Volcanic ash drifting toward Pakistan poses no risk beyond aviation: PMD

WEB DESK: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has said that an ash cloud from a rare volcanic eruption in Ethiopia is not expected to threaten any part of the country apart from potential hazards to aircraft operating at high altitudes.

The plume was generated by the Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia’s Afar region, which erupted on Sunday for the first time in thousands of years. The ash travelled across the Red Sea and drifted over Yemen and Oman before moving toward Pakistan’s southern corridor.

According to the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, the cloud has reached very high altitudes, affecting upper airspace across southern Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman and areas over the Arabian Sea. In Pakistan’s case, officials say the impact is limited to aviation risks, with Karachi and other coastal districts unlikely to experience surface effects.

The PMD has issued an advisory for pilots, noting that domestic flights cruising around 35,000 feet and international aircraft flying between 40,000 and 45,000 feet could encounter ash, which can damage engines. “Forecast models show the plume passing mostly over the open Arabian Sea at around 50,000 feet,” a PMD spokesperson Anjum Nazeer Zaighum said while speaking to Dawn, adding that the cloud was observed earlier about 60 nautical miles south of Gwadar.

Authorities say they are tracking its trajectory closely and have alerted relevant agencies. Initial projections indicate that the ash may brush past parts of southern Sindh’s upper airspace before continuing toward India.

The Hayli Gubbi eruption, described as unusually powerful by Ethiopian media and residents, sent dense columns of ash skyward, with tremors and sound waves reportedly felt as far as Djibouti and northern Ethiopia. Scientists say the volcano has no documented activity in the past 12,000 years.

The PMD says surveillance will remain active until the plume fully disperses, with no threat expected to coastal communities.