The eruption of Ethiopia’s Hayley Gubbi volcano has affected India and its aviation industry, environmental health, and economy far more than anybody had anticipated. In fact, winds have created a significant drop in air quality across much of the country due to the large amounts of ash that were blown into Indian airspace (approximately 3,500 km from Ethiopia).
Due to these factors, India’s aviation experts, meteorologists, and health officials are now in a heightened state of readiness to determine the impact of the ash on aviation operations, air quality, and weather patterns. Ethiopia’s volcanic impact on India. The ash began impacting air quality and aviation operations in Rajasthan and continued to drift into Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and portions of Maharashtra, creating disruption for all. Thus, India is clearly indicating an increased degree of responsibility with respect to the effects of global geological events on national airspace safety.
Immediate aviation disruptions
India’s aviation industry felt the impact of the ash cloud most significantly, resulting in hundreds of flight cancellations. Once the ash cloud entered Indian airspace, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued immediate advisories to airlines. Volcanic ash melts in an aircraft engine, leading to engine failures and crashes, which prompted many airlines (including Air India, IndiGo, Akasa, and KLM) to suspend service on routes impacted by the ash. Instructed pilots to avoid flying through areas of heavy ash accumulation and examined any aircraft that had previously flown through those areas before they could take off again. Ethiopia’s volcanic impact India. As a result of the situation, many airports experienced significant delays in operations due to the number of aircraft checked by technicians and pilots’ inability to fly through certain altitudes.
This situation demonstrated how easily global events can cause widespread disruption to India’s aviation system. As conditions improved with the movement of the ash cloud towards China, it became evident that the aviation system in India could be interrupted suddenly due to global events.
Air Quality and Health Issues
Meteorologists indicate possible short-term reductions in air quality in northern India due to potential ash fallout from volcanic eruptions. Volcanic ash contains small particles that could have an effect on the lungs and eyes. Cities like New Delhi, which are already dealing with heavy pollution from winter, could face even greater health risks from further particulate matter in the air; however, fortunately, the ash level in India was not considered to be very high. Meteorologists also stress that long-distance eruptions can cause added strain on already polluted areas. While monitoring real-time data, health departments prepared themselves for emergency response should a significant amount of ash begin to accumulate.
Climate Change and Weather Modelling
Meteorologists study the amount of ash ejected into the atmosphere as it is at high elevation. This falls under the category of “Long-Distance” ash clouds, and the effects of ash clouds on the climate can vary from brief temperature changes to temporary changes in wind patterns. In India, the ash plume moved over the subcontinent during a period when it was transitioning from summer to fall. Thus far, forecasts of significant long-term impacts from the ash clouds from this eruption are not likely; however, India’s Meteorology Offices will use this as an additional reference point in their evaluation of the geophysical impact of ash clouds. Further, this event may provide additional modelling information that could improve forecasting of air quality across Asia when combined with measurements collected on air quality from Asia’s other countries and continents, such as West and Central Africa and the Asian subcontinent.https://mausam.imd.gov.in/
Larger Strategic & Economic Impacts
Currently, the majority of international flight routes out of India to various destinations within the Gulf, Africa, & Europe represent some of the most utilised airspace within the world. As a result of this fact that if disruption occurs to air travel, then all business contracted & migrant workers will no longer be able to utilize these travel routes until the issues have been resolved. In addition, any volcanic ash events should highlight the potential for short-term disruptions to global supply chains. Even very short disruptions have severe economic implications for perishable products and pharmaceutical shipments. As Indian airlines expand their ability to operate flights to Africa, it is necessary for them to determine whether the likelihood of future volcanic eruptions from the African Rift Valley—one of the highest volcanic activity zones around the world—will likely continue to increase, accordingly influencing Indian airlines’ Flight Planning.
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