It was a deeply emotional moment when a Coast Guard helicopter landed in Flateyri yesterday, October 26, 2025 — exactly thirty years after Coast Guard helicopters first arrived in the town following the avalanche from Skollahvilft, which claimed twenty lives. This time, the helicopter carried passengers who had come to take part in a memorial ceremony honoring the victims of the disaster.

The Dagrenning Search and Rescue Team from Hvolsvöllur and the Air Rescue Team from Hella were called out yesterday to assist a mother and son who became trapped in their camper van in Landmannalaugar due to impassable conditions.

A blizzard system southwest of Iceland is rapidly moving toward the country. Forecasts indicate 24-hour snowfall of 20 to 30 centimeters, though there remains considerable uncertainty about the exact timing of the storm’s arrival.

On the slopes of Eyrarfjall, a dedicated group of workers is hard at work six days a week building new avalanche defenses to protect the village of Flateyri.

Motorists are being advised to drive carefully this evening and overnight, as driving conditions are expected to worsen due to snow or sleet in the south and west of the country, especially on mountain roads.

Women and non-binary people were encouraged yesterday to stop all paid and unpaid work for the entire day, just as women did 50 years ago, in 1975.

The BBC has come under heavy criticism from residents of Grindavík after publishing a story under the headline “Iceland’s ghost town buried by lava.”

Minister of Tourism Hanna Katrín Friðriksson and Bogi Nils Bogason, CEO of Icelandair, agree that Iceland must stop relying on crisis-driven marketing campaigns to promote the country abroad and instead focus on consistent, long-term marketing efforts.

“This is a tremendous blow. Our standard of living in Iceland is built on producing value and exporting it to foreign markets in the form of goods and services. Norðurál is simply one of the country’s largest export companies, so when a major part of its production shuts down for several months, it will inevitably have a significant negative effect on the national economy.”

Emphasis will be placed on accelerating preparations for a trade agreement between Greenland and Iceland, and the Prime Minister says there is clear political will to strengthen dialogue and cooperation in trade between the two countries. There is also potential for collaboration on the laying of a data cable between Iceland and Greenland.

Nearly five thousand apartments may be underused in Reykjavík, while the number could be just over one thousand in both Akureyri and Kópavogur.

At around 04:50 this morning, an earthquake of magnitude 3.1 was measured west of Kleifarvatn, in Móhálsadalur.

Kolbrún Áslaug Baldursdóttir, MP for the People’s Party, brought attention in Parliament today to a conference on violence against the elderly that was held last week. She noted that financial abuse has been on the rise, with older people being deceived into giving away money or granting access to their online bank accounts.

Petra Bender is a trained fashion designer from Parsons School of Design in New York. Before that, she studied textile design at Central Saint Martins and graphic design at the Iceland University of the Arts. In recent years she has worked on and participated in various fashion and design projects, including collaborations with Nike and Liberty in London.

It has been almost two and a half years since an earthquake swarm similar to the one yesterday was measured in Mýrdalsjökull glacier. There are no indications that a glacial outburst flood (jökulhlaup) or volcanic eruption is beginning.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office warns that winter conditions can be expected on mountain roads in many parts of the country over the next few days.

Three mosquitoes of the species Culiseta annulata were found in Iceland last week, after Björn Hjaltason of Kiðafell in Kjós noticed them in his garden.

A strong series of earthquakes began around 10:30 a.m. in Mýrdalsjökull.

“In the old days there used to be a small shop, a little store, and a gas station here in Laugarás. It was more of a stopping place then. In recent years, Slakki has been the main stopover, but I think that could increase greatly. The environment allows for more development,” says Bryndís Björnsdóttir, managing director of Laugarás Lagoon, which opened this week.

Several employees at the telecommunications and media company Sýn were laid off yesterday as part of a company-wide restructuring effort.

Finance Minister Daði Már Kristófersson will soon reintroduce a bill that, if passed, could make housing loans more affordable for most Icelandic borrowers.

A new infrastructure tax on cruise ship passengers has led to a sharp decline in ship visits and significant revenue losses across many rural ports, according to a statement from Cruise Iceland submitted to the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs and Trade.

About a thousand photographs have been taken of Skaftafellsjökull over the past year as part of Jöklasýn (“Extreme Ice Survey Iceland”), a project carried out in collaboration between the Iceland Glaciological Society and members of the public.

Once again, the main and children’s pools at Vesturbæjarlaug have had to be closed due to maintenance work. In recent months, the pool has repeatedly been shut down because of problems with the paint on the pool floor.

Over 2,000 participants from nearly 70 countries will take part in the Arctic Circle Assembly, which opens tomorrow, Thursday, at Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík and runs through Saturday.

Guests at Laugarás Lagoon, a new bathing lagoon opening today, will be greeted by beautiful views over the river Hvítá and the surrounding countryside. The lagoon covers about one thousand square meters and is spread over two levels, connected by a striking waterfall. The outdoor area features two saunas, outdoor showers, a cold plunge, and a hot pool nestled in a grove.

The volume of magma accumulated beneath Svartsengi has now exceeded the level it reached before the most recent eruption, and increased seismic activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula over the weekend may indicate that another eruption is approaching.

U.S. President Donald Trump told Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, in an informal conversation, that the United States would continue to honor its defense commitments to Iceland.

“How Iceland’s tourism bubble finally burst.”

emperatures could reach up to 18°C in parts of northeastern Iceland today. Winds will be from the south and southwest at 5–10 m/s, increasing to 10–15 m/s in northern regions later in the day. Rain is expected at times, but it will remain mostly clear in the east and northeast. Temperatures will range between 10 and 18°C, warmest in the northeast.

After more than two months at a treatment center in South Africa, the 15-year-old son of María Sif Ericsdóttir is, for the first time, taking responsibility for his life and looking to the future. He wants to become something. The boy has long struggled with a serious addiction problem, has often been out of control due to substance use, narrowly escaped death, and has received criminal sentences.

Dozens of small earthquakes east of Sýlingafell last night suggest that the wait for the next eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula may be nearing its end, according to experts at the Icelandic Meteorological Office.

Björn Pétursson — better known as Axlar-Björn — is the only confirmed serial killer born in Iceland. Yet accounts differ widely on the number of people he murdered, leading to the enduring question: how many victims did he actually have?

The decline of democracy is increasingly visible around the world — and experts warn that Iceland may not be immune to that trend in the coming years.

Civil protection response plans for South Iceland have been updated in preparation for potential volcanic eruptions and glacial floods. Meetings have also been held with residents in the Rangárvallasýsla and West Skaftafellssýsla regions.