BRILLIANT blue flames light up the night sky above Kawah Ijen, casting an eerie electric glow as they flow down the sides of the active volcano in remote Indonesia.
Hot sulphuric gases – escaping at high pressure through cracks in the mountain – ignite upon contact with air, burning a fantastic, iridescent blue. This strange natural phenomenon can also create “blue lava” – rivers of burning liquid sulphur that stream from the vast crater.
The gases burn day and night at this spectacular volcano in the extreme east of Java island, but its characteristic blue hue can only be observed
All India Students Association president Neha Bora, wearing a black shirt, takes part in a march during a protest on October 11, 2026 in New Delhi,.Getty
Youtuber Dhruv Rathee speaks during a press conference following his release from police detention on October 11, 2026 in New Delhi.Getty
Security personnel walk past a portrait of Narendra Modi during a protest by the Congress party supporters demanding the resignation of India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.Getty
