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Icelandic volcanic ash alert back to orange after eruption

Iceland has cut its ash alert level for aviation to orange from red after raising it to the maximum level earlier in the day due to a fresh eruption from a fissure in the Bardarbunga volcano system.

Iceland's largest volcanic system has been hit by thousands of earthquakes over the last two weeks and scientists have been on high alert.

In 2010, an ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, in a different region of Iceland, closed much of Europe's air space for six days.

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Some 500 earthquakes hit Iceland volcano within hours

Around 500 earthquakes have rocked a rumbling volcano in Iceland since midnight, adding to fears that an eruption could be sparked at any moment.

The country has issued an orange aviation alert - the second highest - warning of possible disruption to air traffic should the Bardarbunga volcano blow.

Warning signs block the road to the Bardarbunga volcano Credit: Reuters

Seismic activity and magma movement as close as 10km beneath ground level has been reported in the region since the middle of August. However, the Met Office has downgraded its alert from red to orange, saying an eruption was no longer considered to be imminent.

Roads are still closed in the region.

It comes after tens of thousands of flights were grounded when Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano erupted in 2010, creating an enormous ash cloud which experts feared would damage jet engines.

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Icelandic volcanic ash alert back to orange after eruption

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