Overall Green Volcanic eruption for Ulawun
in Papua New Guinea

Volcano Ash Advisories for air traffic

Although Volcano Ash Advisories (VAAC) are not intended for assessing humanitarian impact, the observations of the plume are relevant for understanding local impact. The actual impact (like ash fall) depends on the type of eruption and is not known.

Click on the messages list to visualize on the right the detailed text.



Volcanic Ash Advisory issued on 2023-11-21 at 23:00 UTC.

    Key information extracted from original VAA message :


    Aviation Colour Code :  


  • Volcanic ash to flight level 400 (12000m) exd wnw last observation before a break in coverage at a manual station observation 21 1840 UTC.
  • Current satellite imagery and recent ground report indicates that ash from volcano has dissipated. No further reports of new or ongoing eruption. Advisory terminated. Steam/smoke and minor ash emissions near summit may occur. Wind from model data.

Original Message :

Volcanic Ash Advisory issued on 2023-11-21 at 19:00 UTC.

    Key information extracted from original VAA message :


    Aviation Colour Code :  


  • Volcanic ash to flight level 400 (12000m) exd wnw observation 21 1840 UTC.
  • Weak emissions moving wnw of summit may be ongoing. Volcanic ash height and movement based on ground obs, satellite imagery and model data.

Original Message :

Volcanic Ash Advisory issued on 2023-11-21 at 13:00 UTC.

    Key information extracted from original VAA message :


    Aviation Colour Code :  


  • Volcanic ash to flight level 400 (12000m) exd w observation 21 1240 UTC.
  • Weak emissions moving wnw of summit may be ongoing. Volcanic ash plume to flight level 600 (18000m) exd e is no longer discernible on satellite img and is expected to have dissipated. Volcanic ash height and movement based on ground obs, satellite imagery and model data.

Original Message :

Volcanic Ash Advisory issued on 2023-11-21 at 07:00 UTC.

    Key information extracted from original VAA message :


    Aviation Colour Code :  


  • To flight level 400 (12000m) exd w observation 21/0630z, volcanic ash to flight level 600 (18000m) exd e observation 20 2030 UTC.
  • Continuous volcanic ash to flight level 400 (12000m) observation on recent satellite imagery. Volcanic ash observation to flight level 600 (18000m) exd e, expected to dissipate next 12 hours. Volcanic ash height and movement based on ground obs, satellite imagery and model data.

Original Message :

Volcanic Ash Advisory issued on 2023-11-21 at 01:01 UTC.

    Key information extracted from original VAA message :


    Aviation Colour Code :  


  • Volcanic ash observation to flight level 600 (18000m) extend se and to flight level 500 (15000m) extend wnw at 21 0030 UTC.
  • Volcanic ash observation to flight level 600 (18000m) extend e of summit. Continuous volcanic ash plume to flight level 500 (15000m) extend approximate 240nm wnw of summit. Volcanic ash height based on infrared cloud top of clouds temp, model winds and direction of volcanic ash movement. Volcanic ash forecast based on satellite data and dispersion.

Original Message :

Volcanic Ash Advisory issued on 2023-11-20 at 19:15 UTC.

    Key information extracted from original VAA message :


    Aviation Colour Code :  


  • Volcanic ash observation to flight level 600 (18000m) extend se and to flight level 500 (15000m) extend w at 20 1840 UTC.
  • Stratospheric volcanic ash observation to flight level 600 (18000m) extend approximate 40nm se of summit. Continuous volcanic ash plume to flight level 500 (15000m) extend approximate 230nm west of summit. Height based on infrared cloud top of clouds temperature analysis. Forecast based on dispersion advisory will be updated as new information is received.

Original Message :

Volcanic Ash Advisory issued on 2023-11-20 at 17:40 UTC.

    Key information extracted from original VAA message :


    Aviation Colour Code :  


  • Continuous volcanic ash plume to flight level 500 (15000m) move w observation at 20 1720 UTC.
  • Continuous volcanic ash plume, currently extending approx. 380nm west of summit. Height based on infrared temperature of approx -67c. Forecast based on dispersion advisory will be updated as new information is received.

Original Message :

Volcanic Ash Advisory issued on 2023-11-20 at 14:40 UTC.

    Key information extracted from original VAA message :


    Aviation Colour Code :  


  • Continuous volcanic ash plume to flight level 500 (15000m) move w observation at 20 1420 UTC.
  • Continuous volcanic ash plume, currently extending approx. 280nm west of summit. Height based on infrared temperature of approx -62c. Forecast based on dispersion advisory will be updated as new information is received.

Original Message :