Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)
The Smithsonian/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report provides information about global volcanism on a weekly basis. Latest Kilauea report has been published on 22 Jan 2026 06:42.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) reported that the eruption within Kilauea?s Kaluapele summit caldera, characterized by episodic fountaining, incandescence, and intermittent spatter from craters along the SW margin of Halema?uma?u Crater, continued at variable levels during 12-21 January. During 0822-1904 on 12 January fountains rose as high as 250 m and produced an eruption plume that rose 4 km above the ground level that continued to rise as it drifted SE. Most of the tephra fell W of Halema?uma?u Crater, but some fell in areas to the NW and SW. Reticulite pieces as large as 5 cm briefly fell at the Uekahuna Overlook in Hawai?i Volcanoes National Park just after 1000. The average effusion rate was 190 cubic meters per second with a peak of 350 cubic meters per second recorded around noon. An estimated 5.5 million cubic meters of lava erupted and covered 50-60 percent of the crater floor.
Incandescence from the N vent was weak and sporadic during the first part of the week but intensified during the second half. Incandescence from the S vent was consistent on most days but was intermittent during 20-21 January. Seismic tremor spiked every 5-10 minutes during 14-16 January, consistent with gas-pistoning within the vents, but was then turned into constant low-level tremor during the rest of the week.
Earthquake swarms in locations broadly beneath the E and SE parts of Halema?uma?u Crater and the S part of the caldera were periodically detected during the week. ?The first swarm began at 0040 on 13 January and lasted for 30 minutes. A few daily swarms during 13-17 January each lasted between 10 to less than 40 minutes. Small clustered swarms persisted during 18-21 January. ?Most of the earthquakes occurred around the shallow Halema?uma?u magma chamber at depths of 1.5-4 km, and most were volcano-tectonic earthquakes that accompanied crack openings due to magmatic pressure. Elevated seismic activity of these intensities had not been seen at the summit since the start of the eruption in December 2024, though a small swarm preceded a new fissure opening in the wall of the Halema?uma?u Crater just to the S of the vents, at the start of fountaining on 6 August 2025. The Volcano Alert Level remained at Watch (the third level on a four-level scale) and the Aviation Color Code remained at Orange (the third color on a four-color scale).
Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
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