White heat: Eruptions from Iceland

For a country that languishes for much of the year in the midst of a frozen North Atlantic, Iceland is quite the hotspot. The problem is that too close an association with the land volcanos and glaciers, Leif the Lucky and Bjork, does not always prove to be beneficial these days. An uneasy Europe got wind of the impending financial winter when Iceland’s major banks imploded in 2008 leading to currency devaluation, a 90% drop in the market capitalisation of the Iceland stock exchange, and finally the downfall of the government last year.

Now, Europe is paralysed by Iceland again, as a dormant volcano has erupted there, causing a dangerous silicate ash cloud to drift for thousands of miles over the ocean, grounding or diverting international flights. The nuisance value of this latest Icelandic chaos has been incalculable and widespread. Not only has it affected the 70th birthday bash of Queen Margrethe of Denmark (ironically, the country that once ruled Iceland) and the scheduled funeral of Polish president Lech Kaczynski by curtailing the travel plans of VIP guests, it has also stranded hundreds of workers on North Sea oil rigs as well as their replacements on shore, not to mention business travellers.

Even India has reason to look askance at Iceland, as it has brought the issue of suddenly-erupting dormant volcanoes to the fore. Not only have reports surfaced that the embattled IPL commissioner Lalit Modi’s bid to become Iceland’s honorary consul in India was turned down, now it is known that thanks to the deadly Icelandic cloud blanketing Europe, the nation has to wait a while longer for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to return and reveal the fate of the beleaguered minister Shashi Tharoor. The prime minister’s flight home has been safely diverted via South Africa, but further eruptions from the now-smouldering political volcano in India are imminent. Iceland has a lot to answer for!