When is the Katla volcano on Iceland going to explode?

To understand his concern, go back to 2010 when the volcano next door blew up. Eyjafjallajökull drove plumes of hot ash into the sky, crippling global aviation. “Does Katla have the potential to be just as dangerous?” Miller asked Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, who's with the University of Iceland. read more

Now, Katla specifically is much closer to a predictable volcano since it has erupted on a somewhat regular basis over the last 5000 years. But even with that in mind, Katla is still highly unpredictable, and for volcanoes, patterns are absolutely subject to change. read more

Iceland's Bárðarbunga volcano system was racked by four large earthquakes at the end of October. The rumbles, reported as magnitudes 3.9, 3.2, 4.7, and 4.7, are a sign that pressure is building up in the volcano's magma chamber."Pressure in the system is increasing, that's for sure," says Sara Barsotti, the volcanic hazards coordinator at the Icelandic Meterological Office. read more