Whakaari/White Island: ‘Large steam plumes’ observed

Whakaari/White Island at 8am today. Photo/ GNS

Small ash emissions and large steam plumes have been observed at Whakaari/White Island recently.

A GNS Science statement said the Volcanic Alert Level remains at 2 and Aviation Colour Code has changed to Orange.

“Over the past week, large white, steam-rich plumes could be seen from our webcams at Whakatāne and Te Kaha," duty volcanologist Yannik Behr said.

“During the weekend, small amounts of volcanic ash were observed in the plume on satellite imagery by our colleagues at MetService, which could also be seen as a faint haze from the coast.”

Behr said on several days last week, sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions were detected by satellite and costal residents may have been noticed sulphur odours on northerly winds.

“Steam, gas and ash emissions remain variable as they have been for the past few months,” Behr said.

“Recent activity is consistent with moderate-heightened unrest and the Volcanic Alert Level therefore remains at Level 2. Because of the recent observations of volcanic ash emissions from the volcano the Aviation Colour Code is raised to Orange.”

The alert level scale runs from 0-5, with Level 2 meaning “moderate to heightened volcanic unrest”.

“Due to the current lack of consistent, usable real-time monitoring data, there is considerable uncertainty about the current level of volcanic activity which could escalate with little or no warning,” the statement said.

Last year Eastern Bay mayors wrote to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and relevant ministers with their concerns the lack of monitoring was putting the community at risk, Local Democracy Reporting reported in June.

It was reported at the time GNS had not been allowed to access the site since the deadly December 2019 eruption and on-island equipment has stopped working. All monitoring was done remotely from the mainland, observation flights and satellites.

Today’s statement said GNS Science’s Volcano Monitoring Group and National Geohazards Monitoring Centre will continue to monitor Whakaari/White Island for any changes in activity.

For information about the impacts of the steam and gas plume should it reach the coast, follow the advice from:

• Bay of Plenty Emergency Management
• NEMA: What to do during volcanic activity
• Toi Te Ora Public Health: Volcanic Activity