Fiery "Popo"

I have written frequently about Popocatépetl ("Popo" for short), the volcano located about 45 miles from Mexico City.  Although the volcano has a long history of activity, it was quiet for several decades, including the years of my early trips to Mexico.  Then beginning in1994 it rumbled back to life, and since then it has been regularly exhaling plumes of gas and ash, and sometimes erupting with lava and incandescent material.

Yesterday I was looking at the webcams of "Popo", as I often do, and saw that the mountain had been putting on a small fireworks display the last couple days.

July 26th at 6:34 A.M.

July 27th at 4:58 A.M.

July 27th at 6:56 A.M.

When I talked to Alejandro last night, he said that around noon yesterday there had been an explosion of ash.  Usually the prevailing winds will blow the ash eastward toward the city of Puebla.  But this time the ash was blown toward the northwest, toward Mexico City.  Alejandro sent me the advisory that had been issued by the city government and the civil defense agency.

On the map, the districts of the city in gray were expected to experience falling ash.  Fortunately, Alejandro lives in the far northern area of the city in the section labeled GAM (Gustavo A. Madero).  

The advisory said that people should avoid eye irritation by not wearing contact lenses, should rinse their eyes and throat with clean water, and should cover their mouth and nose.  That's one extreme way to get people to wear face masks during the pandemic!

Here are a couple pictures of the still fuming volcano this morning.

UPDATE:  I just read an article on the internet that light volcanic ash is falling in some parts of Gustavo A. Madero, the section of the city where Alejandro lives.

ANOTHER UPDATE:  Alejandro says that they have not seen any ash in the neighborhood where he lives.