Near the nearly 6,000-meter-high Popocatépetl volcano in Mexico, three million people have been told to leave their homes because the volcano is still spewing ash into the air. This has caused schools to close and hundreds of flights delayed or canceled.
Here’s what we know about the volcano and how it affects the people who live near it. This information comes from original research and Yahoo’s partner network, which includes the New York Times, NBC News, and other news outlets.
Where Is The Popocatépetl Volcano Situated?
Popocatépetl is the biggest active volcano in Mexico. It is in the central part of the country, in the states of Puebla, Morelos, and Mexico. About 25 million people live within 60 miles of the volcano, 45 miles southeast of Mexico City.
When Was Its Last Big Eruption?
Global Volcanism Program report, Before 1994, the volcano hadn’t done anything for many years. In 2000, a large explosion caused about 50,000 people in the area to leave. Since then, the volcano, or “smoking mountain” as the people call it, has been showing mild to moderate activity.
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When Did The Latest Activity Start?
Officials first noticed activity coming from Popocatépetl in the middle of April. It started exploding at the beginning of this month. On April 14, a satellite run by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey took pictures of some of the spring action at the volcano.
The National Disaster Prevention Center of Mexico shared a time-lapse video on Facebook on Monday that showed the volcano spewing smoke and ash at sunrise.
Is that normal?
“Pretty much,” said volcanologist Jessica Ball of the U.S. Geological Survey to the New York Times.
