From Iceland — Follow Iceland's Volcanic Activity In Real Time

Follow Iceland’s Volcanic Activity In Real Time

Published December 27, 2019

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Julia Staples

Geology nerds and the simply curious alike can now monitor 32 of Iceland’s volcanoes—most of them still active—in real time.

The Icelandic Volcanoes website is issued by the Icelandic Met Office, the University of Iceland Earth Sciences Department, and the National Commissioner of the Police, and is available in both Icelandic and English.

There, you can either scroll down the list of volcanoes on the left to get a general overview, or select a specific volcano to get greater details about its level of activity and other data points.

Bear in mind that not all volcanoes are created equal. Some, like Hofsjökull, have not erupted since the Early Holocene, while others last erupted only a few years ago, such as Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 (the ash cloud from which you can see above).

While there has been talk of updating Iceland’s evacuation procedures for specific volcanoes, such as Öræfisjökull, Iceland’s early warning detection and evacuation procedures are top notch, and have helped keep the country safe for decades.

Support The Reykjavík Grapevine!
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!

Show Me More!