Hawaii's erupting Kilauea volcano is spewing 'vog' and may launch dangerous glass shards

In a fiery and ongoing eruption, Hawaii's Kilauea volcano began spewing lava on June 7, sending molten rock to the surrounding crater and reaching temperatures as high as 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit (1,150 degrees Celsius), according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Kilauea, located on Hawaii's Big Island, is one of the world's most active volcanoes, and has been erupting almost continuously since 1983. The USGS briefly deemed the eruption a code red, the highest risk alert level, but downgraded it to orange the next day "because the initial high effusion rates have declined, and no infrastructure is threatened," the USGS said in a June 8 statement, adding that the lava from the eruption is confined to the Halemaʻumaʻu pit crater within Kilauea's summit. However, officials warned Wednesday (June 14) that high levels of volcanic smog, known as vog, from the eruption could travel downwind and potentially affect air quality. They added that the eruption may sprout off thin, sharp glass fibers called Pele's hair, named after Pele (PEH-leh), the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes. Resembling golden straws of hay, the strands are formed when gas bubbles in the lava pop at the surface and then cool into gossamer glass needles. If Pele's hair is blown downwind, it could irritate people's eyes and skin or contaminate drinking water.