The National Geographic Institute of Spain (IGN) has been responsible for monitoring the volcanoes in the Canary Islands since 1992. IGN works with other organizations like INVOLCAN, CSIC, UCA, and ITER to measure and record earthquakes, track movements of the ground, check gas emissions, and study magnetic fields to monitor volcanic activity. 

In 2004, there was a noticeable increase in earthquakes, gas emissions, and fumarole activity around Teide volcano, which led to a growing concern that this was Teide reawakening. The now agreed-upon interpretation is that there was a magmatic intrusion under the northwest part of Tenerife and related hydrothermal activity. 

Since 2004, there have been many smaller bursts of activity, including groups of earthquakes happening close together, known as “seismic swarms.” Between 2017 and 2024, about 20 to 128 earthquakes were recorded each month under Tenerife, with the average being around 60. It’s important to note that as technology gets better, we can now detect smaller earthquakes that may have been missed in the past and that figuring out exactly what causes these events – moving magma, active faults in the Earth, or hot underground water- can take time.

This timeline of volcanic unrest has been constructed from summarised IGN activity reports from the last 20 years, published research from scientists, news articles, and social media to provide a place to stay up to date with geological activity on Tenerife or to learn more about the period of unrest that have occurred before.