Aerial photo of the northeast rift zone eruption of Mauna Loa.

Hawaii’s Mauna Loa erupts for the first time in 38 years. What happens next?

For now, the eruption does not threaten any populated areas, but scientists continue to closely monitor the largest active volcano in the world.

Aerial photos reveal lava flowing from the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Loa in Hawaii.
Photograph by Natalia Deligne, USGS

After a 38-year period of calm—the longest in its recorded history—Hawaii’s Mauna Loa has reawakened.

At approximately 11:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, began erupting. Lava oozed into Moku‘āweoweo, the bowl-like summit of the volcano, staining the blue-black sky with crimson hues. Throughout the night, the lava emerged and flowed mostly within this caldera, with a small amount spilling over the side. But as the sun rose, molten rock was spotted bleeding out of fresh cracks on the volcano’s northeastern flanks—a section of the mountain that is slowly being pulled apart.

At present, no major population centers are threatened and no evacuation orders have been issued, but

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