One of the most active volcanoes in the world has burst back into life earlier today, with the Kilauea Volcano erupting on the Big Island of Hawaii. When the eruption first began at 2:20 am local time (7:20 am ET), USGS raised their alert level to WARNING and their aviation color code to RED. However, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is lowering Kīlauea’s volcano alert level from WARNING to WATCH and its aviation color code from RED to ORANGE.
Kilauea volcano is erupting within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in the summit caldera. As of 6:30 am local time, the eruption has stabilized within the crater and there are no immediate threats to infrastructure. Because of that, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) lowered their alert and code levels.
The ongoing eruption of Kīlauea is occurring within a closed area of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and vents are continuing to erupt on the floor of the southwest part of the summit caldera. HVO says the primary hazard of concern at this time is high levels of volcanic gas which can have far-reaching effects down-wind of the summit, generally in a southwest direction. The plume of volcanic gas and fine volcanic particles is reaching elevations of 6,000-8,000 feet above sea level and winds are transporting it to the southwest, within the closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
At 4:30 am lava fountains were observed with heights up to 80 meters or 262 feet. Molten material, including lava bombs, is being ejected from the vents on the caldera floor up onto the west caldera rim, within the closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The volcanic gas and ejecta hazards west of the erupting vents stress the hazardous nature of this closed area of Kīlauea’s summit. By 5:30 am lava covered an estimated area of 400 acres of the caldera floor.
Eruptive activity is currently confined to the summit region.
Just days ago, scientists at the volcano increased their frequency of reporting at the volcano due to a significant change is seismicity there. According to HVO, their mission is to assess hazards, issue warnings, advance scientific understanding, reduce the impacts of volcanic eruptions, and communicate results to the public, emergency managers, and the scientific community.
In the U.S., the USGS and volcano observatory units are responsible for issuing Aviation Codes and Volcanic Activity Alert Levels. Aviation Codes are green, yellow, orange, or red. When ground-based instrumentation is insufficient to establish that a volcano is at a typical background level of activity, it is simply “unassigned.” While green means typical activity associated with a non-eruptive state, yellow means a volcano is exhibiting signs of elevated unrest above known background levels. When a volcano exhibits heightened or escalating unrest with the increased potential of eruption, it jumps to orange. Finally, when an eruption is imminent with significant emission of volcanic ash expected in the atmosphere or an eruption is underway with significant emission of volcanic ash into the atmosphere, the code becomes red. Volcanic Activity Alert levels are normal, advisory, watch, or warning. As with aviation codes, if data is insufficient, it is simply labeled as “unassigned.” When the volcano is at typical background activity in a non-eruptive state, it is considered normal. If the volcano exhibits signs of elevated unrest above background level, an advisory is issued. If a volcano exhibits heightened or escalating unrest, a watch is issued while a warning is issued when a hazardous eruption is imminent.
Kilauea is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. It is located along the southeastern shore of Hawaii Island. The volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and grew above sea level about 100,000 years ago. It last erupted on September 15, 2024 from a line of fissures beyond it’s caldera to the east of the summit.
