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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, April 3-6

    🇬🇧 🇺🇸 Since 3 April, #IGNSpain has detected seismic-volcanic activity beneath the island of #Tenerife. Between April 3rd and 6th, 131 low-energy hybrid seismic events were detected, with magnitudes ranging between 0.4 and 1.6 mbLg.  None of which were felt by the public.

    The seismic events are located at depths of between 5 and 18 km below sea level, similar to those recorded in Las Cañadas since February 2026.

    IGN notes that these observations do not increase the risk of an eruption in the short or medium term on Tenerife. (IGN, 2026)

    🇪🇸 🇮🇨 Desde el 3 de abril, #IGNSpain ha detectado actividad sísmica-volcánica bajo la isla de #Tenerife. Entre el 3 y el 6 de abril se registraron 131 eventos sísmicos híbridos de baja energía, con magnitudes que oscilaron entre 0,4 y 1,6 mbLg. Ninguno de ellos fue percibido por la población.

    Los eventos sísmicos se localizan a profundidades de entre 5 y 18 km por debajo del nivel del mar, similares a los registrados en Las Cañadas desde febrero de 2026.

    El IGN señala que estas observaciones no aumentan el riesgo de erupción a corto o medio plazo en Tenerife. (IGN, 2026)

Timeline of volcanic unrest

Drag the timeline along to see previous updates

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.

February 12 2026 2:00 PM

Las Canadas del Teide, IGN report, February 12th 2026

🇬🇧 🇺🇸 IGN detected a new seismic swarm event on the afternoon of 12th February, following days of seismic activity; 876 individual quakes were recorded at approximately 8 km depth in the Western sector of Las Cañadas del Teide. This is the same region where similar seismic events have been recorded since 2016. This new activity is of particularly low magnitude, with the maximum seismic event recorded at 0.7 mBlg (magnitude), which is usually not felt by the population. (IGN, 2026).

🇪🇸 🇮🇨 El IGN detectó un nuevo evento sísmico en la tarde del 12 de febrero, tras varios días de actividad sísmica; se registraron 876 temblores individuales a aproximadamente 8 km de profundidad en el sector occidental de Las Cañadas del Teide. Se trata de la misma región en la que se han registrado eventos sísmicos similares desde 2016. Esta nueva actividad es de magnitud particularmente baja, con el evento sísmico máximo registrado en 0,7 mBlg (magnitud), lo que normalmente no es percibido por la población (IGN, 2026).

February 11 2026 1:44 PM

Rosa Davila statement 11th February 2026

🇬🇧 🇺🇸 The president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, has called for calm and noted the volcanic monitoring capabilities of the island of Tenerife: “Probably one of the most closely monitored volcanic systems in the world is Teide and the island of Tenerife,’

Today (11th of February), around 4 a.m. on Wednesday, the low-frequency signal was detected again on Mount Teide, although with less amplitude and duration than yesterday. 

Next thursday, 19 February, the scientific committee of the Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Response to Volcanic Risk in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (Pevolca) will meet again. (El dia, 2026)

🇪🇸 🇮🇨 La presidenta del Cabildo de Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, ha pedido calma y ha destacado la capacidad de vigilancia volcánica de la isla de Tenerife: “Probablemente uno de los sistemas volcánicos más vigilados del mundo es el Teide y la isla de Tenerife”.

Hoy (11 de febrero), alrededor de las 4 de la madrugada del miércoles, se ha vuelto a detectar la señal de baja frecuencia en el Teide, aunque con menos amplitud y duración que ayer.

El próximo jueves 19 de febrero se reunirá de nuevo el comité científico del Plan Especial de Protección Civil y de Emergencia ante Riesgos Volcánicos de la Comunidad Autónoma de Canarias (Pevolca). (El dia, 2026)