2024: The Year in Volcanic Activity

Alan Taylor
December 23, 2024 ATLANTIC

Out of an estimated 1,350 active volcanoes worldwide, about 45 have continuing eruptions, and about 80 erupt each year, spewing steam, ash, toxic gases, and lava. In 2024, erupting volcanoes included the Villarrica volcano in Chile, Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki in Indonesia, the Sundhnúksgígar crater chain in Iceland, Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico, Mount Etna in Sicily, Shiveluch volcano in Russia, and more. Collected below are scenes from the wide variety of volcanic activity on Earth over the past year.

Several people stand or sit on a rocky plain, looking toward a distant fountain of lava erupting from a crater. People watch lava fountains from the old lava fields around an eruption site on the Reykjanes peninsula, in Iceland, on August 28, 2024.

People stand outside a building, looking up toward a distant ash cloud rising from an erupting volcano. An eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, as seen from Lewolaga village in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, on November 7, 2024

A volcano spits lava and gas, seen at night, with streams of lava flowing down its slopes. Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki spews volcanic materials during an eruption, as seen from Konga, Titehena, East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, on November 12, 2024.

Molten lava flows across a plain, seen at night. Molten lava flows near the Blue Lagoon, Grindavik, after a volcanic eruption that started the day before, on the Reykjanes Peninsula, in Iceland, on November 21, 2024.

A broad swath of lava flows over a road.
A view of lava crossing the main road to Grindavík and flowing on the road leading to the Blue Lagoon, in Grindavík, Iceland, on February 8, 2024. A volcano in southwestern Iceland has erupted for the third time since last December and sent jets of lava into the sky.

A large plume of gas, steam, and dust rises above a volcano. An eruption from Mount Ruang volcano is seen from Tagulandang island, in Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on April 30, 2024.

A distant view of splashing lava, backdropped by trees Field crews with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported small fountains and lava flows erupting from one of Kīlauea’s western fissures on September 20, 2024.

An aerial view of lava flowing through a fissure in the ground An eruption is viewed in Kīlauea’s east rift zone in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii, during a helicopter flyover on September 17, 2024.

Two rings of steam rise into the sky. Two steam rings called volcanic vortex rings, generated by the southeast crater of Mt. Etna, photographed on April 6, 2024, in Catania, Italy. The formation of steam rings is a very rare phenomenon that occurs only when there is a constant venting of vapor and gas from the volcano.

Steam rises from the top of a volcano, forming rings in several places. The southeast crater of Mt. Etna emits gases and volcanic vortex rings on April 6, 2024, seen from Catania, Italy. A night view of an erupting volcano
A night view of the Villarrica volcano, as seen from Pucón, Chile, on May 12, 2024

A line of lava fountains erupts from the ground. Lava fountains erupt from a fissure in Grindavik, Iceland, on May 29, 2024.

Lightning strikes are seen within a column of gas and ash during an eruption of the Shiveluch volcano, reportedly caused by a large earthquake about 100 kilometers east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, on August 18, 2024.

Several people look up toward a large plume of volcanic steam, gas, and ash. Residents watch the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki from Lewolaga village in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, on November 9, 2024.

Lava runs down from the crater of Mount Merapi as volcanic activity increases, as seen from Turgo village in Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia, on September 6, 2024.

A plume of ash flows through the sky, emanating from a distant volcano. Popocatepetl volcano spews ash into the air outside Mexico City on February 28, 2024. The ash cloud led to the cancellation of about two dozen flights in and out of the city, authorities said.

An aerial view of a coastal Icelandic town with an erupting volcanic fissure a short distance inland, just uphill from its houses Gas and steam rise above flowing lava during a volcanic eruption on the outskirts of the evacuated town of Grindavik, in western Iceland, on January 14, 2024.

A person wearing a headlamp watches ash and lava erupting from Mount Etna in the distance.
A person watches ash and lava erupting from Mount Etna, in Sicily, on July 15, 2024.