A satellite image shows ash rising from the eruption of the Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia as it drifts over the Red Sea

A volcano in Ethiopia's northeastern region has erupted for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, sending thick plumes of smoke up to 14 kilometres into the sky, the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) said.

The Hayli Gubbi volcano, located in Ethiopia's Afar region about 800 kilometres northeast of Addis Ababa near the Eritrean border, erupted on Sunday for several hours.

The volcano, which rises about 500 metres in altitude, sits within the Rift Valley, a zone of intense geological activity where two tectonic plates meet.

Ash clouds from the volcano drifted over Yemen, Oman, India, and northern Pakistan, the VAAC said.

In videos shared on social media, a thick column of white smoke can be seen rising.

The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program said Hayli Gubbi has had no known eruptions during the Holocene, which began around 12,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age.

Simon Carn, a volcanologist and professor at Michigan Technological University, confirmed on Bluesky that Hayli Gubbi "has no record of Holocene eruptions". TRT World