A dormant volcano in Ethiopia's Afar region, Hayli Gubbi, erupted on Sunday for the first time in thousands of years, blasting ash and smoke up to 9 miles into the atmosphere, disrupting air travel across the Red Sea toward Yemen and Oman.

Hayli Gubbi's sudden awakening after roughly 10,000 to 12,000 years may suggest the Afar region and the broader tectonic system beneath East Africa are becoming more geologically active, with new magma moving beneath the crust.

On X, the American Geographical Society posted satellite imagery showing a massive ash and sulfur dioxide plume drifting across the Red Sea toward Yemen.

Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed that commercial aircraft in the region are avoiding the toxic plume.

Questions remain over whether nearby dormant volcanoes could also awaken and enter an active cycle.