Very high concentrations of aerosols originating from the plume of volcanic gas and ash produced by the massive eruption at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano on January 15, 2022, are now causing stunning, fiery colors in the sky over New Zealand.
The GeoNet earthquake monitoring network has recorded a small swarm of earthquakes at Lake Taupō, New Zealand over the last 2 to 3 weeks. Lake Taupō is a large caldera volcano, a special type of volcano that has rare but unusually large eruptions.
A damaging tornado hit the town of Levin, New Zealand’s North Island on May 20, 2022, causing widespread damage and injuring several people. New Zealand’s Met Service recorded a wind gust of 140 km/h (86 mph) in the town but at the time of press, it was still not able to determine whether it was indeed a tornado that caused the damage, or a thunderstorm collapsing on itself.
GNS Science Senior Volcanologist Geoff Kilgour provides a video update on the volcanic unrest at Ruapehu. He shares what future activity could look like at the volcano.
High levels of volcanic gas emissions and strong volcanic tremor continue at New Zealand’s Ruapehu volcano. The Crater Lake (Te Wai ā-moe) temperature has risen to 41 °C (105.8 °F) and steam plumes can be observed in cold, still atmospheric conditions. The volcano is still at a heightened level of unrest. The Volcanic Alert Level remains at 2, with greater chances of eruption over the next four weeks than at Volcanic Alert Level 1.
A steam plume was seen above Ruapehu’s Crater Lake at around 09:45 LT on May 3, 2022 (21:45 UTC on May 2). No seismic or acoustic activity accompanied the plume appearance, indicating the steam plume was not generated by strong activity in the lake.
Recent airborne gas measurements over Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand confirm continued high levels of volcanic gas emissions, along with strong volcanic tremor.
Elevated volcanic unrest continues at New Zealand’s Ruapehu volcano, dominated by strong volcanic tremor. The Crater Lake (Te Wai ā-moe) temperature remains stable at 37 °C (98.6 °F) and the Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 2.
The elevated volcanic unrest continues at New Zealand’s Ruapehu volcano, with strong volcanic tremor and the Crater Lake (Te Wai ā-moe) temperature now stabilized at 37 °C (98.6 °F) for the past week. The Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 2 and the Aviation Color Code at Yellow.
ls of volcanic unrest continue at New Zealand’s Ruapehu volcano. This is primarily manifested as strong volcanic tremor, slowly rising Crater Lake (Te Wai ā-moe) temperatures and high gas outputs. These changes indicate magma may now be driving the unrest, increasing the chances of further activity. The Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 2.
