A couple of weeks ago I was quite worried about the latest eruption of the volcano Popocatépetl which is located about 40 miles to the southeast of Mexico City. Even though it was not an unusual occurrence, I was concerned about the people living at the volcano's base. From a purely selfish viewpoint, I was concerned that my flight down here might be cancelled and that I would have to resume wearing a mask, not because of COVID, but because of volcanic ash in the air.
Well, as you know, I made it down here without any disruption to flights, and I have not seen any evidence of ash. These webcam photos from yesterday show that "Popo" seems to have settled down again.
The smoke coming from the mountain is white, so it is mostly just water vapor rather than ash.
This night view shows that the crater is still a fiery cauldron, but look at the starry sky, unobscured by emissions of ash.
This morning, the volcano looked perfectly normal with just a of puff of smoke coming from its peak.
I am no vulcanologist. and neither is Alejandro, but we both thought that the latest eruption might actually be a good thing... that "Popo" is relieving pressure building up inside the mountain, and thus avoiding a major explosion. The other day I heard a news report from the BBC on YouTube which confirmed our opinion. So, as I joked in a post a couple weeks ago, you do not need to worry that I will be a cast member of the newest remake of "The Last Days of Pompeii"!
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