Merapi volcano (Central Java, Indonesia): lava dome grows in summit crater, potentially becoming dangerous

The volcano continues to erupt slowly, gradually filling the summit crater with a growing lava dome. Incandescent rockfalls occur from the sides of the dome, but so far these have been confined to the crater. However, the situation is slowly (but almost surely) becoming more dangerous: As the dome grows, the risk of larger, sudden explosions increases, as well as the risk that the dome…