JAKARTA: Krakatoa’s offspring, which erupted on Monday and spewed a 3,000-foot-tall ash cloud into the sky, have been elevated to the second-highest level of alert in Indonesia.

After a month of increased activity, authorities raised the threat of Anak Krakatoa to level three of a four-tier volcanic alert system.

After warning nearby residents to wear masks outside due to the large plume of ash that belched over the strait that separates the islands of Java and Sumatra, they expanded the exclusion zone.

“We have increased the status of Mount Anak Krakatoa from level two to level three and recommend that nobody be allowed to get closer than a five-kilometre radius from the active crater,” said Hendra Gunawan, director of the Centre of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.

The crater has seen a significant increase in CO2 emissions, he said.

On April 15, it emitted 68 tonnes, but on April 23, it emitted over 9,000 tonnes.

Aside from that, Gunawan said the busy sea route from Java’s Merak port to Sumatra’s Bakauheni port was unaffected.

The volcano has been intermittently active since it emerged from the sea in the caldera left by Mount Krakatoa’s 1883 eruption.

One of the deadliest and most destructive disasters in history, with an estimated 35,000 deaths.

Anak Krakatoa erupted in 2018, causing a tsunami that killed 429 and displaced thousands.

Indonesia is on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a hotspot of volcanic and seismic activity.

Four other Southeast Asian volcanoes are currently on the second highest alert level.

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