The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) predicts that from this Wednesday, the air quality of the Madeira archipelago will be affected by the transport of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and SO2 (sulfur dioxide) from the volcano Cumbre Vieja, from the island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands.
According to the latest update of information arising from the volcanic eruption in the neighboring archipelago, the IPMA explains that the phenomenon could have repercussions in the Madeira region in terms of air quality. All due to the rotation of the wind, which will move to the South quadrant.
“With regard to the Autonomous Region of Madeira, the wind from the northern quadrant will be maintained until Wednesday, so the transport of CO2 and SO2 should not be significant. However, as of Wednesday, the rotation of the wind, which will move to the south quadrant, which may cause changes in air quality”.
After 8 days of intense seismic crisis, as of September 19, the volcano “La Cumbre Vieja” erupted with at least seven lava sources. Radar interferometry measurements by the SENTINEL satellite point to an inflation of about 15 cm as a result of magmatic intrusion near the surface.
At least 5,000 people have already been evacuated from the nearby area, with the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands and the Spanish State Meteorological Agency monitoring the impact of the eruption.
According to the Instituto Volcanológico das Canarias, the first evaluations of lava discharges point to values of 700 m/hour at temperatures above 1000 Celsius. Sulfur dioxide emissions are now estimated at between 6000 and 9000 tonnes/day. The most intense thermal anomaly was evaluated at 2828 MW, having decreased from yesterday.
The last eruption of Cumbre Vieja occurred in 1971 and lasted 24 days, between 26 October and 18 November. However, previous eruptions had more significant durations.