Volcano in Vanuatu
Ambae volcano: eruption status today
Updated
Ambae is active now: NASA lists an open volcanic activity event (latest report Dec 3, 2025) 1 earthquake within 50 km in the past 7 days.
Live status of Ambae: whether it is erupting now, satellite hot spots, earthquakes around it, and what an eruption would mean for nearby cities and flights.
- Status now
- Active (NASA EONET) latest report Dec 3, 2025
- Last eruption
- 1964 or later last significant: 2018
- Elevation
- 1,496 m 4,908 ft
- Type
- Shield volcano
- Earthquakes within 50 km
- 5 past 30 days (USGS)
- Hot spots within 10 km
- 0 latest NASA FIRMS VIIRS data
- Nearest city
- Suva 1168 km ESE
Is Ambae erupting right now?
NASA's Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET) has an open volcanic event for Ambae, last updated Dec 3, 2025 (327 days ago). EONET opens an event when agencies such as the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program report eruptive activity or unrest, and closes it when activity ends.
No satellite thermal hot spot was detected within 10 km of the summit in the latest NASA FIRMS data, so there is no sign of lava at the surface large enough for VIIRS to see (clouds can hide it).
Earthquakes near Ambae
USGS located 5 earthquakes within 50 km of Ambae in the past 30 days, 1 of them in the last week. The largest was M6.3 on Oct 8, 2026, 42 km ESE of the summit at 10 km depth.
0 of them were shallower than 10 km. Swarms of shallow quakes can mean magma or gas is moving, but most swarms end without an eruption; observatories combine them with ground deformation and gas data.
| Time (UTC) | Magnitude | Distance | Depth | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 23, 22:42 UTC | M4.9 | 45 km E | 10 km | 115 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu |
| Oct 17, 08:59 UTC | M4.8 | 47 km ESE | 10 km | 110 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu |
| Oct 9, 13:51 UTC | M5.2 | 38 km ESE | 10 km | 101 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu |
| Oct 8, 09:00 UTC | M6.3 | 42 km ESE | 10 km | 102 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu |
| Sep 25, 19:24 UTC | M4.5 | 43 km NW | 142 km | 51 km E of Port-Olry, Vanuatu |
About Ambae
Ambae is a shield volcano in Vanuatu-SW Pacific, Vanuatu, rising to 1,496 m (4,908 ft). NOAA NCEI classes its eruptive history as "Historical".
Shield volcanoes have broad, gentle slopes built by fluid lava flows; eruptions are usually effusive (lava fountains and flows) rather than explosive.
The volcano is remote: the nearest city in our list is Suva, 1168 km away.
Flights and volcanic ash
No major hub airport is within 400 km (the closest is Brisbane, 2022 km away), but ash clouds from explosive eruptions can drift for thousands of kilometres along flight routes.
Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAACs) issue the official ash advisories that airlines and air traffic control follow.
Other volcanoes in Vanuatu
Vanuatu has 9 volcanoes on this site that erupted since 1900 or are active now. The closest other one is Ambrym, 100 km away.
Nearby volcanoes
Volcanoes in Vanuatu
More
Data: NOAA NCEI Volcano Locations, NASA EONET (open volcano events), USGS earthquakes, NASA FIRMS (VIIRS hot spots), Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.