Ethiopia’s Volcano Explodes for the First Time
The Hayli Gubbi Volcano exploded for the first time in history on the morning of November 23, 2025, at 11:30 AM in Ethiopia’s northeastern Afar region. Scientists are trying to find out why this type of volcano could possibly explode.
This volcano is located in the East African Rift, which has lots of cracks and valleys. The volcano begins in northeastern Ethiopia and goes through eastern Africa toward Mozambique.
The tectonic plates underneath the Hayli Gubbi Volcano have been moving apart a few millimeters yearly. The land is very slowly pulling apart. During this process, magma rises to the surface.
Even though volcano experts know this is possible, they are shocked by the massive explosion of this volcano. This is because this volcano is a shield volcano, meaning, it usually erupts quietly with smaller soft lava flows. Experts were surprised when the satellite data showed the ash and gas had risen up to 6 to 9 miles. Even the vibrations of this earthquake were felt in the neighboring country, Djibouti.
Scientists think that this sudden explosion was caused because the thick magma trapped up a lot of gas, and eventually after building up a lot of pressure, it burst!
Experts also think that another reason could be that the magma intrusion from a nearby highly active volcano, called the Erta Ale Volcano, pushed new molten rock southwards. The ballistic magma mixing with an older magma caused it to activate the Hayli Gubbi Volcano.
Even though these loud vibrations of the volcano woke up the residents living in the area, no one was killed, but the ash cloud caused many problems in the area and many other places! For example, the thick ash covered villages, which caused many residents to have trouble breathing due to the air. It also ruined the grazing fields and polluted water sources.
Eventually, the clouds drifted across the Arabian Sea, all the way to South Asia. Airlines had to cancel, reroute, or delay their flights, because ash is dangerous for jet engines. This caused many travel delays throughout the region.
Due to this sudden explosion, scientists get a chance to study the rare effects. Volcanoes release sulfur, which are tiny bright yellow non metallic elements that are commonly found in the volcano areas. They can appear as gasses, like particles. Once these particles reflect sunlight back into space, it will temporarily cool the planet. Experts are keeping track of the data to see if it will affect global climate.