Kīlauea – Volcano Updates | U.S. Geological Survey

Exercise Abstract:

Episode 18 of the continuing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption ended on April 22.

The fountaining section of episode 18 started at 3:20 a.m on April 22 and lasted for simply over 10 hours. Fountains reached over 600 ft (200 meters) excessive and roughly 5 million cubic meters have been erupted, overlaying over 60% of the ground of Halemaʻumaʻu inside the southern a part of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera). Minor glow from these stream was seen by way of final evening.

Kīlauea’s present eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu crater inside Kaluapele (the summit caldera) started on December 23, 2024. There have now been 18 episodes separated by pauses in exercise. All eruptive exercise stays inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes Nationwide Park. No important exercise has been famous alongside Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. Present hazards embody volcanic gasoline emissions and windblown volcanic glass (Pele’s hair) and tephra which have impacted Hawaiʻi Volcanoes Nationwide Park and close by communities.

Summit Observations:

Faint glow may very well be seen from the south vent on the S2 digicam final evening. The UWD tiltmeter reveals minor (4 microradians) of inflation over the previous two days. The final sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emission price measured on April 10 was roughly 1,200 tonnes per day. Strands of volcanic glass generally known as Pele’s hair from earlier episodes are nonetheless current all through the summit space of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes Nationwide Park and surrounding communities and will be remobilized by wind.

Rift Zone Observations:

Charges of seismicity and floor deformation stay very low within the East Rift Zone and Southwest Rift Zone with no important earthquake exercise up to now 24 hours. Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions from the East Rift Zone stay under detection restrict.

Evaluation: 

The present eruption has been characterised by episodic fountaining not seen in any of the opposite Halemaʻumaʻu eruptions since 2020. Fountains and lava flows have erupted from two vents that we consult with because the north vent and south vent. Every of the earlier 18 fountaining episodes lasted from just a few hours to over every week and have been accompanied by sturdy deflation of the summit area. Pauses between the fountaining episodes have been marked by an instantaneous change from deflation to inflation because the magma chamber recharges and repressurizes.

The fast rebound of UWD and SDH from deflation to inflation on the finish of episode 18 together with faint glow from the south vent counsel one other episode is feasible.  The sample of inflation and deflation modified throughout episode 17 and 18 making figuring out the probably window for the beginning of episode 19 fountaining tougher.  Preliminary knowledge point out that episode 19 could begin someday inside the subsequent one to 2 weeks.  As extra knowledge turns into out there, the window might be adjusted.

HVO continues to intently monitor Kīlauea and is in touch with Hawai‘i Volcanoes Nationwide Park and the Hawai‘i County Civil Protection Company about eruptive hazards.

Please see the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes Nationwide Park web site for customer info: https://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm.

Basic Updates: 

The facility system that provides energy to the KWcam webcam, the F1cam thermal digicam, and the laser rangefinder sustained injury through the excessive fountaining on March 26, 2025. Each cameras and the rangefinder are presently offline. Different HVO webcams are nonetheless functioning and on-line.

Hazards: 

This episodic eruption is going on inside a closed space of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes Nationwide Park. Excessive ranges of volcanic gasoline—primarily water vapor (H₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and sulfur dioxide (SO₂)—are the first hazard of concern, as this hazard can have far-reaching results downwind. As SO₂ is constantly launched from the summit throughout an eruption, it should react within the environment to create the seen haze generally known as vog (volcanic smog) downwind of Kīlauea. SO₂ and vog could trigger respiratory and different issues at excessive concentrations. Additional info on vog will be discovered at https://vog.ivhhn.org/

Further hazards embody Pele’s hair and different volcanic fragments from lava fountains. Pele’s hair is strands of volcanic glass typically produced by lava fountaining exercise. Volcanic fragments can fall on the bottom inside just a few hundred yards (meters) of the eruptive vent(s), or downwind of the vent(s). Robust winds could waft gentle particles, together with Pele’s hair, to larger distances downwind. As soon as they’re on the bottom, Pele’s hair can generally cluster and tangle collectively, giving it the looks of a tumbleweed. The extent of Pele’s hair deposition relies on lava fountaining exercise and present wind situations. Residents and guests ought to reduce publicity to Pele’s hair and different volcanic fragments, which might trigger pores and skin and eye irritation. Extra details about how Pele’s hair, its hazards, and what to do is out there right here: A Regularly Requested Questions doc developed for the 2022 Mauna Loa eruption contains details about potential well being results of Pele’s hair and is out there right here: https://vog.ivhhn.org/websites/default/information/FAQ_on_air_quality_and_health_during_Mauna_Loa_eruption_v1.6.pdf

Hawaiian lava flows usually advance slowly downslope, and through this eruption flows have been confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater and the southwest aspect of Kaluapele, Kīlauea’s summit caldera.

Different important hazards additionally stay round Kīlauea caldera from Halemaʻumaʻu crater wall instability, floor cracking, and rockfalls that may be enhanced by earthquakes inside the space closed to the general public. This underscores the extraordinarily hazardous nature of Kīlauea’s caldera rim surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an space that has been closed to the general public since late 2007.

For dialogue of Kīlauea hazards, please see: