Volcano Updates

Overview:

The Halemaʻumaʻu eruption of Kīlauea is paused. Glow from the eruptive vents continued over the past day, and incandescence remains visible on the crater floor as lava flows from episode 44 continue to cool and solidify. Many Kīlauea monitoring data streams are presently offline due to an outage of HVO's radio telemetry network, but the remaining operational stations are sufficient to detect any major changes to the volcanic system; none are noted at this time.

No significant activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

For more information on the partial monitoring network outage, see the Information Statement here: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2026-04-12T15:47:48+00:00

NOTES: 

At the time episode 44 ended, Kīlauea's Volcano Alert Level was dropped to ADVISORY and its Aviation Color Code was dropped to YELLOW. This is a new procedure that has been adopted due to the lower ground and aviation hazards during eruptive pauses, between episodes.

• An Information Statement on the new Volcano Alert Level and Aviation Color Code procedures can be found here: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2026-04-03T03:32:24+00:00
• A Volcano Watch article on the new Volcano Alert Level and Aviation Color Code procedures can be found here: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/volcano-watch-adapting-evolving-eruption-revising-kilaueas-alert-level-and

Significant changes in activity between Daily Updates are posted here: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/observatory-messages

Summit Observations:

Thick steaming was observed yesterday in Halemaʻumaʻu as heavy rains poured onto still-hot lava flows from episode 44, which stopped lava fountaining at 7:41 p.m. HST on April 9. Overnight, glow and flames from igniting volcanic gases were visible from the south vent, while the north vent had several brief instances visible glow. Lava flows on the crater floor retain spots of incandescence as they cool and solidify, which will likely continue for several more days.

No significant seismicity has been detected in the vicinity of Kīlauea summit over the past day. HVO's tiltmeters are presently offline due to the radio telemetry network outage.

With the eruption now paused, the sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emission rate from Halemaʻumaʻu is likely now varying within a typical range of 1,000 to 5,000 tonnes per day. Winds near the eruptive vents were gusty out of the southwest yesterday.

Rift Zone Observations:

Rates of seismicity remain low in the East Rift Zone and Southwest Rift Zone.

Analysis:

The rapid return of inflationary tilt and strong glow from both Halemaʻumaʻu eruptive vents indicates that another lava fountaining episode is likely. At this time, there is not enough information to develop a detailed forecast window for the next episode.

Kīlauea has been erupting episodically since December 23, 2024, from two vents (north and south) in Halema‘uma‘u. Lava fountaining episodes, which generally last for less than 12 hours, are separated by pauses that can be longer than three weeks.

HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and is in contact with Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and the Hawai‘i County Civil Defense Agency about eruptive hazards.

Please see the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park website for visitor information: https://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm

Recap of episode 44:

Episode 44 ended at 7:41 p.m. HST on April 9 after 8.5 hours of continuous lava fountaining from the north vent, sending tephra to the north into public areas of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park and into surrounding communities. UWD tiltmeter recorded approximately 17.6 microradians of deflation during the episode.

A full summary of episode 44 can be found in a Status Report here: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2026-04-10T06:25:16+00:00

Resources:

NOTE: HVO’s monitoring network is mostly recovered from recent power- and storm-related outages. Several summit stations, including the SDH tiltmeter, will remain offline until we are able to re-establish access across the deep tephra field south of the caldera.

The following links provide more information about the current eruption that began on December 23, 2024:

• Eruption resources, including the most recent map and a timeline of eruption episodes since December 23, 2024: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/science/eruption-information
• Short messages tracking the evolution of the lava fountains and eruptive activity can be found here: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/observatory-messages
• Three Kīlauea summit livestream cameras that show eruptive lava fountains are available here: https://www.youtube.com/@usgs/streams
• Summit eruption webcams: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/summit-webcams
• Volcano Watch article on gas pistons: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/volcano-watch-so-what-earth-or-least-kilauea-a-gas-piston

Hazards:

This episodic eruption is occurring within a closed area of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

• Volcanic Gas: high levels of volcanic gas—primarily water vapor (H₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and sulfur dioxide (SO₂)—are continually released during an eruption. Emissions can remain locally hazardous in the areas immediately downwind of the vents, even when the vents are not actively erupting. SO₂ reacts in the atmosphere to create vog (volcanic air pollution) downwind. SO₂ and vog may cause respiratory and other problems at high concentrations. Further information on vog can be found at https://vog.ivhhn.org/
• Tephra: small glassy volcanic fragments—volcanic ash, pumice, scoria, Pele’s hair and reticulite—are created by the lava fountains. A combination of fountaining dynamics and wind conditions determines where tephra fall may occur for any given eruption episode. Larger particles fall near the vents while light particles may be wafted greater distances. These particles may be remobilized during windy conditions following recent eruptive episodes. Residents and visitors should minimize exposure to these fragments, which can cause skin, eye, and respiratory irritation. More information and guidance on tephra fall hazards is available at https://seagrant.soest.hawaii.edu/resource-and-guidance-for-volcanic-tephra-fall/
• Lava flows: lava on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater and the southwest side of Kaluapele, Kīlauea's summit caldera, remains hot and may slowly move in the days immediately following an eruptive episode.

Other significant hazards exist around Kīlauea caldera from Halemaʻumaʻu crater wall instability, ground cracking, and rockfalls that can be enhanced by earthquakes. Close to the eruptive vents, the tephra material on the crater rim is prone to cracking, slumping, and small landslides that sometimes expose hot and molten material within. This underscores the extremely hazardous nature of Kīlauea's caldera rim surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an area that has been closed to the public since late 2007.