North Europe hit by volcanic ash

North Europe hit by volcanic ash

news.bbc.co.uk

Air traffic has been severely disrupted across northern Europe by volcanic ash drifting south and east from Iceland.

Airspace was closed or flights cancelled in countries including the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and France..."The extent is greater than we've ever seen before in the EU," said Brian Flynn, deputy head of operations at Eurocontrol, the European air traffic control organisation.

"The meteorological situation is such that the volcanic ash is progressing very slowly eastwards but there is not a lot of wind... so it is very slow and very d

(visit the link for the full news article)

I am starting this thread because the original thread (whose title only focuses on the effects for Norway) does not represent the true extent of disruption caused by the ash from the Icelandic volcano.

I also am starting this thread as a way to monitor european ATS members' input regarding this volcanic ash (e.g. whether they can see the ash cloud, impact on flights for their countries etc.)

The reality is this is effecting all of Europe.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

For those countries who have had their airspace closed or flights cancelled, they are experiencing something most have never experienced - no aircraft in the sky. It's quite an amazing experience. I was out in the garden earlier, looking up at the blue sky, the first thing you notice is no contrails (or chemtrails, depending on your take on all that), and you certainly notice the silence. Quite peaceful and pleasant :-) And as the OP mentions in the below thread, any craft seen in the sky at the moment is perhaps more likely to be alien in nature. So all those in the effected countries should certainly be looking up at the skies:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by Aelfrede


I understand your point, but let's be honest if this event was happening in the USA then it would be frontpage ATS, but because it's Iceland and by extension the rest of Europe, nobody cares. Well by "nobody" I mean Americans.

I'm not American by the way.

reply to post by Aelfrede


If you state it like that, maybe your right



Ontopic: All Dutch airtraffic is suspended from 19.00. Holland has the Busiest airspace in the world . thousands of european flights suspended. reminds me at 9/11.

cheers,


[edit on 15-4-2010 by ThraexX]

Hi Kram,

yes I agree. I don't want to whine too much about it, but I'm sure the more open minded Americans (and I'd like to think that was many of the Americans on ATS) can imagine how frustrating it might be if they were from a different country other than the USA, and then news from their country was not seen as important. That's why I wanted to get the Europe word in there, because even if many of the amercian members on here were not interested, we might grab some flags off european members to make sure the thread stays in a visible place on the ATS home page. Honestly, I wish it wasn't like this. Sometimes it seems that for many americans the word 'USA' is interchangeable for 'world'.

I hope this volcano ash cloud gets the attention it deserves on ATS (and reflects the big news that it is in all countries involved). Otherwise european ATS members will be forced to go elsewhere to discuss this important event (they will have no choice because if there isn't a visible thread on the ATS homepage, they will just assume it is not being discussed here.)

Cheers,

Aelf

Originally posted by Kram09
reply to post by Aelfrede

 

I understand your point, but let's be honest if this event was happening in the USA then it would be frontpage ATS, but because it's Iceland and by extension the rest of Europe, nobody cares. Well by "nobody" I mean Americans.

I'm not American by the way.

By the way, I know I can't flag my own thread, but the flag post section has a blurred effect, as if this thread can no longer be flagged. (It does not look like that on another thread I started). Please let me know if anyone else notices that they cannot flag thread. Thanks.

Hi ThraexX,

thanks for your update. It's mad experiencing no aircraft in the skies isn't it? Pretty infuriating for travellers though, no doubt.

Btw, please let me know if the flag section of this thread has a blurred appearance. Never seen that effect before.

Cheers,

Aelf

Originally posted by ThraexX
reply to post by Aelfrede

 

If you state it like that, maybe your right

Ontopic: All Dutch airtraffic is suspended from 19.00. Holland has the Busiest airspace in the world . thousands of european flights suspended. reminds me at 9/11.

cheers,


[edit on 15-4-2010 by ThraexX]

This is something really big. Just like on 911 all air-traffic in Northern Europe is DOWN!!!

BUT THERE IS NO ASH TO SEE!!!
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Just gazing up at the evening sky. Got to say it's beautiful. Not a chemtrail/contrail in sight :-) Also, great visibility for the mercury and venus conjunction ( I hear also the slender crescent moon will be joining the party too). For all us european members whose airspace has been closed, how blissful to gaze up at those planets without the roar of aircraft tainting the moment. Possibly a once in a life time experience. So savour the flavour I reckon :-)

Aelf

I'm American and I'm reading this thread. I'm sure many others are also reading, I mean volcanic ash clouds over population zones is news no matter what country it is.

reply to post by Aelfrede


Just wondering....are the governments or health officials recommending that people wear surgical masks? I know that isn't really the right term for them--like particle filter masks over the mouth and nose?? I had heard that the ash, partly being tiny particles of rock, can put micro cuts in the lungs.

BTW I am from the USA and I care about the rest of the world too

And the flag button looks normal to me...

Hi Regenstorm,

yes, I don't properly understand why exactly we wouldn't see the ash cloud. Why it wouldn't be visible, even at high altitude, surely something should be visible. Surely it just doesn't become magically invisible at a certain altitude????? Has made me wonder what might really be going on.
So much air space has been closed, and even people in Scotland report seeing nothing.

Aelf

Originally posted by Regenstorm
This is something really big. Just like on 911 all air-traffic in Northern Europe is DOWN!!!

BUT THERE IS NO ASH TO SEE!!!
www.abovetopsecret.com...

No worries mate, S&F it!

Weirdest thing, haven't seen a blue sky for years it seems. Contrails are visible here all the time. i can see a thin layer of ash smog here since two hours or so.
bizar situation.


ps. haven't been here long enough to understand that this is a USA dominated site the way you stated. thought ATS was quite international.

cheers,

Hi Silverado292,

thanks for your response. I like your attitude :-) Great to have you participating in this thread. And I agree, it certainly is news, no matter where it is. Especially considering the impact, all this air space closing, never known anything like it.

Cheers,

Aelf

Originally posted by Silverado292
I'm American and I'm reading this thread. I'm sure many others are also reading, I mean volcanic ash clouds over population zones is news no matter what country it is.

reply to post by Aelfrede


Maybe the reason people can't see the ash cloud is that it is being scattered and "diluted" in the atmosphere. Still present but not as dense as at point of origin.
That's just a maybe, though.

reply to post by Chamberf=6


I can see it here, doesn't rook real impressive though. just a white thin layer of clouds.


Satelite img from 16:00



[edit on 15-4-2010 by ThraexX]

Hi Chamberf,

yes, we've been talking here earlier (at home) about what might happen if the ash cloud descends. At the moment we are being told (in the UK) that because of the high pressure, the ash cloud will be kept at a high altitude and there are thought to be no health risks at present. However, if you look at above news story, they say that the cloud is slow moving and dense. The dense part is worrying.

Thanks for participating and caring :-) I knew americans on ATS would be the best of the bunch :-)

Cheers,

Aelf

Originally posted by Chamberf=6
reply to post by Aelfrede

 

Just wondering....are the governments or health officials recommending that people wear surgical masks? I know that isn't really the right term for them--like particle filter masks over the mouth and nose?? I had heard that the ash, partly being tiny particles of rock, can put micro cuts in the lungs.

BTW I am from the USA and I care about the rest of the world too

And the flag button looks normal to me...