Eyjafjallajokul Shows Very Little Activity but Can Explode Again

Officials in Iceland say there is very little activity at the Eyjafjallajokul volcano -- but it is too early to say whether the eruption that has disrupted global air travel is over.

Photo: Eyjafjallajokul Shows Very Little Activity but Can Explode Again

Iceland 's Meteorological Office said Sunday that "the eruption activity is minimal."

Civil Protection Agency official Iris Marelsdottir says some steam is coming out of the volcano, but no ash. She says "it's too early to say this is over, but at the moment it is quiet," BusinessWeek informs.

European air traffic was brought virtually to a standstill for a week after the volcano erupted in mid-April, spewing huge volumes of ash across the continent.

A hundred thousand flights were cancelled, stranding millions of passengers and costing airlines an estimated 1.3 billion euros in lost revenue, Euronews reports.

Scientists have warned that there is still a significant chance that the much larger Katla volcano, to the east of Eyjafjallajökull, will erupt; the previous three times Eyjafjallajökull erupted, Katla did also.

And on average, Katla has erupted every 60 years and has not done so significantly since 1918, The Guardian says.