Mount Bromo in eastern Java has erupted for the first time since 2019, sending ash 500 metres above the summit. No one was hurt. The national park is open, but visitors may not go within a kilometre of the crater.
The exclusion zone covers the stairs up the volcano and part of the sand plain (Lautan Pasir) at its foot. The boundary has been marked with posts and is monitored by patrols. All park entrances are open, and tourists are still coming. The Penanjakan viewpoint, the savanna and the rest of the plain remain open.
Another eruption could happen suddenly, without any noticeable warning signs. That is what happened in 2019. The alert is currently at the second of four levels. If it is raised, the park may be closed entirely.
Volcanologists attribute the eruption to a rockfall: rock from the crater wall fell onto the red-hot crater floor. The wind carried the ash west. There have been no further eruptions. The airport in nearby Malang operated as usual.
Between August and October, the park was closed several times because of forest fires. They have now been put out.
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