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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 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

Timeline of volcanic unrest

Drag the timeline along to see previous updates

November 14 2024 7:00 AM

Seismic swarm in Las Cañadas del Teide

A seismogram showing drumbeat seismicity on 14 November 2024, where there were hundreds of small and similar magnitude earthquakes, occurring at almost regular time intervals. Courtesy of IGN.
A seismogram showing drumbeat seismicity on 14 November 2024, where there were hundreds of small and similar magnitude earthquakes, occurring at almost regular time intervals. Courtesy of IGN.

🇬🇧 🇺🇸 On 14 November 2024, more than 500 earthquakes were detected in the Cañadas del Teide, southwest of Pico Viejo, in the same area where seismicity has been recorded in recent years (October 2016, June 2019 and June and July 2022). There were also additional earthquakes that were too small (low magnitude) to be located (IGN, 2024).

🇪🇸 🇮🇨 El 14 de noviembre de 2024 se detectaron más de 500 terremotos en las Cañadas del Teide, al suroeste de Pico Viejo, en la misma zona donde se ha registrado sismicidad en los últimos años (octubre de 2016, junio de 2019 y junio y julio de 2022). También se produjeron otros terremotos que fueron demasiado pequeños (baja magnitud) para ser localizados (IGN, 2024).

June 2 2024 8:00 PM

Detection of low-frequency signals in the interior of Tenerife

Spectogram recorded on 2nd June showing low frequency events. This spectrogram shows time along the bottom in minutes, frequency of an earthquake along the vertical axis, which can be thought of as how sharp (high frequency) or long (low frequency) an earthquake wave. The brighter colours are, the stronger the signal. IGN has indicated where earthquakes are with arrows. High frequencies are usually felt as sharp jolts, while low frequencies are felt as a gentle rolling
Spectogram recorded on 2nd June showing low frequency events. This spectrogram shows time along the bottom in minutes, frequency of an earthquake along the vertical axis, which can be thought of as how sharp (high frequency) or long (low frequency) an earthquake wave. The brighter colours are, the stronger the signal. IGN has indicated where earthquakes are with arrows. High frequencies are usually felt as sharp jolts, while low frequencies are felt as a gentle rolling

🇬🇧 🇺🇸 On 1st-2nd June 2024 at least 50 very small (low magnitude) earthquakes were detected below Tenerife, possibly under the Las Cañadas area. This type of low-frequency event is typically related to the presence of fluids, which usually refers to hydrothermal waters or fluids (like water or CO2) released from magma. (IGN, 2024).

🇪🇸 🇮🇨 Los días 1 y 2 de junio de 2024 se detectaron al menos 50 terremotos muy pequeños (de baja magnitud) bajo Tenerife, posiblemente bajo la zona de Las Cañadas. Este tipo de evento de baja frecuencia está normalmente relacionado con la presencia de fluidos, que suelen ser aguas hidrotermales o fluidos (como agua o CO2) liberados por el magma. (IGN, 2024).

July 24 2023 3:00 PM

Small seismic series 23-24th July in West Tenerife

The small seismic series below the west coast of Tenerife that occurred on 23-24 July 2023. Sourced from IGN (2023). The bottom panel shows the locations with depth (Z) in kilometres, and the right panel shows the locations with depth and latitude. The colour of the symbols indicates the time, defined in the area to the lower right.
The small seismic series below the west coast of Tenerife that occurred on 23-24 July 2023. Sourced from IGN (2023). The bottom panel shows the locations with depth (Z) in kilometres, and the right panel shows the locations with depth and latitude. The colour of the symbols indicates the time, defined in the area to the lower right.

🇬🇧 🇺🇸

On 23-24 July 2023, a small seismic series of about 20 earthquakes occurred below the west coast of Tenerife. Most were 30 to 46 km deep, with magnitudes between 1.3 and 1.8 (mbLg), none of which were felt.

🇪🇸 🇮🇨

Los días 23 y 24 de julio de 2023, se produjo una pequeña serie sísmica de unos 20 terremotos bajo la costa occidental de Tenerife. La mayoría tuvieron una profundidad de entre 30 y 46 km, con magnitudes de entre 1,3 y 1,8 (mbLg), y ninguno de ellos se sintió.

July 23 2023 1:15 PM

New deep seismic series from Tenerife

Earthquakes recorded around Tenerife. Shape portrays magnitude and colour relflects time recorded. iGN (2023)
Earthquakes recorded around Tenerife. Shape portrays magnitude and colour relflects time recorded. iGN (2023)

🇬🇧 🇺🇸From 13:15 UTC 23 July until 5:49 UTC 24 July, a small seismic series occurred below the west coast of Tenerife. 20 earthquakes were located, most of them at a depth of between 30 and 46 km and with low magnitudes between 1.3 and 1.8. Due to their small magnitude and great depth, no earthquake has been felt by the population and it does not indicate a change in the state of volcanic activity (IGN, 2023).

🇪🇸 🇮🇨 Desde las 13:15 UTC del 23 de julio hasta las 5:49 UTC del 24 de julio, se produjo una pequeña serie sísmica bajo la costa oeste de Tenerife. Se localizaron 20 terremotos, la mayoría de ellos a una profundidad de entre 30 y 46 km y con magnitudes bajas entre 1,3 y 1,8. Debido a su pequeña magnitud y gran profundidad, la población no ha percibido ningún terremoto y no indica un cambio en el estado de la actividad volcánica (IGN, 2023).

July 6 2023 11:00 PM

GeoTenerife July 2023 thread