Image from a USGS research camera positioned on a cone in Mauna Loa’s Southwest Rift Zone in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

(BIVN) – On Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey changed the alert level for Earth’s largest active volcano, downgrading Mauna Loa from ADVISORY to NORMAL, following its eruption late last year.

The Aviation Color Code for Mauna Loa was also lowered from YELLOW to GREEN.

From the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory summary that accompanied the change:

Mauna Loa has been quiet for the past three months since the eruption ended on December 13, 2022. The number of earthquakes beneath Mauna Loa’s summit has returned to background levels. Inflation of Mauna Loa continues as magma replenishes the summit magma chamber.

Accordingly, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is lowering the Volcano Alert Level for ground-based hazards from ADVISORY to NORMAL and the Aviation Color Code from YELLOW to GREEN.

In conjunction with this change, Mauna Loa updates will change from weekly to monthly, with the next monthly update on April 6, 2023.

Since its first well-documented eruption in 1843, the USGS says Mauna Loa has erupted 34 times with intervals between eruptions ranging from months to decades. The giant volcano last erupted in November–December 2022. The eruption prior to that occurred in 1984.

USGS webcam image of Mauna Loa’s Summit taken on Thursday from the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Kea