image from USGS webcam showing Halemaʻmaʻu on Saturday, November 25.

(BIVN) – Kīlauea is not erupting, and while volcanic unrest continues with moderate levels of seismicity in the Southwest Rift Zone, summit, and upper East Rift Zone, the USGS Alert Level remains at ADVISORY.

Scientists report a noticeable increase in earthquakes since November 24.

“Seismicity in the upper East Rift Zone continues at moderate levels with 53 events over the past 24 hours,” the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observartory wrote in its daily update, “and 146 events over the past 24 hours in the Southwest Rift Zone.”

“We continue to closely monitor both rift zones, especially near the summit,” scientists wrote. “No unusual activity has been noted along the middle and lower East Rift Zones.”

There is currently no sign of an imminent eruption, however eruptive activity could occur in the near future with little or no warning, USGS says.

image from USGS webcam showing Halemaʻmaʻu on Saturday, November 25.

In Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, the Chain of Craters Road is open. The Mauna Iki Trail and the Kaʻū Desert Trail (south of the Footprints exhibit to the Mauna Iki Trail intersection) remains closed due to volcanic unrest in the Southwest Rift Zone.

From the USGS HVO on Saturday, November 25:

Summit Observations:  Summit seismicity over the past 24 hours continues with 53 events occurring, and with 23 events in the upper East Rift Zone.

The Uēkahuna summit tiltmeter, located northwest of the caldera, shows a flat to slightly inflationary-deflationary signal over the past 24 hours. The Sand Hill tiltmeter, located southwest of the caldera, shows a flat signal over the past 24 hours. Overall, the summit of Kīlauea remains at a high level of inflation, above the level reached prior to the most recent eruption in September 2023, and the highest level since the 2018 eruption.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rates remain low. Field observations found SO2 gas emission of 100 tonnes per day on November 17. This is the same as an observation in October 2023.

There is currently no sign of an imminent eruption, and seismic activity continues at moderate levels at the summit, upper East Rift Zone, and Southwest Rift Zone. An increase in seismic unrest would be expected prior to any eruptive activity in this region. The onsets of previous summit eruptions have been marked by strong swarms of earthquakes caused by the emplacement of a dike 1-2 hours before eruptions and these have not been detected at this time.