A new swarm of microseismic activity has been recorded since 02:00 (UTC) this morning in the Las Cañadas del Teide area, to the southwest of Pico Viejo. According to data collected by the National Geographic Institute (IGN), this phenomenon constitutes the sixth seismic event detected in Tenerife since 2016.
So far, more than 700 small earthquakes have been located in this area, where similar episodes have been reported in October 2016, June 2019, June and July 2022, as well as in November 2024.
The seismic events, which are located at a depth of approximately 10km, are of very low magnitude, below 1, which means they have not been felt by the population. Many of these small earthquakes have only been identified by the automatic seismic monitoring system and do not possess sufficient quality to be included in the official IGN catalogue.
For this reason, the public body sees no signs of an imminent eruption “soon at Teide” in Tenerife, following the new seismic swarm recorded.
In statements to the EFE agency, the director of the IGN in the Canary Islands, Itahiza Domínguez, notes that this seismic activity cannot be compared to that which preceded the eruption of the Tajogaite volcano in La Palma (2021), because that sequence of earthquakes increased in intensity and moved underground in various directions.
Additionally, it was accompanied by other indicators, such as ground deformation or an increase in sulphur dioxide emissions, which is not happening in this case, leading the IGN to conclude that, unlike before, this new seismic swarm is not associated with a magmatic intrusion prior to an imminent eruption.
Domínguez emphasises that the last swarm at Teide, although it lasted just over four hours, remained in the same area and the intensity of most of the earthquakes remained below 1 MLGB.
He also points out that this is the sixth swarm they have recorded in the same area since the first one in October 2016, although he admits that the scientific community cannot conclusively determine whether this is or is not anomalous activity because there are no similar records beyond 20 years ago.
“It can be said that this amounts to nothing, but it is clear that it is another step of magmatic activity” in Tenerife, which necessitates continuous monitoring, as “we have to work as if the next intrusion were tomorrow. It could happen; it did in La Palma,” admits the director of the IGN in the Canary Islands.
He recalls that, once the eruption of Tajogaite concluded, it was found that magma had been accumulating under La Palma for at least 15 years, and in the case of Tenerife, they do not know if a “magmatic body” is forming.
“One day there will be an eruption in Tenerife; we don’t know if in a year, ten, or a hundred.”
The eruption probabilities considered by the scientific community range between 30% and 40% over a period of 50 years. What is clear is that “one day there will be an eruption in Tenerife; we don’t know if in a year, ten, or a hundred,” states Domínguez.
Following the swarm from last night, scientific bodies such as the IGN and Involcan (Canary Islands Volcanological Institute) have exchanged opinions and informed the authorities, with no emergency cabinet or alert level currently anticipated.
The seismic events of the latest swarm, which began around 2:00 this morning, are located about 10 kilometres deep and present very low magnitudes, lower than 1 MLGB, therefore they have not been felt by the public.
This is the sixth seismic swarm recorded in Tenerife since 2016 (October 2016, June 2019, June and July 2022, and November 2024), located in this area.
Due to the low energy of many of these earthquakes, the lower magnitude events have been detected only by the automatic seismic monitoring system.
The authorities have indicated that the activity remains under observation and, for now, does not pose a risk to the island’s inhabitants. The IGN will begin monitoring the situation.
