The most dangerous volcano in the world is about to explode, the lives of 25 million inhabitants are threatened

One of the world's most dangerous volcanoes may be showing signs of a massive eruption.

The alert level of the Popocatepetl volcano, which rises approximately 18,000 meters above sea level and approaches 34 miles southeast of Mexico City, threatening 25 million people within the radius of an eruption, was raised to the third stage of yellow on Sunday, one step under a red alert. A third-stage yellow alert level is triggered when the volcano shows "significant eruptions of increasing intensity that emit (rock) fragments over considerable distances."

On Saturday, airports in Mexico City and Puebla temporarily suspended flights due to ash from the volcano.

"There is no danger to the population at this time," said Mexican National Coordinator of Civil Protection Laura Velázquez, claiming that the last activity had been replaced in the last 20 years.

Popocatepetl, which is Aztec for "smoking mountain," had been dormant for decades before it awoke in 1994 spewing gas and ash up to 16 miles downwind. Before that eruption, the last eruption occurred in 1947. "In March 1996, a new round of activity began with increased ash emissions and the growth of a lava dome in the summit crater," the US Geological Survey noted.