There may have been an eruption on Whakaari/White Island recently but no one knows for sure. It means GeoNet cannot raise the volcanic alert level, which indicates if a larger eruption is imminent. “We are working hard on a plan to safely return to Whakaari to do critical maintenance to re-establish real-time monitoring,” says Sherburn. “Volcanic alert level two, which is what Whakaari is set at now, is the highest non-eruption alert level,” says Sherburn. “But eruptions can occur with little or no warning, whether we have real-time data from the island or not,” he says.

Source: Stuff September 22, 2022 02:52 UTC