Pakistan’s atmosphere is “almost clear” of the ash plume from a volcanic eruption in Ethiopia, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) spokesperson Anjum Nazeer Zaighum said on Tuesday, adding that the ash cloud was now present over parts of India.

The Hayli Gubbi volcano, located in Ethiopia’s Afar region about 800 kilometres northeast of Addis Ababa near the Eritrean border, erupted for several hours two days ago. The eruption sent a column of ash and smoke rising nearly 45,000 feet into the atmosphere.

The dangerous ash plume from the eruption had drifted across the Red Sea and disrupted operations on one of the world’s busiest air routes. By Monday, the plume had spread east over Yemen and Oman and was tracking toward the airspace of Pakistan and India, forcing airlines to cancel flights or fly costly detours.

The Met Office spokesperson said the ash plume was first detected in Pakistan about 60 nautical miles south of Gwadar around 10am on Monday. Zaigham said the ash plume remained over areas in Pakistan for around 18 to 20 hours.

He added that the Met Office had issued a volcanic ash advisory for the aviation industry for the first time in Pakistan’s history following the development. “In total, three advisories were issued,” he said.

“At present, it [ash plume] is present over parts of India and Pakistan’s atmosphere is almost cleared,” the spokesperson said.

He also clarified that the ash plume had no environmental impact in Pakistan as it moved at altitudes above 45,000 feet and with a speed of 15 to 20 kilometres per hour.

“It was too high,“ he said, adding that Pakistan would have faced environmental effects if the eruption had occurred in a country more closely located.

Ash cloud over India

Local Ethiopian media rep­orted that the explosion from the eruption caused tremors felt as far away as Djibouti and plunged surrounding settlements into darkness.

Officials and experts described the event as one of the most extraordinary volcanic awakenings in the region’s history. There is no evidence the volcano had erupted in more than 10,000 years, scientists said.

Meanwhile, airlines began cancelling flights post-noon on Monday as the ash moved across the Red Sea.

Air India said it had cancelled 11 flights on Monday and Tuesday to make precautionary checks on aircraft that had flown over some locations after the eruption.

Smaller peer Akasa said it had scrapped scheduled flights to Middle East destinations such as Jeddah, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi scheduled during the two days.

India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation said that only a few flights had been rerouted as a precautionary measure, and that the airports authority had issued a notice to all affected planes.

The ash cloud is moving towards China and is expected to clear Indian skies by 7:30pm today (7pm Pakistan time), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a statement.

The Hindustan Times reported yesterday that Indian carrier IndiGo cancelled six flights, including routes originating from Mumbai and southern India. Another IndiGo flight, bound for Abu Dhabi from Kannur, was diverted to Ahmedabad.

“The Pakistan airspace is shut for Indian airlines, hence the Indian airlines are expected to be impacted,” a Mumbai airport official said on Monday regarding the re-routing challenges. “We have started keeping a record of this and are monitoring the situation.”

Additional input from Reuters