Ruang volcano eruptions continue, closing area airports

Indonesia's Ruang volcano erupted several times on Tuesday with a blaze of lightning and lava. Seven airports in the area were closed, as ash had reached eastern Malaysia's airspace, CNN said Thursday,

Tuesday's explosion was the latest of at least six major eruptions, the last just over three weeks ago, and the source of more than 3,500 earthquakes this month, according to the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.

An eruption from Mount Ruang volcano is seen from Tagulandang island in Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on April 30, 2024. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

The latest report from the government on Thursday said earthquakes were decreasing on Tagulandang, but all earthquake sensors on Ruang Island had been damaged by the April 17 eruption and were no longer transmitting.

Tuesday's eruption lofted lava and embers onto nearby Tagulandang Island, setting the middle school on fire. Most of the island's 12,000 residents were already under an evacuation notice.

Mount Ruang erupts on April 30, 2024 (PVMBG)

Videos of the eruption showed plentiful volcanic lightning, which is more frequent and fleeting than lightning strikes occurring in a thunderstorm. Before the eruption was complete, more than 16,000 lightning strikes had been detected around Ruang.

Tuesday's eruption was captured by Japan's Himawari weather satellite, showing an explosion in ash and sulfur dioxide emanating from the eruption.

Himawari satellite loop of the Ruang Volcano erupting ash and sulfur dioxide on April 30, 2024 (NOAA/CIRA).

There are fears that the volcano's eruptions could alter the weather or climate. Prior to this month's eruptions, the last eruption of Mount Ruang was in September 2022.