Tenerife: Nearly 1,000 Earthquakes in New Teide Swarm

Tenerife, Canary Islands – A new swarm of seismic events is being closely monitored beneath Mount Teide, Tenerife’s iconic volcano. The Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) has recorded approximately 950 hybrid earthquakes since Wednesday evening, marking the ninth such swarm in the Las Cañadas del Teide area since 2016 and the third within the last week.

The latest episode began around 11:00 PM on Wednesday and continued through the night and into Thursday morning, according to IGN sources, who describe the recent seismic activity as intense. While the number of hybrid events currently stands at 950, analysts believe the final count could be higher due to the extremely weak signals of many of the recorded events, making precise identification challenging.

The IGN reports that these earthquakes are very similar to previous swarms, with magnitudes remaining consistently low – all below 0.7 mbLg. This means the tremors are not felt by the population and are only detectable through specialized equipment operated by the National Seismic Network.

Data analysis indicates the swarm is located in the western sector of Las Cañadas del Teide, at a depth of between seven and eight kilometers. This area has experienced similar seismic activity in the past, with comparable swarms recorded in November 1980, October 2016, June 2019, June and July 2022, November 2024, August 2024, February 12th, and February 16-17th, 2026.

Despite the increased frequency of these seismic events, the IGN emphasizes that this type of activity does not increase the risk of an eruption in the short term. The institute maintains a network of over one hundred stations, pieces of equipment, and fixed sampling points across the island to monitor all possible parameters.

This comprehensive monitoring system allows for “exhaustive real-time tracking of any changes, alterations, or anomalies in seismicity, deformations, and geochemistry that could indicate an evolution in the short, medium, and long-term danger of a volcanic eruption.”

This latest swarm follows a period of heightened seismic activity on the island. A swarm of approximately 90 earthquakes was detected during the weekend of February 8-9. Just 48 hours later, scientists observed an unusual seismic signal – a sustained tremor lasting approximately 90 minutes. This signal repeated, though with a shorter duration, 24 hours after that. A seventh swarm was detected on Sunday, and another on Monday afternoon, bringing the total to nine since 2016.

Ithaiza Domínguez, director of the IGN in the Canary Islands, has stated that none of these events suggest an imminent eruption, and that they simply indicate the volcano is volcanically active. Domínguez previously noted that statistically, the likelihood of an eruption is low in the short and medium term, but the longer a volcanic system remains quiet, the greater the possibility of a future eruption.