Watch Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano erupt under Northern Lights
Video: Footage was captured by a helicopter hovering just one kilometre over the mouth of the erupting volcano
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Amazing footage shows the Icelandic volcano Bardarbunga erupting underneath the Northern Lights.
The Bardarbunga volcano erupted over the weekend after weeks of activity and speculation.
The video starts with showing a timelapse video of the light display over the volcano, before a series of close up shots, taken from a helicopter flying just 1km above pulsing lava flow.
Scroll down to watch the video
Iceland’s largest volcanic system, which measures 118 miles across the country, has been hit by thousands of small tremors and eruptions over the last month, placing scientists on high alert.
The Icelandic Met Office has been regularly changing the aviation warning over the volcanic region prompting fears from the airline industry of a repeat of the disastrous 2010 eruption.
Four years ago, an ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano (which is in a different region from the Bardarbungo volcano) grounded flights across Europe and cost airliners billions in lost revenue and refunds.
One unexpected side effect of this latest eruption has been the smell of sulphur which has drifted all 800 miles west to Norway, according to reports from Norway’s public broadcaster NRK.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments