Volcano Alert: Semeru Rising, Mayon Active, Taal Eruption
Daily Volcano Report · 9 January 2026
Saturday, Jan 10, 2026 11:26 | 20 mins ago | By: VN
Indonesia saw the biggest moves today: Semeru stepped up its activity while Lewotobi’s alert was lowered one notch. The Philippines stayed busy, with ongoing dome growth and frequent pyroclastic flows at Mayon and a short phreatomagmatic burst at Taal, while Kilauea and Great Sitkin in the United States held at Watch / Aviation ORANGE.
United states
At Great Sitkin (Watch / Aviation ORANGE), slow lava effusion persisted in the summit crater. Kilauea (Watch / Aviation ORANGE) showed strong glow from both vents. Unrest at Shishaldin (Advisory / aviation YELLOW) produced a steam plume.
Indonesia
Semeru (Level 3 – Standby) recorded increased activity, with ash rising up to 2 km, 143 explosions, and signals of rockfalls and PDCs. The alert at Lewotobi was lowered to Level 3 – Standby; only gas plumes to 100 m were noted. Elsewhere, Ibu and Lewotolok produced frequent explosions with ash up to a few hundred meters, while Merapi (level 3 – Standby) registered seismically detected PDCs. Several others, including Dukono and Kerinci, showed minor gas emissions or low-level unrest.
Philippines
Mayon (Alert Level 3) maintained dome growth, the start of a lava flow, 90 PDCs, and 150 rockfalls; a moderate plume rose 500 m amid ongoing inflation. Kanlaon (Alert Level 2) produced a 15-minute ash emission to 400 m and additional plumes to 900 m. Taal (Alert Level 1) generated a minor phreatomagmatic eruption from 1911 to 1915 with a plume to 900 m following a brief seismic precursor.
Mexico
Popocatepetl (Yellow Alert – Phase 2) had a 95-minute exhalation with plumes to about 1.2 km above the rim.
South America
In Ecuador, Reventador produced ash-and-gas plumes up to 800 m, while activity at Sangay decreased to gas emissions with SO2 and thermal anomalies. In Peru, Sabancaya registered a moderate explosion to 2.1 km and slight inflation north of the complex. In Colombia,
Volcanic activity is elevated globally. Here’s a summary of recent eruptions and notable activity as of January 10, 2026, at 11:54:47 UTC:
- Merapi (Indonesia): Pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) were detected seismically. More details.
- Popocatepetl (Mexico): A 95-minute exhalation event produced a plume reaching approximately 1,200 meters above the crater rim.More details.
- Poas (Costa rica): Frequent low-frequency (LP) seismic events are occurring. More details.
- Purace (Colombia): Fracturing earthquakes were recorded at depths of 1-3 km, with tremor and LP events less than 1 km deep. Degassing is occurring from multiple craters. More details.
- Reventador (Ecuador): Ash-and-gas plumes rose to 800 meters, accompanied by sulfur dioxide (SO2) degassing. More details.
- Sabancaya (Peru): A moderate explosion sent ash to 2,100 meters. Slight inflation and low seismicity were also observed. More details.
- Sangay (Ecuador): Activity has decreased, but gas emissions, SO2, and thermal anomalies persist. More details.
- Santa Maria (Guatemala): Explosions produced ash, short-runout PDCs, and rockfalls, resulting in local ashfall. More details.
- Semeru (Indonesia): Activity has increased, with ash reaching 2,000 meters and 143 explosions recorded. Rockfalls and PDC signals were also detected.More details.
- Taal (Philippines): A minor phreatomagmatic burst occurred, generating a plume to 900 meters. A precursor seismic signal was detected. More details.
- Bur ni Telong (Indonesia): No specific details provided in source. More details.