If history's anything to go by, the smoking volcano that's stranding hundreds of Australians in Bali may be wreaking havoc for some time.
The last time Mount Rinjani became active in 2009, it lasted 18 months.
Moated by a lake in the highlands of Lombok, the volcano has been spewing ash since last Wednesday, grounding almost all flights in and out of Denpasar, near Bali's resort strip.
The Bureau of Meteorology's Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre is monitoring the cloud and meteorologist Steph Bond told The Huffington Post Australia there was no telling when it would end.
"There's no indication it will decrease in energy any time soon and the last time it was active in 2009, it went on for 18 months," Bond said.
"Sometimes they’ll increase in energy but sometimes they dissipate. Volcanoes are are highly unpredictable in their energy outputs.
"In a sense, it's up to fate."
Bond is part of an international team monitoring volcanic ash for the aviation industry.
She said the fine particles could take down a plane.
"Any type of ash is harmful to airplanes, because it's very abrasive to the fuselage but also if it gets into the engines, it can melt like glass and stop them working."
While flights are grounded, the team will watch the ash cloud waiting for safe conditions, but she said it was complicated.
Mount Rinjani Volcanic Activity Disrupting Bali Flights Could Continue For 18 Months
