United States - September 02, 2025 Hawaii Island – Kilauea resumed erupting on Tuesday, local time, firing lava more than 100 metres into the sky from its summit crater. It is the 32nd eruption since December last year, when the current activity began. The US Geological Survey (USGS) described “vigorous lava fountaining.” All lava remains confined to the summit crater inside Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Lava emerged from the north vent in Halemaumau Crater after midnight, local time. At 6:35am, fountains began, and by mid-morning activity was also visible at the south vent and a third vent in between. “The current eruption has been characterised by episodic lava fountaining not seen in any eruptions since the 1983–86 episodic fountains at the beginning of the Puʻuʻōʻō eruption,” USGS said. The eruption is occurring within a closed area of the park. USGS lists the alert level as “watch,” one step below “warning.” “High levels of volcanic gas — primarily water vapour, carbon dioxide, and sulphur dioxide — are one major hazard of concern, as this hazard can have far-reaching effects downwind,” USGS added. “Another major hazard is fallout of Pele’s hair and other volcanic fragments from lava fountains.” Pele’s hair—fiber-like volcanic glass produced by lava fountaining—can travel more than 15 kilometres. Volcanic ash, pumice, scoria, and reticulite are other hot materials that can fall near the vents. Other hazards include “crater wall instability, ground cracking, and rockfalls that can be enhanced by earthquakes,” which is why the immediate area remains closed to the public. Kilauea, among the world’s most active volcanoes, lies on Hawaii Island, about 320 kilometres south of Honolulu on Oahu.