eruption

JAPAN has released a terrifying AI-generated video showing residents what could happen if Mount Fuji erupted.

The footage, created by Tokyo’s Metropolitan government, warned locals that their city could one day be buried under ash as it urged them to remain vigilant.

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If Mount Fuji erupts, the ash is estimated to start pouring down on Tokyo within one to two hours, building a layer up to 10cm thick over the city.

Volcanic ash is formed during explosive eruptions when dissolved gases expand in magma and escape into the atmosphere.

The AI clip shows a huge grey cloud engulfing the sky as it mushrooms over the capital’s high-rise buildings.

Thick black ash spreads over the city covering cars, houses and roads.

A voiceover over the clip says: “The moment may arrive without any warning.

“Volcanic ash is made up of fine, jagged particles. Its unique qualities pose many hazards to health and society.”

Covered in smog, Tokyo appears at a standstill with planes and trains grounded as thick soot blankets train tracks and runways.

Video shows locals holding umbrellas and wearing masks, while cars sit parked in heaps of the volcanic cinders.

In a bid to educate Tokyo’s locals on how to prepare for the colossal event, the clip shows a family opening up a store cupboard full of provisions.

It comes as the government’s cabinet office released a separate video on Tuesday in which it urged residents to “visualize specific scenarios” so they could be better prepared.

And in March, the government issued recommendations suggesting residents keep a two-week supply of essentials in their home.

Officials have stepped up their warnings to locals amid ongoing fears the country is due an environmental disaster.

Estimates suggest eruption damages would cost over $16 billion as areas are plunged into darkness and houses collapse under the ash.

The video has sparked fear among locals who say the prospect of an eruption is “terrifying”.

One resident said: “The thought of volcanic ash causing transportation chaos in the Tokyo metropolitan area is terrifying.”

Some experts have criticised the video for stirring up irrational worry and potentially deterring tourists from visiting.

Japan is no stranger to volcanic eruptions though, as seen in 2022 when plumes of ash spewed into the air after mount Sakurajima burst into life.

And about ten per cent of the world’s active volcanoes can be found in Japan as it lies inside the ‘Ring of Fire’ – one of the most active seismic zones in the world.

A chain of six volcanoes were set off in the perilous zone earlier this month with explosions sending ash as high as 5.28 miles above sea level.

Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the largest volcano in the region, exploded at three miles with a stream of scalding lava.

This was followed by four other volcanoes in the region – the Krasheninnikov, Shiveluch, Bezymianny and the smaller, Karymsk – which each spewed colossal columns of ash.

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Tokyo authorities have released an AI-generated video showing what could happen in a worst-case scenario if Mount Fuji erupted.

The BBC’s Tessa Wong explains how this could impact Japan’s capital city, and what experts say about the likelihood of an eruption.

Residents in the nearby fishing town of Grindavik and guests at a luxury geothermal spa resort are evacuated.

The Sundhnukur volcano has erupted near Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, the 12th volcanic eruption in the North Atlantic island nation since 2021, the Icelandic Meteorological Office says.

The agency said in a statement on Wednesday morning that an eruptive fissure in southwestern Iceland is 700 to 1,000 metres (765 to 1,095 yards) long.

“Lava is mostly flowing to the southeast and is not approaching any infrastructure,” it added. “Based on GPS measurements and deformation signals, it is likely that this was a relatively small eruption.”

Live images showed flows of lava and smoke being belched into the sky.

People were evacuated from the Blue Lagoon, a luxury geothermal spa resort, and the nearby fishing town of Grindavik, according to the public broadcaster RUV, which quoted police.

Rather than flowing from a central crater, lava from fissure eruptions like Wednesday’s appears from long cracks in the Earth’s crust.

Iceland, which is often referred to as a land of ice and fire, has now recorded a dozen volcanic eruptions since geological systems on its Reykjanes Peninsula reactivated four years ago.

The Reykjanes eruptions have so far neither posed a threat to nearby Reykjavik nor have they caused air traffic disruptions, unlike the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which grounded planes across Northern Europe for almost a week.

Grindavik was home to almost 4,000 people before an evacuation order was issued in 2023. Now, it is mainly deserted because of the threat of lava flows and related earthquakes.

In early April, a volcanic eruption penetrated protective barriers close to Grindavik, and the emergency services evacuated its residents and those staying at the Blue Lagoon spa.

Experts have said eruptions on the peninsula could continue for decades.

Every year, Iceland, which has a population of nearly 400,000 people, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors who come to explore its volcanic landscape.

In 2024, almost 2.3 million foreigners travelled to the island, according to its tourist board.