The following lists events that happened in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
in
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
.
Incumbents
*President –
Ólafur Ragnar GrÃmsson
Ólafur Ragnar GrÃmsson (; born 14 May 1943) is an Icelandic politician who was the fifth president of Iceland, serving from 1996 to 2016.
*Prime Minister –
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (; born 4 October 1942) is an Icelandic politician, who served as prime minister of Iceland from 2009 to 2013.
Elected as an MP from 1978 to 2013, she was appointed as Iceland's Minister of Social Affairs and Social ...
Events
January
* January 2 - A quarter of voters in Iceland sign a petition asking President
Ólafur Ragnar GrÃmsson
Ólafur Ragnar GrÃmsson (; born 14 May 1943) is an Icelandic politician who was the fifth president of Iceland, serving from 1996 to 2016. to veto a bill on repaying US$5 billion to foreign savers who lost their money when Icelandic banks collapsed.
* January 5 - President Ólafur Ragnar GrÃmsson announces a referendum during a live televised speech.
March
* March 6 - Iceland holds a referendum about compensating the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
after the collapse of the Icesave bank, with a 95% "no" vote recorded.
* The
Eyjafjallajökull
Eyjafjallajökull (; "glacier of (the mountain) Eyjafjöll"), sometimes referred to by the numeronym E15, is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, north of Skógar and west of Mýrdalsjökull. The ice cap covers the caldera of a volcano wi ...
volcano in Iceland shows increased seismic activity.
* March 20 - Eyjafjallajökull erupts, starting mass destruction in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.
April
* Scientists use the NOAA HYSPLIT model to track ash dispersion of Eyjafjallajökul.
* April 13 - An American Boeing 767 passenger jet makes an emergency landing in Iceland after reports of chemical fumes in the cabin. A spokesman for Keflavik airport outside
ReykjavÃk
ReykjavÃk is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
says several crew members on the American Airlines flight had complained of dizziness.
* April 14 - Eyjafjallajökul eruption reaches central crater, melting ice & creating massive ash plumes. Air traffic is closed over Northern Norway as the ash cloud drifts towards Europe.
* April 14 - Scotland and Northern England airspace is closed due to the oncoming ash cloud.
* April 14 - 800 people, mostly farmers, are evacuated from Eyjafjallajökul.
* April 14 - The ash cloud reduces visibility to less than 1 kilometre in some places.
* April 15 - The ash cloud reaches
Shetland
Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...
, and the locals report a strong
sulfuric smell.
* April 15 - All British airspace is closed down due to the cloud.
* April 16 -
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
’s
Terra satellite captures images of ash drifting over northern Europe as it reaches 5km in height.
* April 17 - Ash plume rises over 8km.
[Global Volcanism Program, 2010. Report on Eyjafjallajokull (Iceland) (Venzke, E., ed.). ''Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network'', 35:4. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN201004-372020]
* April 18 - Increased tremor levels are detected, and GPS data shows ground deformation.
* April 19 -
Ice cauldrons enlarge, and minor glacial flooding begins.
* April 24 - The IES starts detailed daily status reports on the eruption as mild explosive activity continues.
May
* Airspace reopens gradually after the Eyjafjallajökul eruption, as researchers continue to help assess safety risks.
* May 4 - Lava flow reaches 500 m elevation from Eyjafjallajökul.
* May 18 - Volcanic activity remains stable as the magma eruption rate stabilizes at 200 tonnes/second.
* May 25 - Only steam is now observed from Eyjafjallajökul.
References
{{Year in Europe, 2010
2010s in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
Years of the 21st century in Iceland