Ash from an erupting Icelandic volcano is expected to reach Britain by tomorrow airlines have been warned.
The beautiful but disrupting plume of ash from Iceland's Grimsvoetn volcano which has been ejected 12 miles high into the atmosphere
The ash could force the authorities to shut airports and close UK airspace, in a move which could disrupt many thousands of passengers almost exactly a year since a different Icelandic volcano closed airspace across Europe.
The latest warning is based on five-day weather forecasts but experts said the wind patterns were changeable and could yet sweep the cloud away from the UK.
Aviation authorities yesterday said no disruption was expected to European or transatlantic airspace over the next 24 hours.
However, if the eruption continues at the same rate and winds do not change, ash could reach northern Scotland by tomorrow and spread to England, France and even Spain by Thursday or Friday, forecasters said.
Grimsvoetn, Iceland’s most active volcano at the heart of its biggest glacier, began erupting late on Saturday, sending a plume of smoke and ash 12miles high.
So much ash was blasted into the sky that it blocked out the sun and covered nearby villages and farms.
By yesterday, the ash had reached the capital Reykjavik, nearly 250m to the west, and all the country’s airspace was closing down.