USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-HVO-2024-12-25T18:38:13+00:00

Activity Summary:  The eruption at Kīlauea volcano that began on Monday, December 23, continues this morning.  The eruption has been relatively stable over the past day, following the resumption of activity that occurred yesterday morning. Vigorous lava fountains remain active in the western portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater, sending lava flows across the crater floor. Eruptive activity remains confined to Halemaʻumaʻu and the downdropped block within the caldera and may fluctuate in vigor over the coming days. No unusual activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.  

Summit Instrumental Observations: Seismicity at the summit over the last 24 hours has been low with just one small earthquake. Seismic tremor remains elevated due to ongoing vent activity. Summit tiltmeters have recorded deflationary tilt over the past day. SO2 emissions remain elevated, with a vigorous gas plume lofting above the caldera this morning. 

Summit Eruption Observations:  Webcam images indicate that the eruption continues this morning within Kaluapele (the summit caldera) in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, with vigorous lava fountains and lava flows within the crater. The main eruptive vent is located on the southwest side of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. Lava flows have spread across the Halema‘uma‘u crater floor and overflowed onto the down-dropped block area to the east. Yesterday, HVO geologists in the field measured lava fountain heights of about 75 meters (yards), and observed significant accumulations of tephra from these fountains covering the closed portion of Crater Rim Drive, producing deep drifts of cinder over the road and along the roadside. Active lava flows this morning cover most of the area covered during the first day of the eruption, so slightly under 650 acres (1 square mile or 2.6 square kilometers).  The laser rangefinder on the west rim of the caldera shows lava flows on the crater floor are roughly a few meters (about 10 feet) deep.  

View the Kīlauea summit eruption livestream: https://www.youtube.com/usgs/live 

December 23, 2024, Kīlauea summit eruption reference map: December 23, 2024—Kīlauea summit eruption reference map | U.S. Geological Survey 

Rift Zone Observations:  Shallow earthquake counts in the upper and middle East Rift Zone (ERZ) remain at low levels. Over the last 24 hours, there was one small recorded earthquake in the middle ERZ. The ESC tiltmeter on the upper part of the ERZ shows deformation associated with the active eruption. Deformation rates remain low in the middle and lower ERZ and SWRZ as recorded by GPS instruments and tiltmeters.   

Analysis: The current eruption at the summit of Kīlauea is the sixth eruption within the caldera since 2020. These eruptions in the summit region have lasted for about a week to more than a year in duration. This eruption, like most others, started with vigorous lava and volcanic gas emission, but paused after approximately 12 hours, only to restart yesterday in a second eruptive episode which continues this morning. Previous summit eruptions have exhibited vigorous activity in the opening days which then either terminates or decreases significantly to a stable, lower level of eruptive activity.   

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

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

Hazards: The eruption is occurring within a closed area of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. High levels of volcanic gas—primarily water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2)—are the primary hazard of concern, as this hazard can have far-reaching effects down-wind. As SO2 is continuously released from the summit during the eruption, it will react in the atmosphere to create the visible haze known as vog (volcanic smog) downwind of Kīlauea. Vog information can be found at https://vog.ivhhn.org/.  

Hawaiian lava flows generally advance slowly downslope and are currently confined to Halemaʻumaʻu and the eastern part of Kīlauea caldera. Additional hazards include Pele's hair and other volcanic fragments from the lava fountains that will fall downwind of the fissure vents and land on the ground within a few hundred meters (yards) of the vent (s), or on the rim of the caldera west of the erupting vents. Strong winds may waft lighter particles to greater distances downwind. Residents and visitors should minimize exposure to these volcanic particles, which can cause skin and eye irritation.  

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 Kīlauea caldera rim surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an area that has been closed to the public since late 2007.  
 
For discussion of Kīlauea hazards, please see: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hawaiian-volcano-observatory/hazards.