Russia's northernmost active volcano is churning out ash to a height of 9,500 meters (over 31,000 feet), local services reported on Tuesday.

      The 3,283-meter (10,771-foot) Shiveluch volcano in the country's Far East has increased its activity since May 2009, periodically spewing ash from three to ten kilometers. 

      The outburst is not dangerous for local citizens but the ash emission can seriously complicate the aviation's work. In addition, the ensuing ash fallouts can be hazardous to health and the environment.

      “A powerful eruption of ashes took place 05.59 a.m. local time (17:59 GMT on Monday)", it was said in the official statement of the Far Eastern Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. “It is the most powerful eruption this year,” local experts said. 

      There are more than 150 volcanoes on the Kamchatka Territory, 29 of them active. Besides Shiveluch, two Kamchatka's volcanoes - Karymsky and Kizimen - can be dangerous for aviation. There is a registered activity in their depths, as well as ash columns.

      Kamchatka Territory is often called "the land of fire and ice" because of a big amount of volcanoes, lava fields, aquamarine crater lakes and glaciers.

Sources: RIA Novosti Vesti.ru  Image: trud-ost.ru