Sulphur Dioxide Cloud Moving West And South

The cloud of SO2 emanating from the Holuhraun eruption is moving both further west and further south.

The Icelandic Met Office reports that the SO2 from the Holuhraun eruption has already spread over a large portion of the country. Currently, it covers a large portion of central Iceland, extending northwest to Blönduós and east across northern Vatnajökull.

Tomorrow, however, the distribution of SO2 is forecast to look a lot like the above illustration. As can be seen, the SO2 is spreading, and extending further south and west, and reaching the southeast coast.

However, bear in mind that SO2 levels are not distributed evenly across this area. This map shows the different gradations of SO2 concentrations. By hovering your mouse over the dates and times in the right margin (“fimm” meaning Thursday and “fös” meaning Friday), you can see the movement and the concentrations of SO2, which are colour-coded in the following way: Góð (Good), Viðunandi (Satisfactory), Varasöm (Questionable), Mjög óhollt (Very unhealthy) and Hættuástand (Dangerous).

The Grapevine advises readers to refer to the map with gradations before travelling in the countryside, to be sure that SO2 levels for the dates and times of your destinations are safe.