Volcano in Indonesia

Merbabu volcano: eruption status today

Updated

Merbabu is active now: NASA lists an open volcanic activity event (latest report Jan 7, 2021) 0 earthquakes within 50 km in the past 7 days.

Live status of Merbabu: 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 Jan 7, 2021
Last eruption
1700–1799
Elevation
3,118 m 10,230 ft
Type
Stratovolcano
Earthquakes within 50 km
0 past 30 days (USGS)
Hot spots within 10 km
0 latest NASA FIRMS VIIRS data
Nearest city
Salatiga 15 km NNE

Open on the live map

Is Merbabu erupting right now?

NASA's Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET) has an open volcanic event for Merbabu, last updated Jan 7, 2021 (2118 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 Merbabu

USGS has no earthquake within 50 km of Merbabu in the past 30 days. Outside the United States USGS mainly lists quakes above about M4, so small volcanic tremors recorded by the local observatory will not appear here.

About Merbabu

Merbabu is a stratovolcano in Java, Indonesia, rising to 3,118 m (10,230 ft). NOAA NCEI classes its eruptive history as "Historical".

Stratovolcanoes are steep cones built from alternating lava and ash layers; their eruptions are often explosive, with ash columns that can reach cruising altitude.

The nearest large town is Salatiga, about 15 km NNE of the summit; 5 other cities lie within 250 km.

Flights and volcanic ash

No major hub airport is within 400 km (the closest is Soekarno–Hatta, 443 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 Indonesia

Indonesia has 66 volcanoes on this site that erupted since 1900 or are active now, 6 of them with an open NASA activity report today. The closest other one is Mount Merapi, 10 km away.

Nearby volcanoes

Volcanoes in Indonesia

More

Data: NOAA NCEI Volcano Locations, NASA EONET (open volcano events), USGS earthquakes, NASA FIRMS (VIIRS hot spots), Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.