The eruption that began southwest of Kīlauea summit on June 3, has now been paused for over 48 hours and is unlikely to restart. Accordingly, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) lowered the Volcano Alert Level for ground-based hazards from WATCH to ADVISORY and the Aviation Color Code from ORANGE to YELLOW.

Overall seismicity and deformation in the summit region including the eruption area remain very low, however elevated sulfur dioxide gas emissions are likely to be persistent for days or weeks.

The last eruption in this area occurred in December 1974. The 1974 eruption was continuous for six hours before the eruption ended, compared to 8.5 hours for this recent eruption.

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

For more information visit https://www.usgs.gov/programs/VHP/volcanic-alert-levels-characterize-conditions-us-volcanoes

Photo credit: USGS