Mount Etna in Sicily, the largest active volcano in Europe, has been blowing spectacular “smoke rings” into the sky since Wednesday. The "volcanic vortex rings", a rare phenomenon that is generated by the combination of rapid gas release and the vent shape, spewed out of a new crater that opened on Tuesday on Etna's summit. Boris Behncke, volcanologist at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Catania Boris, explained in a Facebook post that “no volcano on Earth produces as many vapour rings ('volcanic vortex rings') as Etna”. "Etna is breaking all previous records. In the late afternoon of 2 April 2024, a small mouth opened on the north-eastern rim of the South-East Crater, producing puffs of glowing gas. By the next morning it was evident that these puffs were producing an impressive amount of steam rings, and this activity has been going on ever since, having already emitted hundreds if not thousands of these pretty rings", Behncke added. There were no reports of particular disruptions in the surrounding villages or at Catania airport, which often closes in the case of major eruptions. Video produced for AP by Francesco Sportelli