Air quality dips on La Palma, airport remains closed

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE. KAZINFORM La Palma airport remained closed Friday due to ash accumulation caused by a volcanic eruption, although the remaining airports on the Canary Islands were operative.

The airport in La Palma closed on Thursday after changing winds pushed a thick cloud of sulfur and ash east, EFE reports.

Air Navigation (AENA) said a cleanup operation was underway to remove debris that had accumulated on the runway.

The Department of National Security (DSN) has recorded an increase in seismic activity in the last 24 hours, with a spike in the number of earthquakes of a higher magnitude.

The National Geographic Institute (IGN) said it had recorded 40 tremors on the island on Friday morning, one at a magnitude of 3.8 on the Richter scale and 36 kilometers underground in the municipality of Fuencaliente. So far 33 earthquakes have shaken Fuencaliente and seven were registered in Villa de Mazo.