UPSC Prelims Current Affairs for 25 December 2025

Bezymianny Volcano Latest News

The Bezymianny volcano that once blew itself apart in a massive explosion is now rising from the ashes—faster than scientists expected.

About Bezymianny Volcano

• It is a cone-shaped stratovolcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East. 
• It is located on the southeast slope of the extinct volcano Kamen. These two volcanoes are separated by a high, narrow saddle.
• The east and west slopes of Bezymianny are cut by two wide and sloping valleys. 
• Several lava flows can be found on the upper portions of its slopes. 
• Lower in elevation, a row of domes exists along the southern and western sides of the volcano.
• It has had eruptions since 1955 characterized by dome growth, explosions, pyroclastic flows, ash plumes, and ashfall.  
• Bezymianny’s 1956 eruption was one of the most significant explosive events of the 20th century.
• But instead of going quiet, the volcano began to recover almost immediately.  Since then, ongoing eruptions, mostly small to moderate in scale, have contributed to a near-continuous process of rebuilding.

Key Facts about Stratovolcano

• It is a tall, steep, and cone-shaped type of volcano.
• Unlike flat shield volcanoes, they have higher peaks.
• They are typically found above subduction zones, and they are often part of large volcanically active regions, such as the Ring of Fire that frames much of the Pacific Ocean.
• Stratovolcanoes comprise the largest percentage (~60%) of the Earth’s individual volcanoes, and most are characterized by eruptions of andesite and dacite, lavas that are cooler and more viscous than basalt.
• These more viscous lavas allow gas pressures to build up to high levels. Therefore, these volcanoes often suffer explosive eruptions. 
• They are usually about half-half lava and pyroclastic material, and the layering of these products gives them their other common name of composite volcanoes.
• At the peak, stratovolcanoes usually have a small crater.

Source: IDR