The Icelandic Met Office has raised its aviation warning level to red following an eruption.
The small eruption began overnight and took place just after midnight this morning near the Bardarbunga volcano.
Scientists have said that the fissure eruption is 1km long and started in a lava field north of the Vatnajokull glacier.
The volcano has recently been hit by several tremors.
The Icelandic Met Office sent out an orange alert on August 21, and proceeded to raise the alert to red on August 23.
A red alert is the highest level aviation warning code indicating that an eruption is pending or underway, with a risk of ash.
A statement from the Department of Civil Protection said: "Scientists who have been at work close to the eruption monitor the event at a safe distance.
"The Icelandic Met Office has raised the aviation colorcode over the eruption site to red and the Icelandic Air Traffic Control has closed down the airspace from the earth up to 18,000 feet for instrumental flights."
The UK Met Office is monitoring the situation and has advised that there is no ash being emitted into the atmosphere.
They said that even if ash is emitted it is unlikely to affect UK airspace for the next couple of days due to the current wind patterns.
