The Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan) declares that the ‘seismic swarm’ detected in the early hours of Thursday, which registered around five hundred earthquakes within three hours in Las Cañadas del Teide, does not signify a “significant anomaly” while simultaneously acknowledging that such occurrences are not “typical” for the island.
In contrast to earthquakes caused by the fracturing of subterranean rocks, the so-called “hybrid and long-period seismic events” are directly associated with the movement of hydrothermal fluids (water, gas, and steam) within a volcano, as clarified in a statement on social media.
Involcan highlights that since 2017, Tenerife has recorded at least 118 seismic swarms and 5 hybrid seismic event swarms – specifically on October 2, 2016, June 14, 2019, June 16, 2022, July 12, 2022, and November 14, 2024 – indicating an increase in pressure within the volcanic-hydrothermal system of Tenerife, which is linked to the influx of magmatic fluids into the subterranean volcanic-hydrothermal system.
In this context, it is noted that these phenomena do not imply a heightened likelihood of a volcanic eruption in Tenerife in the short to medium term, even though “it remains a volcanically active island, with a probability of a volcanic eruption occurring within the next 50 years of 39.35 %.”
