Pinatubo or Eyjafjallajökull

In June 1991, the second largest volcanic eruption of the twentieth century took place in the Philippines, Mt Pinatubo.

This eruption was second in size only to an eruption in Katmai, Alaska, in 1912.

A giant ash cloud rose 35 kilometers into the sky and over 400 km wide. It covered cars with a coat of dust as far away as Singapore.



There were no cancellation of air travel as drastic as Eyjafjallajökull, though.

Heathrow in the twilight zone

The 16 April 2010 eruption of Mt Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland send a pulsating eruptive column above 8 kilometres altitude and caused significant disruption to air travel across Europe.




The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull large ash plume lasted longer than that of Mount Pinatubo.

And became a dangerous tourist attraction too.