Mexico's Popocateptl, seen above the Mexico City skyline, unleahes a huge plume of ash and steam during a mid-morning eruption November 9, 2000. Popocateptl, which means "Smoking Mountain" in Mexico's pre-Hispanic Nahuatl language, has increased it's activity over the last week, causing emergency services to widen the cordon around the crater from 7 to 10km, and raising the level of alert for villages close to the volcano.

AW/ME