The eruption of the Shiveluch volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East has sent a massive plume of ash 10 km into the sky and triggered red-level aviation alerts for the area and nearby regions.
The ash cloud from Saturday’s eruption stretched 50 km from the volcano as it traveled east toward the Bering Sea, according to the Volcanology and Seismology Institute of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
A more powerful explosion that could send ash up to 12 km into the sky “could occur at any time,” the institute warned. A video recorded by scientists and published on social media shows a massive plume of smoke and ash rising into the sky.
It is the second Shiveluch eruption in just a week. On Thursday, the volcano produced an ash column that reached 8 km above sea level.
Shiveluch, one of Kamchatka’s largest and most active volcanoes, has a history of significant eruptions. It is located around 450 km from the regional capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and 50 km from the settlement of Klyuchi.
The previous red-level alert linked to its activity was issued in 2024, when it sent ash up to 8 km high. Another major eruption was reported in January 2026.