“During the past 24 hours, several gas and ash emissions have been observed at heights between 1,000 and 2,000 meters above the level of the crater,” the agency said in its daily report Thursday evening.
Due to this eruptive activity, which has been going on since October, authorities have received reports of ash rain in several villages below the volcano, which rises to nearly 5,900 meters.
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) in Washington has warned of plumes of volcanic dust up to 1,700 meters above the crater.
The Cotopaxi is located about forty kilometers south of the Ecuadorian capital Quito, from where you can see the eternal snows at the top of the imposing mountain.
The main danger of this volcano is the presence of lava near the crater, which could cause pyroclastic flows, a mixture of incandescent materials, made of ash and rocks.
But also lead to the melting of the ice covering the sides of the volcano and the formation of avalanches or gigantic flows, endangering the localities directly below where some 300,000 people live.
Aerial view of the Cotopaxi volcano which spits a plume of ash and gas, January 19, 2023 © Galo PAGUAY / AFP
The area is also surrounded by strategic facilities and infrastructure, such as oil pipelines, as well as agricultural and livestock farms.
"Due to its danger, its geographical location and its ice cap, it is perhaps the most dangerous volcano in the country, and one of the most dangerous in the world," Daniel recently told AFP. Sierra, an IG expert.
The Cotopaxi reactivated in 2015, after 138 years of sleep.
The Reventador and Sangay volcanoes, both located on the eastern flank of the Andes mountain range that borders the Amazon, are also currently erupting.
Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Equator, with an area equivalent to half the size of France, has around a hundred volcanoes, around ten of which culminate at an altitude of more than 5,000m.
© 2023 AFP