Eruption of Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano caught on camera

Timelapse images captured of Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano erupting are as facinating as they are horrifying.

Residents of Puebla have been told to limit outdoor activities due to smoke and ash drifting over their city from the nearby volcano which erupted around 2:30 a.m. Monday morning.

The volcano, nicknamed “El Popo”, began emitting gas and ash in late March. Its intensity increased with a fiery blast that sent rocks flying more than a kilometer away from the mountaintop and created an ash cloud that rose more than three kilometers into the sky, leaving surrounding cities covered in the volcanic dust, resembling a snowfall.

Masks were distributed by local authorities to keep resident protected from inhaling the ash, which coated everything in its path. They were also advised to sweep up the fine dust rather than wash it away with water.

Volcanic eruptions are not rare in this part of Mexico and Popocatepetl has been active since 1994, with

its last major eruption taking place in 2000 when more than 40,000 people were evacuated from the area.