I first heard this on the news this morning on my way to a lesson and didn’t think much of it. After all, it is common during the British summer to go out early and find the car covered in crap which – if it isn’t from those bloody sparrows sitting on the phone wire above – is frequently dust whipped up out of the Sahara and precipitated with the morning dew.
But it appears that the cloud of volcanic ash blowing towards us from Iceland, following an eruption which has caused a few problems over there, too, is a much more serious problem than you might think. I love the name of the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier, by the way. I simply must listen to the news on TV tonight and see how they get out of that one.
Apparently, the ash can damage aircraft engines (it is acidic and abrasive).
It is so severe that all flights in Northern Europe have been cancelled. There are apparently no planes flying in British airspace at all today.
What was really funny was a soundbite Smooth Radio played – an American woman was complaining that the airports ought to have a contingency for Acts Of God!
They have. They ground flights.
Apparently the link to this soundbite is on their website, but I can’t find it – and when I tried to play the Sky News feed they have on there it kept cutting out after a few seconds. So the website is as reliable as the actual Smooth Radio broadcast.
EDIT 16/04/2010: According to The Mail the dispruption could last six months, but it also reckons we could be in for some colourful sunsets (and crappy cars).