Out of an estimated 1,350 active volcanoes worldwide, about 45 have continuing eruptions, and about 80 erupt each year, spewing steam, ash, toxic gases, and lava. In 2022, erupting volcanoes included the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland, Mount Anak Krakatau in Indonesia, the Fuego volcano in Guatemala, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai in Tonga, Mauna Loa in Hawaii, Mount Etna in Sicily, Shiveluch volcano in Russia, and more. Collected below are scenes from the wide variety of volcanic activity on Earth over the past year.
2022: The Year in Volcanic Activity
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![A nighttime view of lava spewing from the top of a volcano and flowing down its slopes.]()
Read moreFuego volcano, as seen from Alotenango, a municipality in the Sacatepequez department 65 kilometers southwest of Guatemala City, erupts on December 11, 2022. #
Johan Ordonez / AFP / Getty -
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![A satellite view of an enormous cloud of volcanic ash spreading out over an ocean.]()
Read moreThe eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, part of the Tongan archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, seen from the Himawari 8 weather satellite on January 15, 2022. The violent volcanic eruption threw ash 24 miles into the sky, triggered a tsunami, and sent atmospheric shock waves around the globe. #
Japan Meteorological Agency -
![Houses show evidence of flood damage and a coating of volcanic ash.]()
Read moreDamaged buildings following a volcanic eruption and tsunami in Nomuka, Tonga, on January 17, 2022 #
Malau Media / Reuters -
![Two people stand near a lava flow as lava erupts in the background.]()
Read morePeople look at lava flowing on Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland on August 3, 2022, about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of the capital of Reykjavik. #
Marco Di Marco / AP -
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![People walk on a barren hillside under clouds. The whole scene is bathed in red light from a nearby lava flow.]()
Read moreOnlookers arrive to watch as lava flows from the volcano in Fagradalsfjall, Iceland, on August 7, 2022. #
Jeremie Richard / AFP / Getty -
![An aerial view of a lava flow with cracks in a dark surface visible at night]()
Read moreAn aerial view of the eruption at Fagradalsfjall, captured on August 4, 2022 #
Muhammed Enes Yıldırım / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![A sunset view of a distant volcano sending up clouds of ash]()
Read moreThe sun sets in the background as Mount Anak Krakatau spews gas and ash, as seen from Pasauran beach, Anyer, in Serang, Indonesia, on April 24, 2022. #
Dziki Oktomauliyadi / AFP / Getty -
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![A large, snow-covered volcano at night, with a glowing lava dome in its center]()
Read moreA view of Shiveluch volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on November 20, 2022 #
Institute of Volcanology and Seismology / Reuters -
![A line of erupting lava across a barren field]()
Read moreLava flows after the eruption of Wolf volcano in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, on January 7, 2022. #
Wilson Cabrera / Parque Nacional Galápagos via Getty / Handout -
![A man stands on a road near fields, looking over his shoulder, as a volcano sends up an ash cloud in the background.]()
Read moreA man looks on as Mount Semeru releases volcanic ash during an eruption on December 4, 2022, in Lumajang, East Java, Indonesia. #
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![Two people sit near a riverbed that is filled with steaming debris and mud.]()
Read moreWorkers from Indonesia Telecom sit next to the Kali Lanang river, where hot ash from Mount Semeru flowed at Curah Kobokan village in Lumajang on December 7, 2022, following an eruption on December 4. #
Juni Kriswanto / AFP / Getty -
![Gas and ash billow from the top of a volcano.]()
Read moreGas and ash billow from Mount Etna, as seen from Nicolosi, Sicily, southern Italy, on February 10, 2022. #
Salvatore Allegra / AP -
![A person wearing a safety helmet stands on volcanic rocks near a flowing stream of lava.]()
Read moreLong streams of red-hot lava flow down the southeast crater of Mount Etna, seen from Zafferana Etnea, Italy, on June 11, 2022. #
Antonio Parrinello / Reuters -
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![A large cloud of ash rises from a distant volcano, darkening the sky above a residential area.]()
Read moreVolcanic ash ascends from the southeastern crater of Mount Etna, seen from Pedara, Sicily, Italy, on February 21, 2022. #
Salvatore Allegra / AP -
![A man stands in a window of a house that is half-buried in dark-colored volcanic ash.]()
Read moreDionisio Leal looks at heaps of ash from the Cumbre Vieja volcano surrounding his house as he stands at the window, in Las Manchas neighborhood, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, on January 20, 2022. Cumbre Vieja went dormant late in December 2021 after a three-month series of eruptions. #
Borja Suarez / Reuters -
![An elevated view looking down into a steaming and glowing volcanic caldera]()
Read moreA view of the crater of the Santiago volcano in Masaya Volcano National Park in Masaya, Nicaragua, on April 20, 2022 #
Oswaldo Rivas / AFP / Getty -
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![A night view of a snow-covered volcano with a small eruption on top. The stars of the Milky Way are visible in the background.]()
Read moreThe Villarrica volcano shows signs of activity, as seen from Pucón, some 800 kilometers south of Santiago, Chile, on November 21, 2022. #
Mario Quilodran / AFP / Getty -
![Ribbons of glowing lava flow down a slope of dark volcanic rock.]()
Read moreIn this aerial view, lava flows downslope from the north flank of Mauna Loa as it erupts on November 30, 2022, near Hilo, on Hawaii's Big Island. For the first time in almost 40 years, the biggest active volcano in the world erupted, prompting an emergency response on the Big Island. #
Andrew Richard Hara / Getty -
![A person looks toward a glowing plume of steam and gas rising from an eruption in the distance.]()
Read moreA man watches as lava erupts from Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano on November 30, 2022, near Hilo. #
Gregory Bull / AP -
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![Fountains of lava erupt from a fissure in a dark field of rock.]()
Read moreAn aerial view of fountains of lava erupting from a fissure on the Northeast Rift Zone summit of Mauna Loa on November 29, 2022. #
M. Patrick / USGS / Reuters -
![Clouds glow during a volcanic eruption at night.]()
Read moreClouds of steam and gas glow over the eruption of Mauna Loa on November 28, 2022. #
Andrew Richard Hara / Getty -
![An aerial view of a lava flow cutting across a wrecked road]()
Read moreA lava flow from Mauna Loa runs over the remains of a road that was obliterated by previous eruptions, on December 5, 2022, near Hilo, Hawaii. #
Justin Sullivan / Getty -
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![A helicopter flies as lava flows below.]()
Read moreA helicopter flies as lava flows from the north flank of Mauna Loa on December 7, 2022. #
Andrew Richard Hara / Getty -
![An aerial view of lava shooting up from a volcano]()
Read moreAn aerial view of lava shooting up from Mauna Loa on December 5, 2022 #
Justin Sullivan / Getty -
![Several people stand on a hillside, looking toward a volcanic eruption in the distance.]()
Read morePeople watch the Big Island's Mauna Loa volcano as it erupts on November 28, 2022. #
Andrew Richard Hara / Getty -
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