple of nature’s sudden stir.
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