46 Volcanoes Worldwide in Continuous Eruptive State, 19 With Elevated Alert Levels

According to the official reports, there are 46 volcanoes worldwide that are continuously erupting, and 19 of them have escalated warning levels.

19 Volcanoes with Elevated Alert Levels

Currently, 46 volcanoes globally are continuously erupting, with 19 of them altering their activity or alert status this week. Recent attention gravitates towards active volcanoes like Mt. Etna in Sicily, spewing lava recently, and an Icelandic volcano, increasingly unstable and prompting Grindavík's evacuation.

The Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program issues a Weekly Volcanic Activity Report each Wednesday night, documenting eruptions meeting specific criteria like ash advisories or activity changes. Remarkably, the latest report lists 19 erupting volcanoes, but it excludes some continuously active ones that have persisted for decades. These unlisted volcanoes highlight the report's limitations in capturing the entirety of volcanic activity worldwide.

46 Volcanoes in Continuous Eruptive State

The Smithsonian Institution has documented around 46 volcanoes in continuous eruption, yet many haven't shown recent changes, hence not making it to the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report. Last week, three new eruptions were noted, but this week, only one new entry is the Reykjanes-Svartsengi volcano in Iceland's Fagradalsfjall fissure.

Previously, Iwo Jima in Japan, Grindavík in Iceland, and Kamchatka in Russia were new additions. However, Iwo Jima and Klyuchevskoy in Kamchatka didn't meet the criteria this week. Iceland's volcano, undergoing significant instability-marked by earthquakes and land sinking in Grindavík-indicates magma movement preceding a potential eruption, hence its addition to this week's report.

Nevertheless, the Smithsonian program reassures that despite the number of erupting volcanoes, concerns should be allayed. The program, while diligently updating volcanic activity, aims to distinguish significant changes while acknowledging that continuous eruptions don't necessarily imply an immediate threat.

Normal Number

Global Volcanism Program Director Ben Andrews noted that the current eruption count, at 46, is typical. Historically, there are usually 40-50 ongoing eruptions at a time over 30 years. Annual eruptions ranged between 56 and 88 since 1991, with 67 in 2023 and 85 in 2022. Andrews highlighted the media's role in public attention, with enhanced visuals amplifying interest.

Despite normalcy, active volcanos' images and videos, often shared on social media, capture widespread attention, showcasing smoking, ash-spewing, and occasionally lava-expelling eruptions.

Volcanoes

Volcanoes serve as openings through which lava, rocks (tephra), and steam erupt onto the Earth's surface, with eruptions spanning days, months, or even years. Unlike mountains formed by crustal movements, volcanic landscapes result from layers of accumulated lava. The vent, often a depression at the summit, links to subterranean molten rock storage via cracks, allowing recurrent eruptions and gradual growth until instability leads to collapses.

The USGS oversees 160+ active or potentially active US volcanoes, notably in Alaska and the American West, including Hawaii's prolific Kīlauea, erupting since 1983. Globally, there are around 1,350 potentially active volcanoes, 500 having erupted in the past century.

Many encircle the Pacific as part of the "Ring of Fire." U.S. West Coast and Alaskan volcanoes are part of this ring, while Yellowstone and Hawaiian volcanoes result from a "hot spot" phenomenon, contributing to Earth's diverse volcanic landscape.