Volcano in Papua New Guinea
Witori volcano: eruption status today
Updated
No eruption of Witori is being reported right now Last eruption: 1900–1963; last significant eruption 1914 (NOAA NCEI). Note: 1 satellite hot spot within 10 km in the latest FIRMS data.
Live status of Witori: 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
- 1900–1963 last significant: 1914
- Elevation
- 724 m 2,375 ft
- Type
- Caldera
- Earthquakes within 50 km
- 2 past 30 days (USGS)
- Hot spots within 10 km
- 1 latest NASA FIRMS VIIRS data
- Nearest city
- Port Moresby 571 km SW
Is Witori erupting right now?
There is no open NASA EONET event for Witori right now. NOAA NCEI dates its most recent eruption to 1900–1963, and the last eruption in its significant-eruption database was in 1914. Volcano observatories can raise alert levels before an eruption starts, so check the national observatory for the current alert level.
NASA FIRMS shows 1 thermal hot spot within 10 km of the summit in the latest VIIRS satellite passes (strongest 2 MW fire radiative power). Hot spots on a volcano can be lava, a glowing vent or ordinary vegetation fires; satellites cannot tell them apart on their own.
Earthquakes near Witori
USGS located 2 earthquakes within 50 km of Witori in the past 30 days, 0 of them in the last week. The largest was M4.4 on Oct 5, 2026, 11 km WNW of the summit at 124 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 5, 18:28 UTC | M4.4 | 11 km WNW | 124 km | 30 km E of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea |
| Sep 26, 16:44 UTC | M4.2 | 45 km NE | 224 km | 78 km ENE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea |
About Witori
Witori is a caldera in New Britain-SW Pac, Papua New Guinea, rising to 724 m (2,375 ft). NOAA NCEI classes its eruptive history as "Historical".
A caldera is a large collapse depression left after a major eruption; activity can range from small steam blasts to rare, very large eruptions.
The volcano is remote: the nearest city in our list is Port Moresby, 571 km away.
Flights and volcanic ash
No major hub airport is within 400 km (the closest is Brisbane, 2441 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 Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea has 16 volcanoes on this site that erupted since 1900 or are active now, 1 of them with an open NASA activity report today. The closest other one is Lolobau, 102 km away.
Nearby volcanoes
Volcanoes in Papua New Guinea
More
Data: NOAA NCEI Volcano Locations, NASA EONET (open volcano events), USGS earthquakes, NASA FIRMS (VIIRS hot spots), Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.