The Hale Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia’s Afar region erupted on the morning of 23 November 2025, covering nearby villages in ash. There was no known activity in Hale Gubbi during the Holocene period, which began about 12,000 years ago.
- In Ethiopia’s Afar region, the Hale Gubbi volcano located near the Eritrea border, about 800 km northeast of Addis Ababa, erupted on 23 November 2025.
- The Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) said that a volcano in northeastern Ethiopia erupted for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, sending a dense plume of smoke up to 14 km into the sky.
- This eruption spread a large cloud of ash over the Red Sea and South Asia, with a thick ash cloud reaching India, forcing several flights to change their routes. The rising ash plume drifted across the Red Sea toward Yemen, Oman and some parts of India.
Hale Gubbi Volcano
- This volcano, which is about 500 m high, lies inside the Rift Valley, a zone of very high geological activity where two tectonic plates meet.
- The Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program said that Hale Gubbi had not erupted during the Holocene, which began around 12,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.
- Hale Gubbi is a shield volcano located in the East African Rift Zone, where the African and Arabian tectonic plates are slowly separating at a rate of 0.4 to 0.6 inches per year.
- In July, the nearby Erta Ale volcano erupted, causing tremors beneath Hale Gubbi and showing magma accumulation about 30 km below the surface.
About volcanic eruptions
- In the Earth’s mantle (the denser layer beneath the solid crust) there is a weak zone called the asthenosphere, from where molten rock called magma emerges.
- The gases dissolved in magma expand, creating very high pressure that pushes the magma upward, allowing it to find its way through cracks in the volcano and causing an eruption. Main eruptive materials: when magma begins to move toward the crust or reaches the surface, it is called lava.
- Other materials reaching the ground include pyroclastic debris, volcanic bombs, ash and dust, and gases such as nitrogen compounds and sulfur compounds.
- Recent events: Sabancaya (Peru, 2025), Ruang (Indonesia, 2025), Kilauea (USA, 2024), Etna (Italy, 2025).
Major volcanoes of Africa
- Mount Kilimanjaro: Located in Tanzania, it is Africa’s highest volcano and the continent’s tallest peak.
- Ol Doinyo Lengai: Located in Tanzania, it is called the ‘Mountain of God’ by the Maasai people and is the world’s only active carbonatite volcano, known for its rare lava.
- Mount Cameroon: It is the only volcanic peak in West Africa where eruptions have occurred in recent years.
- Hale Gubi: Located in Ethiopia’s Afar region, this is a shield volcano that erupted recently.
- Nyamuragira: Located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is considered one of Africa’s most active volcanoes.
Other active volcanoes
- Mount Sabinyo, Mount Muhabura and Mount Karisimbi: These volcanoes are located on the border of Rwanda and Uganda.
- Fogo: Located in Cape Verde, this volcano had a major eruption in 2014, forcing the evacuation of two villages.
