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Current Reports of volcanic unrest in the Canary Islands

Introduction

The Canary Islands have had a lot of volcanic activity over millions of years, and some of the islands are still active today; therefore, there will likely be another eruption at some point, but it is near-impossible to predict exactly when, where, or how big it will be. Scientists closely watch the volcanoes to understand their normal “background” activity so that they can identify when unusual volcanic behaviour might indicate that an eruption could be on the way. On this page we describe who monitors volcanic activity and participates in emergency response with a timeline of the main episode of unrest in the last 20 years.

It is important to refer to official sites for information in an emergency. The main sites to find information around volcanic unrest are:

Twitter accounts of the Islands’ Cabildos:

Cabildo de Lanzarote

Cabildo de El Hierro

Cabildo de La Palma

Cabildo de Tenerife

Other groups also cover volcanic unrest:

Current status of each island

VTL - Current volcanic traffic level by Ajay Geotenerife

For an explanation of Traffic Light System, click here

The colours in this interactive map do NOT correspond to the Volcanic traffic level above. The most recent earthquake is within the flashing red circle. Yellow circles are earthquakes with a magnitude less than 2, orange between 2-3, red between 3-4, and dark red is a magnitude of more than 4. IGN Spain uses the mbLg, which measures the body wave magnitude, uses a logarithmic scale, and this scale is suited for measuring earthquakes close to their epicentre.

Most recent report

A summarised version of the most recent report available through the IGN seismic catalogue, relevant social media, and news articles. You can find a comprehensive timeline at the bottom of this page.

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  • La Palma’s recommendations to prepare Tenerife

    🇬🇧 🇺🇸 Resident advocacy groups representing people affected by the 2021 eruption in La Palma have released a statement which provides recommendations for measures to be implemented in Tenerife to prepare society for a potential eruption. The 8 groups point to the legal precedent of the newly enacted Volcano Law, which obliges the Canary Islands Government to implement an awareness plan on volcanic risk and measures to reduce material and personal damage. The recommendations are available to read here.

    The statement was endorsed by:

    • The Platform of Those Affected by the Volcano in Cumbre Vieja 2021,

    • The Cumbre Vieja Volcano Social Association,

    • The La Laguna Neighbourhood Association,

    • The Citizen Initiative of Those Affected by the Volcano,

    • The Water for La Palma Association,

    • The Tierra Bonita Association,

    • The Benawara Animal and Plant Protection Association

    • The Animal Protection Unit Association (UPA-La Palma).

    (Planeta Canario, 2026)

    🇪🇸 🇮🇨 Los grupos de defensa de los residentes que representan a las personas afectadas por la erupción de 2021 en La Palma han publicado una declaración en la que se recomiendan medidas que deben aplicarse en Tenerife para preparar a la sociedad ante una posible erupción. Los ocho grupos señalan el precedente legal de la recién promulgada Ley de Volcanes, que obliga al Gobierno de Canarias a poner en marcha un plan de sensibilización sobre el riesgo volcánico y medidas para reducir los daños materiales y personales. Las recomendaciones pueden consultarse aquí.

    La declaración ha sido respaldada por:

    • La Plataforma de Afectados por el Volcán de Cumbre Vieja 2021,

    • La Asociación Social Volcán Cumbre Vieja,

    • La Asociación de Vecinos de La Laguna,

    • La Iniciativa Ciudadana de Afectados por el Volcán,

    • La Asociación Agua para La Palma,

    • La Asociación Tierra Bonita,

    • La Asociación Benawara de Protección de Animales y Plantas

    • La Asociación Unidad Protectora de Animales (UPA-La Palma).

    (Planeta Canario, 2026)

    This interview with Maria José Blanco (Head of IGN Spain in the Canary Islands) towards the end of November was fascinating. The interview took place in IGN’s commandeered headquarters in the basement of a church in El Paso with a good view towards the volcano. The place was awash with screens, field equipment, wires and boxes. Behind Maria José was live feeds from the cameras set up around the volcanic cone and the seismometers close to the volcano. The day of the interview was one of a few days during the eruption with a very high number of earthquakes, and during the interview you could feel an earthquake through your feet and then see the signal simultaneously come through on the seismograph on the screen.

    GeoTenerife interview with Maria José Blanco (Head of IGN Spain in the Canary Islands) during the La Palma eruption

Timeline of volcanic unrest

Drag the timeline along to see previous updates

March 4 2026 12:00 PM

La Palma’s recommendations to prepare Tenerife

🇬🇧 🇺🇸 Resident advocacy groups representing people affected by the 2021 eruption in La Palma have released a statement which provides recommendations for measures to be implemented in Tenerife to prepare society for a potential eruption. The 8 groups point to the legal precedent of the newly enacted Volcano Law, which obliges the Canary Islands Government to implement an awareness plan on volcanic risk and measures to reduce material and personal damage. The recommendations are available to read here.

The statement was endorsed by:

  • The Platform of Those Affected by the Volcano in Cumbre Vieja 2021,

  • The Cumbre Vieja Volcano Social Association,

  • The La Laguna Neighbourhood Association,

  • The Citizen Initiative of Those Affected by the Volcano,

  • The Water for La Palma Association,

  • The Tierra Bonita Association,

  • The Benawara Animal and Plant Protection Association

  • The Animal Protection Unit Association (UPA-La Palma).

(Planeta Canario, 2026)

🇪🇸 🇮🇨 Los grupos de defensa de los residentes que representan a las personas afectadas por la erupción de 2021 en La Palma han publicado una declaración en la que se recomiendan medidas que deben aplicarse en Tenerife para preparar a la sociedad ante una posible erupción. Los ocho grupos señalan el precedente legal de la recién promulgada Ley de Volcanes, que obliga al Gobierno de Canarias a poner en marcha un plan de sensibilización sobre el riesgo volcánico y medidas para reducir los daños materiales y personales. Las recomendaciones pueden consultarse aquí.

La declaración ha sido respaldada por:

  • La Plataforma de Afectados por el Volcán de Cumbre Vieja 2021,

  • La Asociación Social Volcán Cumbre Vieja,

  • La Asociación de Vecinos de La Laguna,

  • La Iniciativa Ciudadana de Afectados por el Volcán,

  • La Asociación Agua para La Palma,

  • La Asociación Tierra Bonita,

  • La Asociación Benawara de Protección de Animales y Plantas

  • La Asociación Unidad Protectora de Animales (UPA-La Palma).

(Planeta Canario, 2026)

This interview with Maria José Blanco (Head of IGN Spain in the Canary Islands) towards the end of November was fascinating. The interview took place in IGN’s commandeered headquarters in the basement of a church in El Paso with a good view towards the volcano. The place was awash with screens, field equipment, wires and boxes. Behind Maria José was live feeds from the cameras set up around the volcanic cone and the seismometers close to the volcano. The day of the interview was one of a few days during the eruption with a very high number of earthquakes, and during the interview you could feel an earthquake through your feet and then see the signal simultaneously come through on the seismograph on the screen.

GeoTenerife interview with Maria José Blanco (Head of IGN Spain in the Canary Islands) during the La Palma eruption

March 1 2026 12:00 PM

Las Cańadas activity calms for now, March 1st 2026

🇬🇧 🇺🇸 Seismic activity has eased in the Las Cańadas caldera, with only low-energy, low-frequency tremors recorded since February 28th. Furthermore, the last swarm that occurred on Thursday, 26th, was the ‘weakest’ swarm since the swarms were detected last month. (Canarian Weekly, 2026)

🇪🇸 🇮🇨La actividad sísmica ha disminuido en la caldera de Las Cañadas, y desde el 28 de febrero solo se han registrado temblores de baja energía y baja frecuencia. Además, el último enjambre que se produjo el jueves 26 fue el más «débil» desde que se detectaron los enjambres el mes pasado. (Canarian Weekly, 2026)

mapa_2026-3-4_144533

10 days of seismic activity around Tenerife ( 22nd February-4th March); yellow circles are earthquakes with a magnitude less than 2, orange between 2-3. Sourced from the IGN Seismic Visualiser (2026)

IGN Earthquake visualisor
February 26 2026 12:26 PM

Volcan Enmedio, 4.1 magnitude quake, February 26th

🇬🇧 🇺🇸 The National Geographic Institute recorded a 4.1 magnitude earthquake near the Enmedio volcano at 12.26 pm Thursday, 26th of February, although this seismic behaviour ins not related to the recent activity in the Las cańadas caldera. This is because the Enmedio volcano is on a submerged fault line. Thousands of residents and tourists across Tenerife and Gran Canaria reported tremors that lasted approximately 10 seconds. However, no serious injuries or damage were reported. (El Confidencial, 2026)

🇪🇸 🇮🇨 El Instituto Geográfico Nacional registró un terremoto de magnitud 4,1 cerca del volcán Enmedio a las 12:26 p. m. del jueves 26 de febrero, aunque este comportamiento sísmico no está relacionado con la actividad reciente en la caldera de Las Cañadas. Esto se debe a que el volcán Enmedio se encuentra en una falla sumergida. Miles de residentes y turistas de Tenerife y Gran Canaria informaron de temblores que duraron aproximadamente 10 segundos. Sin embargo, no se registraron heridos graves ni daños (El Confidencial, 2026)

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IGN Earthquake visualisor
February 24 2026 4:03 PM

Las Cañadas del Teide, IGN Report, February 24th

🇬🇧 🇺🇸 A seismic swarm that began at 00:15 am on the 23rd lasted until 08:00 am on the 24th. A new machine learning, fully automated processing method is now in use, and has been able to detect more than 6,500 events with magnitude less than 1.0 mbLg. It is important to note that this new method means that this can not be considered an increase in seismic events, but represents a better ability to detect seismic events. To date, none of the seismic events has been felt by the population and does not represent an increase in short-term eruption risk (IGN, 2026)

🇪🇸 🇮🇨 Una serie de terremotos que comenzó a las 00:15 horas del día 23 se prolongó hasta las 08:00 horas del día 24. Actualmente se está utilizando un nuevo método de procesamiento totalmente automatizado basado en el aprendizaje automático, que ha permitido detectar más de 6500 eventos con una magnitud inferior a 1,0 mbLg. Es importante señalar que este nuevo método significa que no se puede considerar un aumento de los eventos sísmicos, sino que representa una mayor capacidad para detectarlos. Hasta la fecha, ninguno de los eventos sísmicos ha sido percibido por la población y no representa un aumento del riesgo de erupción a corto plazo (IGN, 2026).

February 23 2026 8:22 AM

Itahiza on RTVC February 23rd 2026

🇬🇧 🇺🇸 Itahiza Domínguez Cerdeña, Seismologist and director of IGN, interviewed on RTVC today about the seismic unrest observed under Las Cañadas in the past two weeks:

“Since last night, at midnight, we have had a new swarm, a bit stronger, on the order of a thousand events in the western area of Las Cañadas, and it still hasn’t finished”

“We hope that if an eruption is going to occur, especially a basaltic eruption like the one we experienced in La Palma, it will be preceded by strongly felt earthquakes, much faster deformation, and right now we are not seeing that. We must stay alert because this can change”

🇪🇸 🇮🇨 Itahiza Domínguez Cerdeña, sismólogo y director del IGN, entrevistado hoy en RTVC sobre la actividad sísmica observada bajo Las Cañadas en las últimas dos semanas:

“Desde anoche, a medianoche, hemos tenido un nuevo enjambre, un poco más fuerte, del orden de mil eventos en la zona occidental de Las Cañadas, y aún no ha terminado”.

“Esperamos que, si se va a producir una erupción, especialmente una erupción basáltica como la que vivimos en La Palma, vaya precedida de terremotos fuertemente percibidos, una deformación mucho más rápida, y en este momento no estamos viendo eso. Debemos permanecer alerta porque esto puede cambiar”.