Volcano in Guatemala
Pacaya volcano: eruption status today
Updated
No eruption of Pacaya is being reported right now Last eruption: 1964 or later; last significant eruption 2021 (NOAA NCEI).
Live status of Pacaya: whether it is erupting now, satellite hot spots, earthquakes around it, and what an eruption would mean for nearby cities and flights.
- Status now
- No open report
- Last eruption
- 1964 or later last significant: 2021
- Elevation
- 2,569 m 8,429 ft
- Type
- Complex volcano
- Earthquakes within 50 km
- 1 past 30 days (USGS)
- Hot spots within 10 km
- 0 latest NASA FIRMS VIIRS data
- Nearest city
- Villa Canales 13 km NNE
Is Pacaya erupting right now?
There is no open NASA EONET event for Pacaya right now. NOAA NCEI dates its most recent eruption to 1964 or later, and the last eruption in its significant-eruption database was in 2021. Volcano observatories can raise alert levels before an eruption starts, so check the national observatory for the current alert level.
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 Pacaya
USGS located 1 earthquake within 50 km of Pacaya in the past 30 days, 0 of them in the last week. The largest was M4.2 on Oct 2, 2026, 45 km W of the summit at 120 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 2, 11:35 UTC | M4.2 | 45 km W | 120 km | 4 km N of Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa, Guatemala |
About Pacaya
Pacaya is a complex volcano in Guatemala, rising to 2,569 m (8,429 ft). NOAA NCEI classes its eruptive history as "Historical".
Complex volcanoes have several vents or overlapping cones, so activity can shift between craters.
The nearest large town is Villa Canales, about 13 km NNE of the summit; 5 other cities lie within 250 km.
- Villa Canales (13 km) earthquakes nearby
- Petapa (14 km) earthquakes nearby
- Villa Nueva (16 km) earthquakes nearby
- Escuintla (22 km) earthquakes nearby
- Mixco (28 km) earthquakes nearby
- Guatemala City (30 km) earthquakes nearby
Flights and volcanic ash
No major hub airport is within 400 km (the closest is Cancún, 838 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 Guatemala
Guatemala has 4 volcanoes on this site that erupted since 1900 or are active now, 2 of them with an open NASA activity report today. The closest other one is Fuego, 32 km away.
Nearby volcanoes
Volcanoes in Guatemala
More
Data: NOAA NCEI Volcano Locations, NASA EONET (open volcano events), USGS earthquakes, NASA FIRMS (VIIRS hot spots), Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.