The Guatemalan government Thursday declared orange alert (one stage below red alert) for increased activity of Pacaya volcano, located at 47 kilometers south of Guatemala City.

Early Thursday, Pacaya volcano expelled a regular amount of lava and ash from the crater.

The Guatemalan Coordination for Disaster Reduction Office ( Conred) said in a statement that the orange alert was declared because scientists say the volcano's activity might strongly increase in the next hours.

"The volcano has an effusive eruption, throwing plenty of volcanic material 400 meters high over the Mackenney crater. Nevertheless, in the next hours, the activity can increase, expelling abundant ashes 1,000 to 2,000 meters over the crater," said the statement.

Experts warn that if strong eruption occurs, ashes could fall over Guatemala City, as it happened two years ago, due to southward wind.

Pacaya, at a height of more than 2,500 meters above sea level, is one of the 33 volcanoes located in Guatemala and one of the 4 more active ones in the country.

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