Mexico raises alert level for Popocatepetl volcano as it spews smoke, ash and lava

Lava, smoke and ash spewing from Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico (Picture: AFP)

Mexico has raised the alert for Popocatepetl volcano to one step below red as it spews smoke, ash and lava into the sky.

The ‘yellow phase three’ warning was activated by the authorities yesterday and comes two days after Mexico City airports temporarily stopped flights due to falling ash and some schools halted lessons.

‘Yellow’ stands for ‘remain alert and prepare for a possible evacuation’, according to the warning system developed by Mexico’s National Disaster Prevention Center.

‘Yellow phase three’, meanwhile, means ‘intermediate to high activity’ and is triggered when the volcano shows ‘significant explosions of increasing intensity that shoot fragments (of rock) over considerable distances’.

The volcano towers above the capital city and is considered one of the most dangerous in the world due to the 25 million people who live within 100 kilometres of it.

Yellow phase three is one stage down from ‘red’, which sets off mandatory evacuations. Dozens of shelters have already been opened in areas around the crater as a precaution.

Popocatepetl has not had a massive eruption for more than a millennium, but became active again in 1994 and has seen periods of increased activity ever since.

People in the state of Puebla, Mexico, use umbrellas and masks to protect themselves from the ash (Picture: EPA)

A car in Puebla is covered in ash (Picture: EPA)

Popocatepetl volcano seen from Nealtican, Puebla (Picture: EPA)

The 17,797-foot volcano is constantly monitored by six cameras, a thermal imaging device and 12 seismological stations that sit around its ring and report back to a command centre in Mexico City.

This is manned 24 hours a day by a team of multi-disciplinary scientists ready to warn people of dangers such as ash clouds.

Meanwhile, Europe’s most active volcano Mount Etna in Italy has also been erupting.

Clouds of ash have been spewing from its crater, grounding flights at the nearby Catania Airport yesterday due to a lack of visibility.

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The volcano is considered one of the most dangerous in the world because 25 million people live near it.