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Geography

Act now on climate to save Iceland!

A volcano erupts.
Fire breather: It was dormant for 800 years, but since 2021 the Reykjanes Peninsula has been at the start of a new geological era.

Thousands of Icelanders are living under constant threat as volcanic eruptions continue. Margret Jorundardottir, 13, from The British School of Brussels, explains her fears for the land of fire and ice.

“I felt like I was in a dystopian novel.” These are the words of Grindavík resident Andrea Ævarsdóttir, shortly after a volcano forced her to flee her home.1 The people of Grindavík have left behind homes, jobs, schools and even pets. Some are determined to return home. But others say the terror will stop them from ever going back. 

The people of Iceland face a constant threat. Unpredictable eruptions disrupt both its landscape and its inhabitants. 

On 20 November 2024, Icelanders were shaken by the seventh eruption in a year. The volcano had been showing increased activity for several weeks, with 3,000 earthquakes occurring in two days. How worried should we be? 

These concerning events started just under a year earlier, on the evening of 18 December 18, 2023, when the volcano Sundhnúkur erupted. A state of emergency was declared, and the town Grindavík was evacuated. 

On 20 February, the residents were allowed to return to their homes. The relief did not last long. On 2 March, Grindavík was again evacuated because of new seismic activity. More eruptions kept on happening. They ended in August 2023. Then they started again. It has become a familiar cycle.

The people of Grindavík are unsure when they can return home.

Iceland is home to some of the largest glaciers in Europe. But it is also the land where ice meets fire. Located on the fault line between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, Iceland is home to hundreds of volcanoes and eruptions are common.

Normally, the average span between each eruption in Iceland is every four to five years but since 2021, the frequency has changed to nearly once a year. Some scientists believe that climate change could be contributing to the increase in Iceland’s volcanic activity. Falk Amelung, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Miami, explains: “Large parts of Iceland were covered by ice caps. When they melt, there is less pressure on the magma chamber.”2 This has caused the increase in volcanic activity in central Iceland in the past two decades.

As a person who lived in Iceland for more than half of my life, volcanoes have never been a threat to us, but I worry the increasing frequency and intensity of these eruptions will affect the future for Icelandic people.

The eruption has come to an end now, as of December 2024, but the volcanos in Iceland never rest for too long. Should we be worried about when the next one will be?

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  1. From The Guardian.
  2. From News@TheU.