Mt Etna Eruption Today: Live Video, Ash Alerts & Flight Disruptions

Sicily’s iconic Mount Etna roared back to life early Monday, 2 June 2025, unleashing a towering column of ash, scalding gases and incandescent lava that forced hundreds of hikers and day-trippers to scramble down the slopes for safety. Italian volcanologists described the blast as the volcano’s most powerful since 2014, with a Strombolian-style eruption from the active Southeast Crater sending an ash plume several kilometers into the sky and triggering an orange aviation alert for the central Mediterranean. Authorities closed mountain access roads and redirected some flights from Catania’s Fontanarossa Airport to Palermo as winds threatened to carry ash toward Sicily’s eastern coast. By mid-afternoon, volcanic tremor levels remained elevated, and the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) warned of possible follow-on explosions as a partial collapse on the crater’s northern flank continued to feed fast-moving pyroclastic flows. Key details at a glance • Time of eruption: shortly after 2 a.m. local (0000 UTC) • Eruptive style: violent Strombolian bursts evolving into sustained lava fountaining • Plume height: estimated 6–8 km (20,000–26,000 ft) above sea level • Current alert level: Orange (aviation); Yellow (civil protection) • Airports: Catania operational with contingency diversions; Palermo fully open • No casualties reported; search teams accounting for all registered tour groups Why Mount Etna erupts so often At roughly 3,330 m (10,925 ft), Etna is Europe’s tallest and most active volcano. It sits astride the convergent boundary where the African plate dives beneath the Eurasian plate, allowing magma to rise quickly through a complex network of vents. Frequent magma recharge means the volcano can shift from quiet degassing to paroxysmal eruption in a matter of hours. Monday’s episode was preceded by just two days of modest seismic tremor, underscoring how quickly conditions can escalate. Impact on travel and local life While Catania itself avoided ash fallout thanks to favorable winds, local officials urged residents to keep N95 masks handy and to secure rain gutters against possible ash showers should the wind shift later today. Hikers hoping to summit this week will find all upper-slope trails closed pending structural checks of observation cabins and cable-car pylons. Tour operators have started issuing full refunds or rebooking options for the rest of the week. What tourists should do now • Check your airline’s flight status before heading to Catania or nearby Comiso airports. • Monitor INGV’s live webcam and bulletins for real-time crater activity updates. • Carry protective eyewear and a respirator-grade mask if visiting foothill towns such as Nicolosi or Zafferana Etnea. • Respect roadblocks; fines for unauthorized ascent can exceed €500 under Sicily’s civil-protection code. Expert outlook INGV volcanologist Dr. Marco Ferlito notes that Etna’s paroxysms “often subside within 24 hours, but magma levels remain high, so additional vents can activate with little warning.” Seismic swarms beneath the summit continue, suggesting magma is still rising. Scientists will sample ash over the next 48 hours to gauge gas content—a key indicator of whether pressure inside the volcano is building or releasing. Historical context Although Etna’s frequent eruptions rarely cause fatalities, its 1669 flank eruption buried dozens of villages and reached the walls of Catania. Modern monitoring and rapid-response plans have dramatically reduced risk, yet Monday’s spectacle is a vivid reminder that the mountain’s 500,000-year history is still being written in real time. Bottom line Travelers across Sicily should stay alert as Mount Etna’s latest eruption evolves. With skies shimmering orange over Catania and lava rivers carving fresh channels down the Southeast Crater, Europe’s most restless giant has again become a front-page attraction—one best admired from a safe distance until volcanologists give the all-clear.