The 1,138-metre Ebeko volcano on the northern Kuril island of Paramushir, off Russia's Pacific Coast, is showing signs of activity.
"The volcano is spewing out steam and gases 100 to 300 metres, with the temperature upwards 100 degrees Celsius. With a western wind blowing, or when there is no wind, Severokurilsk residents can smell the sulphur and chlorine" - Tatyana Kotenko, of the hydro-meteorological station Severokurilsk.
Mount Ebeko, on the island of Paramushir, which belongs to the Northern Kuril chain in Russia's Far East, has started emitting vapour and gas, on Sunday.
"A weather station in Severo-Kurilsk, a town seven kilometres (about 4 miles) away, has reported that the volcano was emitting vapour and gas" - local emergencies official spokesman.
A team of researchers from the Volcanology and Seismology Institute based on the Kamchatka Peninsula are monitoring the volcano. This year, the volcano emitted vapour and gas in February but calmed down in March.
The volcano, Mount Ebeko, on the island of Paramushir in the Pacific has calmed down after years of sporadic activity.
The most active volcano on the Kuril Islands started emitting vapour and gas in February, following phases of activity in 2005, 1999 and 1998. The volcano is only a few miles away from the towns of Paramushir and Severo-Kurilsk.
Position: 50.684726°, 156.019152°
"Satellite monitoring has shown that the volcano is calm" - Spokesperson for the Emergency Situations Ministry.
However, the official said experts could not rule out vapour emissions in the future. There are 36 active volcanoes on the Kuril chain, and at least seven others are also considered to be dangerous.
Mount Ebeko, a volcano on the island of Paramushir, which belongs to the Northern Kuril chain in Russia's Far East, has started emitting vapour and gas for the first time since spring.
The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's Sakhalin department said vapour and gas emissions had been registered early on Monday morning.
The 1156 metre high volcano does not currently pose a danger to Severo-Kurilsk, a town seven kilometres away, as the clouds of vapour and gas that have risen to 200 meters high are moving to the southwest, i.e. in the opposite direction. There is also no hydrogen sulphide in the air, unlike during the last period of activity. A team of researchers from the Volcanology and Seismology Institute based on the Kamchatka Peninsula is monitoring the volcano.
Scientists said Mt. Ebeko was the most dangerous volcano on the Kuril Islands at the moment. Today, its activity resembles levels last seen in 1998 and 1999. In addition, Mt. Chikurachki, another volcano, has also become more active. Monitoring the latter is difficult as it is located 70km away from the town, but unlike Ebeko it poses no danger whatsoever. The Mendeleyev, Golovnin, Tyatya, Grozny, Baransky, Chirip, Chikurachki, and Ebeko volcanoes are the most dangerous on the Kuril chain.
According to volcano experts, there are 36 active volcanoes on the islands.
