Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Erupts Again, Emits 'Glowing Lava' After Three-Month Pause

Kilauea volcano in Hawaii has erupted again after a three-month pause, emitting a "glowing lava" from its crater during the morning of Wednesday, June 7, according to reports.

However, the eruption of one of the world's most active volcanoes also sparked fears of renewed threats from flowing lahar and plumes of hazardous volcanic ash in Hawaii's Big Island and its surrounding regions.

Amid the volcanic threat, local authorities have raised the volcano's alert level or into a warning status since the aviation color code changed to red. This comes as scientists, examine the recent eruption and potential hazards, according to Phys.org.

This implies that the increased volcanic activity and recent volcanic explosion could cause destructive, life-threatening risks to nearby communities. Surrounding towns have seen the basaltic shield volcano's eruptions several times in recent years, which also witnessed the eruption of Mauna Loa volcano in November 2022.

Kilauea Volcano Eruption

In a tweet earlier this week, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that Kilauea volcano has been erupting from the Halema'uma'u summit crater as of Wednesday, occurring just several hours after an 'eruption watch' was issued.

The eruption was first observed just before 4:45 a.m. local time on Wednesday when the U.S. island state's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected some "glow" from the volcano's summit captured by webcam images. The pictures show "fissures" on the base of the crater where lava flows were generated on the crater floor's surface, as cited by CBS News.

According to the U.S. seismic agency's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, increased earthquake activity and changes in ground formation patterns were observed at the volcano summit on Tuesday night, June 6. These changes include movement of magma beneath the surface, as cited by Phys.org.

Previous Eruptions

As mentioned earlier, Kilauea volcano has erupted many times in previous years. Yet, the latest eruption started on January 5 this year and continued recurrently until March 7. Before its 2023 eruption, Kilauea underwent intermittent eruptions from September 2021 to March 2022, according to the USGS.

Beyond the 21^st century, Kilauea experienced an "extended eruption period" since January 1983 and involved open lava lakes and lava flows from its summit caldera and the East Rift Zone, the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program stated.

Tectonic Plates

In its historic record, Kilauea has been intermittently erupting for at least 2,000 years and its volcanic activity is caused by seismic pressure as Hawaii sits at the center of the Pacific Plate, which is the largest plate in the Pacific Ocean. The plate measures approximately 103 million square kilometers, area where all the plates are constantly moving, according to The University of Melbourne.

In the said region, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are common. Just last year, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano located in the southern Pacific Ocean, particularly in the Tongan archipelago, made a powerful eruption not seen for more than 100 years.