USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-HVO-2024-06-04T17:55:49+00:00

Activity Summary:  Kīlauea volcano is not erupting. The eruption that began at approximately 12:30 a.m. HST on Monday, June 3, about 4 km (2.5 miles) southwest of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park paused sometime between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. HST on Monday, June 3. Levels of unrest remain high as the vent remains open, tremor is still present, glow could still be seen from the fissures overnight, and active degassing of SO2 is still occurring form the fissures and blowing downwind. Changes in the character and location of unrest can occur quickly, as can the potential for eruption the eruption to restart at the same fissures or in a new area.

Eruption Site Observations: No lava is currently erupting from the fissure system that formed on June 3; the last active spattering at the vents was observed at the surface at approximately 9:00 a.m. HST on June 3, and lava flows were sluggish during the hour before noon on June 3. However, continuous glow was observed in webcam imagery overnight at the site of the fissures and confirmed by an early morning overflight. Active degassing of SO2 gas is still occurring with a measured rate of approximately 12,000 tonnes per day at noon on June 3. Numerous large ground cracks have formed in the vicinity of the eruption extending westward to within 540 yards (500 meters) of Maunaiki.  The cluster of earthquakes present in the area yesterday afternoon ended overnight. Ground deformation over the past 24 hours showed deflationary trends that have become flat to slightly inflationary at the summit and south caldera.

Mapped eruptive fissures and lava flow extent on a GIS satellite image background.

USGS Hawaii eruption map - preliminary (arcgis.com)

A map showing the location of past eruptions in this area, and the approximate location of the new fissures is available here: https://www.usgs.gov/maps/june-3-2024-kilauea-southwest-rift-zone-eruption-reference-map. 

Summit and Upper Rift Zone Observations:  Heightened unrest beneath the summit, upper East Rift Zone, and upper Southwest Rift Zone continues although rates of seismicity and ground deformation have decreased significantly since the eruption began. Tremor remains in the overall summit region, as well as a few dozen earthquakes clustering between the south caldera area and the upper East Rift Zone over the past 24 hours.

Lower Rift Zone Observations:  Rates of seismicity and ground deformation beneath the middle and lower East Rift Zone and lower Southwest Rift Zone are low. Eruptive activity and unrest is restricted to the summit and upper rift zone regions. Measurements from continuous gas monitoring stations downwind of Puʻuʻōʻō in the middle East Rift Zone remain below detection limits for SO2, indicating that SO2 emissions from Puʻuʻōʻō are negligible.

Analysis: Some magma pressure has been released beneath Halemaʻumaʻu and the south caldera region as a result of the June 3 eruption. While tremor remains, seismicity and deformation have been minor following the onset of the eruption. Due to the remote location, the low plume heights, and minimal impact to population and infrastructure the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory lowered Kīlauea’s alert level/aviation color code from WARNING/RED to WATCH/ORANGE at 8:27 a.m. HST on June 3. These remain in affect as of this posting.

Due to the remote location of this eruption, the primary hazards at this time are airborne hazards related to gas emissions and tephra being blown down wind of the eruption. HVO will continue to closely monitor for changes, but does not anticipate any threat to communities or infrastructure due to the location of the vents. 

Updates: The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) will provide daily updates while Kīlauea volcano is erupting.

HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea. Should volcanic activity change significantly, a Volcanic Activity Notice will be issued.

Hazards are present on Kīlauea and are described below. Residents and visitors should stay informed and follow County of Hawai‘i and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park guidelines.

Hazard Analysis: Emplacement of a magmatic dike began just after noon on June 2, 2024, beneath the area of Kaluapele south of Halemaʻumaʻu.  Seismicity continued to intensify beneath this area and HVO raised the alert levels from Advisory/Yellow to Watch/Orange as the dike shallowed.  Around 8 p.m. on June 2 a strong deflation signal on the Sand Hill tiltmeter indicated that a significant mass of lava moved to another location despite a lack of seismicity. After the deflationary event, seismicity declined significantly, and it was no longer possible to track the underground location of the magma.  HVO left the alert level at Watch/Orange, meaning that an eruption could occur with little notice.  Data from USGS webcams and Keck Observatory webcams determined that the eruption began at 12:30 a.m. HST June 3, 2024, and effusion at the vents remained active until approximately 9:00 a.m. HST, though lava flows were moving sluggishly until about noon.  Continuous tremor, degassing, and glow indicate that the vent remains open.  While past eruptions in this region have been short-lived (<1 day) an increase in pressure or thermal destabilization could trigger an eruption restart.  The pasty surface textures of the erupted lava and the small amount of lava erupted to date could indicate that this was lava emplaced during the January 31, 2024, event and cooled prior to being forced to the surface by the new dike.  The amount of degassing is far greater than can be accounted for by the eruptive volume, indicating that the underlying dike continues to be strongly degassed.  This will make the underlying magma cooler, more viscous, and less likely to erupt with time.

Due to the remote location, the low plume heights, and minimal impact to population and infrastructure the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory lowered Kīlauea’s alert level/aviation color code from WARNING/RED to WATCH/ORANGE at 8:27 a.m. HST on June 3. These remain in affect as of this posting.

HVO will continue to closely monitor for changes, but does not anticipate any threat to communities or infrastructure due to the location of the vents.

Updates: The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) will provide daily updates while Kīlauea volcano is erupting.

HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea. Should volcanic activity change significantly, a Volcanic Activity Notice will be issued.

Hazards are present on Kīlauea and are described below. Residents and visitors should stay informed and follow County of Hawai‘i and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park guidelines.

Hazard Analysis:  Kīlauea eruptive activity is occurring within the closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. High level of volcanic gas—primarily water vapor (H₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and sulfur dioxide (SO₂)—being emitted is the primary hazard of concern, as this hazard can have far-reaching effects downwind. As SO₂ is released from the summit, it reacts in the atmosphere to create the visible haze known as vog (volcanic smog) that has been observed downwind of Kīlauea. Vog creates the potential for airborne health hazards to residents and visitors, damages agricultural crops and other plants, and affects livestock. For more information on gas hazards at the summit of Kīlauea, please see: https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/fs20173017. Vog information can be found at https://vog.ivhhn.org.  

Other significant hazards also remain around Kīlauea caldera from Halemaʻumaʻu crater wall instability, ground cracking, and rockfalls that can be enhanced by earthquakes within the area closed to the public. This underscores the extremely hazardous nature of the rim surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an area that has been closed to the public since early 2008.   
 
For discussion of Kīlauea hazards, please see: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hawaiian-volcano-observatory/hazards. 
 
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) continues to closely monitor Kīlauea Volcano. 

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