Iceland is back in the news: the August 22nd a has started new eruptive phase in the peninsula of Reykjanes. This time, unlike the eruptions observed in previous months, the village of Grindavik it has not been reached by lava but, nevertheless, attention remains high for the emissions of sulfur dioxidea toxic gas. In fact, various weather services have reported high concentration values in the atmosphere and, based on the winds currently present, it is estimated that this “cloud” – as it has been mistakenly defined several times – could reach United Kingdom, France, Spain, Denmark and also Italy, in particular the Sardinia. Although it may seem like an alarming situation from this perspective, fortunately the risks are practically non-existent.
It is true in fact that thesulfur dioxide can cause various health problems in both the short and long term, including breathing problems And irritation of eyes and mucous membranesbut this is only true if it is present in high concentrations And for long periods of time. In fact – as also declared by a spokesperson of the MetOffice – currently the SO plume2 is located at high altitude and, consequently, will have minimal impact on surface air quality.
The fact that a volcanic eruption releases I KNOW2 It’s certainly not news: this is one of the typical products of a volcanic eruption and, for this reason, similar reports had also arrived with the previous Icelandic eruptions, as also confirmed by the Copernicus satellite analyses.
