New Delhi

Ash clouds from volcanic eruption in Ethiopia reached parts of India on Tuesday affecting flight operations but it had no impact on the weather or air quality, according to government agencies.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the ash plumes are drifting towards China and will move away from India by 7.30 pm on Tuesday.

The IMD and the civil aviation ministry said they are closely monitoring the situation.

Some flights were cancelled and many were delayed due to the ash cloud, the ministry said.

Earlier in the day, Air India cancelled 13 flights, including some international services, as some of its aircraft that flew through the affected regions underwent checks.

Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology at the IMD, said the impact was limited to higher skies.

"The volcanic ash is being seen only in the upper troposphere and it is affecting flight operations. It has no impact on air quality or weather. The ash cloud is drifting towards China and will move away from Indian skies by 7.30 pm," Mohapatra said.

Volcanic ash reached the skies over Gujarat, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday.

Hayli Gubbi, a shield volcano in Ethiopia's Afar region, erupted on Sunday, producing a large ash plume that rose to around 14 kilometres (45,000 feet) in the sky.

The plume spread eastward across the Red Sea, and towards the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent.

"High winds carried the ash cloud from Ethiopia across the Red Sea to Yemen and Oman and further over the Arabian Sea towards western and northern India," said an IMD statement.

It said the IMD closely monitored satellite imagery, advisories from Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAAC) and dispersion models.

Its Met watch offices in Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata issued ICAO (International civil aviation organisation) level Significant Meteorological Information (SIGMET) warnings to airports.

These advisories included directions to avoid affected airspace and flight levels identified in the VAAC bulletins.

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The IMD said continuous monitoring of Met and ash advisories were used for flight planning, including route adjustments and fuel calculations.