Hayli Gubbi volcano erupts in Ethiopia after 12000 years: How does a dormant volcano become active suddenly

After lying silent for nearly 12,000 years, Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano came to life on Sunday with a powerful explosion that sent ash plumes soaring about 14 kilometers into the atmosphere. The volcano located in the remote Afar region near the Eritrean border sent shockwaves across the world after the dormant volcano erupted after thousands of years.

The massive clouds of ash drifted across several countries, including Yemen, Oman, India, and northern Pakistan, affecting air quality and causing concern over potential flight disruptions.




The eruption, which lasted several hours, occurred in the East African Rift Valley, a geological region known for its shifting tectonic plates and frequent seismic activity.

This event is extraordinary because the Hayli Gubbi volcano has shown no confirmed eruptions in over twelve millennia. According to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, it remained dormant throughout the Holocene epoch which began approximately 1200 years ago, making its sudden awakening rare and scientifically valuable.


But how did this dormant volcano suddenly become active and burst into lava after so many years?

What is a dormant volcano

A dormant volcano is a one that has not erupted for a very long time but still has the potential to become active again. It’s different from an extinct volcano, which is considered dead and likely has negligible chances to erupt in the future.

Dormant volcanoes can stay quiet for thousands of years, with absolutely no signs of activity, but deep beneath the surface, molten rock or magma may still be present, and when the right conditions are met, like movement of tectonic plates or pressure building up inside the Earth, a dormant volcano can suddenly awaken.

The recent eruption of Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano is a perfect example

Scientists believed it had been inactive for nearly 12,000 years, but over the weekend, it came back to life, sending huge plumes of ash high into the sky. This sudden eruption brings to light that even volcanoes considered “sleeping” are never completely safe to ignore.




It also shows how little is understood about volcanic activity in certain regions, like the Afar area, where tectonic forces are constantly changing the land.

Experts call it an understudied region

Experts have called the eruption highly unusual, pointing out that the region’s volcanic activity has not been studied enough. Arianna Soldati, a volcanologist at North Carolina State University, told Scientific American magazine, “So long as there are still the conditions for magma to form, a volcano can still have an eruption even if it hasn't had one in 1,000 years or 10,000 years.”

More about the location of the Hayli Gubbi volcano

Hayli Gubbi is a shield volcano located in Ethiopia’s East African Rift Zone, where the African and Arabian tectonic plates slowly move apart by about 0.4 to 0.6 inches every year. Juliet Biggs, an earth scientist at the University of Bristol in England, said, “I would be really surprised if [more than 12,000 years ago] really is the last eruption date.” She explained that while no confirmed eruptions have been recorded in that time, satellite images hint that the volcano might have released lava more recently.



“To see a big eruption column, like a big umbrella cloud, is really rare in this area,” Biggs added. Local authorities reported no casualties so far, though experts warn that the ash and debris could seriously disrupt life for the region’s pastoral communities.