Mount Etna – at it again

On 5 July 2026, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured this image of Mount Etna spewing lava and a massive plume of ash, gas and rock into the sky over the Italian island of Sicily. The image has been processed using the mission’s shortwave-infrared bands to show the lava flow in bright red.

Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and has one of the world’s longest records for continuous eruption. 

Ash from the eruption covered the city of Catania and also forced the temporary closure of Catania Airport, which often happens when the volcano is active. 

A capture from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite shows the sulphur dioxide concentrations released in the eruption on the same day.