Red torrents of lava and billows of volcanic gas began erupting from Kilauea on Hawaii’s Big Island – one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
The eruption was confined to the volcano’s summit caldera, in a remote, closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes national park, the Hawaii Volcano Observatory reported. Increased earthquake activity began at about 2am local time and within about half an hour webcam images began to show lava emerging through fissures in the caldera or spurting in fountains.
A live stream of the eruption, broadcast by the US Geological Survey on Monday, showed spurts of red-hot lava bursting upward, followed by cloud-line plumes of volcanic gas and ash. The fountains reached up to 80m (260ft) high early on Monday morning,
“The lava is coming out at a very rapid rate as it usually does at the onset of these eruptions,” said Ken Hon, the scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, during a USGS live stream.
The most immediate threat was from volcanic smog that could reach homes downwind, the observatory said. Such “vog” contains sulfur dioxide and can worsen symptoms for people who have conditions such as asthma, other respiratory issues or cardiovascular disease.
The area where the eruption is occurring has been closed to the public since 2007 due to hazards that include crater wall instability, ground cracking and rockfalls.
Hawaii’s Volcanoes national park encompasses the summits of two of the world’s most active volcanoes: Kilauea and Mauna Loa.
Kilauea also erupted in June and September this year, and with the exception of a quiet period between 1924 and 1952, it has been in eruption regularly since there have been written records. Its eruptions can last days, or go on for a year. In 2018, Kilauea erupted from May through August, destroying more than 700 homes.
It is a shield volcano – a broad, massive formation shaped somewhat like a warrior’s shield lying flat, unlike composite volcanoes that form a conical peak.
In 2019, the USGS scientists confirmed a growing lake of water inside Halema’uma’u crater, an active pit within the summit caldera – marking the first time in modern history that water had been visible from the volcano’s summit. In 2020, the 10-story-deep lake boiled away when lava re-entered the crater.
