LOS ANGELES: Fountains of fresh lava spewed spectacularly from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano on Saturday, American volcanologists said, marking almost a year since one of the world’s most active volcanoes began erupting.
“Sustained lava fountains approximately 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 meters) high are currently erupting from the northern vent,” the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a statement, adding that “fountain heights are increasing rapidly.”
The latest episode of the ongoing eruption, the 38th surge of molten rock and gases from deep underground, began at 8:45 a.m. local time (1845 GMT), the USGS said.
Such activity has been intermittent since the eruption began on December 23, 2024, the USGS said, and typically continues for “a day or less.”
All eruptive activity is “confined to Halema’uma’u Crater within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park,” the service said, and local airports are not expected to be affected by the gas or volcanic ash.
Authorities are alert about high levels of volcanic gas and a phenomenon called “Pele hair,” in which strands of volcanic glass “often produced by lava activity” are “transported more than 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the vent.”
Hot glassy volcanic fragments “may fall to the ground within 1 to 2 miles (1 to 3 kilometers) of eruptive vents.”
Kilauea has been very active since 1983 and erupts relatively regularly.
It is one of six active volcanoes located in the Hawaiian Islands, which also includes Mauna Loa, the largest volcano in the world.
Kilauea is much smaller than neighboring Mauna Loa, but it is much more active and regularly surprises helicopter tourists who come to see its sizzling shows.
