MOSCOW

The Shiveluch volcano in the far east Russian region of Kamchatka became more active on Wednesday, spewing a column of ash more than 7 kilometers (4.34 miles) above sea level.

The volcano continues to develop into a lava dome, and the ash plume has spread 110 kilometers (68.4 miles) west of it, according to a regional response group for volcanic eruptions at the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

As a result, the volcano's summit was assigned an orange aviation danger code, the institute said in a statement on Telegram.

Danila Chebrov, the institute's director, described the eruption as "small" and not cause for concern.

"Shiveluch erupts constantly; it's practically never calming down. It's characterized by small, episodic emissions like these, and that's it. Most often, its eruptions are short-lived," he said.

He added: "Since it recently erupted quite violently, we probably shouldn't expect such a repeat, but that's nature. A normal moderate ashfall is possible, but nothing like the one in 2023. There's no particular concern."

On Jan. 26, a magnitude 5.3 earthquake was recorded in Kamchatka. The epicenter of the underground tremors was 149 kilometers southeast of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, at a depth of 32 kilometers (20 miles).