Mexico City is currently coated in a fine layer of volcanic ash, and the residents there have the Popocatepetl volcano to thank for it. The volcano has been spewing out ash for several days now, and it's possible that the situation may soon become more serious.

"Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention raised the volcano alert from Stage 2 Yellow to Stage 3 Yellow, the final step before a Red alert, when possible evacuations could be ordered," reports the Associated Press. "A Stage 3 Yellow alert had been in effect during eruptions earlier this year until early June, when it was lowered."

The eruptions started late last week, and so far there have been over 40 "exhalations" reported so far. There has not been any lava emitted thus far, though the ash emitted has been more substantial.

According to the AP, spokeswoman for the Mexico City civil defense office Claudia Dominguez has said that "the very fine ash had probably been floating around the city from eruptions in previous days and had been brought to Earth by a rainfall late Friday." She continues: "no new ash fall had been reported Saturday, despite continuous eruptions of vapor and ash into the air from the 15,000-foot (5,450 meter) volcano."

While it would seem that the ash is not a big deal, that's not necessarily the case. Not only is it a hassle to clear it from public areas and off of cars, but it's also very hard to dispose of. It is not advised to simply wash the ash down the drain, as it can mix with the water to create a concrete-like substance that clogs up drains quickly.

"The ash affects us a lot, because we get our water from the snow melt from Popocatepetl, and right now we can't use the water for bathing, for cooking, we can't even give it to our animals," Agustina Perez Gutierrez, a housewife in San Pedro Nexapa, told the Associated Press. "The children get sore throats from the ash, and it affects the few vegetables and corn crops we are able to plant."

Mexico City has occasionally had to deal with eruptions from the volcano lies just to its east, but it has been while since they were hit with this amount of ash. Prevailing winds usually drive the ash away from the city of roughly 9 million inhabitants.