LOS ANGELES: Fountains of fresh lava spewed spectacularly from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano on Saturday, US volcanologists said, marking nearly a year since one of the world’s most active volcanoes began erupting.
“Persistent lava fountains approximately 50-100 feet (15-30 meters) in height are currently erupting from the northern vent,” the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a statement, adding that “fountain heights are increasing rapidly.”
The latest episode in the ongoing eruption — the 38th such wave of molten rock and gases from deep underground — began at 8:45 a.m. local time (18:45 GMT), the USGS said.
Such activity has been intermittent since an eruption began on Dec. 23, 2024, the USGS said, and typically continues for “a day or less.”
All the eruptive activity is “confined to the Halema’uma’u crater in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park,” the service said, and local airports are not expected to be affected by volcanic gas or ash.
Officials are on alert for high levels of volcanic gas and a phenomenon called “Pele’s hair,” where strands of volcanic glass “often produced by lava fountain activity” are “carried well over 10 miles (15 kilometers) from the vent.”
Hot glassy volcanic fragments “may fall to the ground within 1–2 miles (1–3 kilometers) of the vents.”
Kilauea has been very active since 1983 and erupts relatively regularly.
It is one of six active volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands, which also includes Mauna Loa, the largest volcano in the world.
Kilauea is much smaller than neighboring Mauna Loa, but is far more active and regularly surprises helicopter-riding tourists who come to see its red-hot shows.
