Mexican volcano forces local airports to suspend operations

Scientists have been monitoring Popocatepetl with each heave, sigh, and tick examined by an array of sensors, cameras, and other equipment.

Mexico City’s proximity to the volcano could see the city enveloped in ash and isolated from any air traffic.

Six cameras, a thermal imaging device, and 12 seismological monitoring stations operating 24 hours a day around the summit keep a command center in Mexico City updated with any developments.

A team of 13 scientists ensures the command center is staffed round the clock and tracks readings reported by seismographs measuring the volcano’s internal trembling, ready to sound the alarm if Popocatepetl displays signs of implosion.

Additionally, gasses at nearby springs and the peak are monitored, along with wind patterns, to predict what areas would be carpeted with ash if the peak were to blow. Cameras and sensors monitor the shape of Popocatepetl, which could see temporary deformation due to the forces inside, closer to eruption.

Although these measurements and systematic readings help authorities be well-informed, all this information is diluted into a simple “stop light” for the benefit of the public: green indicating safety, yellow for alert, and red for danger.

Since its introduction, the stop light has been stuck at yellow for most of the years. Popocatepetl seldom quiets down, and not for long, instead showering out hot rocks that tumble down and exhale spurts of gas and ash.

Mexico City, no stranger to natural disasters, is equipped with systems to detect any calamity. Its soft soil makes it vulnerable to earthquakes hundreds of miles away on the Pacific coast. Seismic monitors along the coast keep an eye on any suspicious movement, giving the city’s residents up to half a minute to get to safety once the sirens start blaring.