Iceland volcano eruption prompts warnings to stay away from Litli ...

Iceland's Fagradalsfjall volcano has erupted, spewing lava and noxious gases, and prompting warnings to stay away from the area.

Key points:The volcano outside of Reykjavik last erupted about 11 months agoIceland's nearby international airport remains open Spectators are being urged not to visit due to noxious gases 

The eruption began on Monday afternoon, local time, after thousands of earthquakes in the area, meteorological authorities said.

Aerial footage showed streams of orange molten lava and clouds of gas spewing from a snaking fissure about 900 metres long.

The volcano, located in an uninhabited valley near the Litli-Hrútur mountain about 30 kilometres south-west of Reykjavik, last erupted about 11 months ago. 

Iceland's nearby international Keflavik Airport remained open on Tuesday.

Previous eruptions in 2021 and 2022 occurred without causing damage or disruptions to flights. 

The Icelandic Meteorological Office said the eruption was initially more explosive than the previous two.

Aerial images reveal lava emerging from a fissure almost a kilometre long. (AP Photo:Marco Di Marco)

"Gas pollution is high around the eruption and dangerous," the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.

"Travellers are advised not to enter the area until responders have had a chance to evaluate conditions."

Lava emerges from a fissure in the volcano, about 30km outside the Icelandic capital. (AP Photo: Marco Di Marco )

By Tuesday morning, the fissure and the volume of the eruption had shrunk, scientists said.

"This has become a small eruption, which is very good news," University of Iceland geophysics professor Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson told national broadcaster RUV.

He said the eruption could "certainly last a long time".

"But luckily we're not looking at a continuation of what we saw in the first few hours," he said.

A 2021 eruption in the same area produced spectacular lava flows for several months.

Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to see the sight.

Geologists and students observe the volcano. (AP Photo: Marco Di Marco)

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages an eruption every four to five years.

In 2010, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano sent huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.

More than 100,000 flights were grounded, stranding millions of international travellers and halting air travel for days because of concerns the ash could damage jet engines.

AP