Explosive: Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano erupts 39 times in 24-hour period

July 11, 2013 – MEXICO – Mexico’s Popocatépetl volcano is keeping up its recent activity, emitting 39 exhalations of “low to moderate magnitude” over the last 24 hours, according to El Universal. Ash, gases and steam expelled out of the volcano’s crater this morning reached well over a mile in the air, said Mexico’s National Disaster Prevention Center (Cenapred) in a statement. The lava dome on “El Popo” – the mound of viscous magma which, being extruded from the crater’s vent, dries and piles up not far from it — continued to swell. Overnight, glowing fragments expelled from the inside of the volcano could be seen on its slopes. El Universal wrote that one of the most significant emission of ash, steam and gas occurred today at 7:00 this morning. The volcano also registered tremors of “high and low frequency” as well as medium-sized micro-tremors occurring as a result of the movement of magma over the course of several hours. “El Popo,” one of several nicknames by which the Popocatépetl volcano is known by nearby residents, is located in Puebla state, about 43 miles southeast of Mexico City. With roughly 25 million people living in the region around the volcano, the Mexican Government is keeping an eye on this one. Ash from recent fits of activity in the past few weeks have reached as far as Milpa Alta, one of the southernmost boroughs of the capital. –Latin Times