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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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  • Las Cańadas activity, IGN Report, March 6th

    🇬🇧 🇺🇸 The seismic activity which had reduced for a few days prior reactivated on March 4th at 11 pm and continued for 2 days. The activity continues to have a similar pattern to what has been observed recently: In the West of the Las Cañadas caldera, between 8-16 km below sea level, with a low frequency. However, the signals detected in the past 2 days are particularly weak. This type of activity does not represent an increase in volcanic eruption likelihood in the short term. (IGN, 2026)

    🇪🇸 🇮🇨 La actividad sísmica, que se había reducido durante unos días, se reactivó el 4 de marzo a las 23:00 horas y se prolongó durante dos días. La actividad sigue mostrando un patrón similar al observado recientemente: al oeste de la caldera de Las Cañadas, entre 8 y 16 km por debajo del nivel del mar, con baja frecuencia. Sin embargo, las señales detectadas en los últimos dos días son especialmente débiles. Este tipo de actividad no supone un aumento de la probabilidad de erupción volcánica a corto plazo (IGN, 2026)

Timeline of volcanic unrest

Drag the timeline along to see previous updates

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”.

February 20 2026 11:30 AM

Las Canadas del Teide, IGN report, February 20th 2026

🇬🇧 🇺🇸 A swarm that began on Wednesday, 18 February, continued throughout Thursday, 19th and Friday, 20th. although with progressively lower energy and intensity. Each of the events have been of very low magnitude, always below 0.7 mbLg, and no quakes felt by the population. The swarm maintains its location in the western area of Las Cañadas del Teide, between 7 and 8 km deep below sea level, where previous activity has been recorded in recent weeks and in previous periods of unrest in 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2024. It is important to note that this type of activity does not increase the probability of a volcanic eruption in the short-term.

🇪🇸 🇮🇨 Un enjambre que comenzó el miércoles 18 de febrero continuó durante el jueves 19 y el viernes 20, aunque con una energía e intensidad cada vez menores. Cada uno de los eventos ha sido de muy baja magnitud, siempre por debajo de 0,7 mbLg, y no se han sentido temblores entre la población. El enjambre mantiene su ubicación en la zona occidental de Las Cañadas del Teide, entre 7 y 8 km de profundidad bajo el nivel del mar, donde se ha registrado actividad previa en las últimas semanas y en periodos anteriores de inestabilidad en 2016, 2019, 2022 y 2024. Es importante señalar que este tipo de actividad no aumenta la probabilidad de una erupción volcánica a corto plazo.

February 17 2026 12:00 PM

Las Canadas del Teide, IGN report, February 17th 2026

🇬🇧 🇺🇸 Since 18:00 February 16th 2026, IGN has detected a “hybrid seismic swarm” where many small quakes, approximately 755, changed in magnitude and waveform overnight. Interspersed with this swarm, low-frequency (LP) events of greater energy have also been recorded, including one at 04:18 AM with 1.1 mbLg magnitude. Seismic events are still located in the Western area of Las Cañadas del Teide, at depths of 7–8 km.

🇪🇸 🇮🇨 Desde las 18:00 horas del 16 de febrero de 2026, el IGN ha detectado un «enjambre sísmico híbrido» en el que muchos pequeños terremotos, aproximadamente 755, cambiaron de magnitud y forma de onda durante la noche. Intercalados con este enjambre, también se han registrado eventos de baja frecuencia (LP) de mayor energía, incluido uno a las 04:18 a. m. con una magnitud de 1,1 mbLg. Los eventos sísmicos siguen localizándose en la zona occidental de Las Cañadas del Teide, a profundidades de 7-8 km.