.video-rituale { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; /* 16:9 ratio */ height: 0; overflow: hidden; margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 2em; } .video-rituale iframe { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 2px solid #ccc; border-radius: 8px; }
Scenes from the wide variety of volcanic activity on Earth over the past year

People watch as Hawaii's Kīlauea volcano erupts

Photos: The Year in Volcanic Activity

Volcanic Activity Feb 20, 2026

Scenes from the wide variety of volcanic activity on Earth over the past year

By Alan Taylor

A crowd of onlookers, seen in silhouette against a fountain of erupting lava in the distance
Gary Miller / Getty People watch as Hawaii's Kīlauea volcano erupts on May 11, 2025.
A tight view of a fountain of lava erupting
Gary Miller / GettyA closer view of Kīlauea volcano erupting in Hawaii on May 11, 2025
A column of ash and steam rises from the top of a volcano.
Arnold Welianto / AFP / GettyMount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupts, pictured from Pululera village, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, on August 18, 2025.
A person stands on a street, while behind them a tall ash cloud rises into the sky from a volcano.
AFP / GettyA villager watches the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki from Talibura village in Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, on June 17, 2025.
Glowing chunks of lava flow and tumble across a snow-covered slope at night.
Etna Walk / AFP / GettyLava flows across a snow-covered slope on Mount Etna on February 14, 2025.
Glowing chunks of lava tumble onto a snow-covered slope.
Etna Walk / AFP / GettyLava flows down a slope on Mount Etna on February 14, 2025, tumbling onto snow-covered ground.
A satellite view of a broad cloud of ash blowing across the Red Sea.
NASA / ReutersA satellite image shows ash rising from the eruption of the Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia as it drifts over the Red Sea, pictured on November 23, 2025.
A man on a scooter looks at a huge cloud of volcanic ash billowing across a field behind him.
Agu.S. Harianto / AFP / GettyA man looks at a pyroclastic flow during the eruption of Mount Semeru in Lumajang, East Java, on November 19, 2025.
Two people stand on a fractured and damaged road, looking toward a double fountain of lava erupting ahead of them.
M. Patrick / USGSHawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists approach the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater to make observations at the summit of Kīlauea on November 9, 2025. This section of Crater Rim Drive within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was damaged in the 2018 summit collapse and remains closed to the public.
A person in protective gear leans close to an active lava flow, reaching out to gather a sample.
USGS / ZUMA Press Wire / ReutersA researcher samples lava flowing from Kīlauea on April 22, 2025.
A volcanic eruption, seen at night, with several lightning strikes curling within the ash cloud
Badan Geologi / APIn this photo released by the Geological Agency (Badan Geologi) of Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, lightning strikes as Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spews volcanic material in East Flores, Indonesia, on August 1, 2025.
A woman and child look on at volcanic ash rising into the air.
AZZAM / AFP / GettyA woman and child look on at volcanic ash rising into the air during an eruption of Mount Ibu, near Duono Village in West Halmahera, North Maluku province, Indonesia, on January 15, 2025.
A large plume of brownish-colored ash rises from the top of a volcano.
Marco Restivo / ReutersVolcanic ash and steam rise from Mount Etna, near Milo, Italy, on June 2, 2025.
An aerial view of people standing near the outlet of a lava flow on the side of a volcano
Giuseppe Distefano / AFP / GettyThis aerial view shows people standing near a flow of lava from Mount Etna on August 28, 2025.
A distant view of an erupting cone-shaped volcano, among clouds
Yury Demyanchuk / Russian Academy of Sciences' Vulcanology Institute / APKlyuchevskoy volcano erupts on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, on August 4, 2025, sending ash six kilometers into the sky.
A fountain of lava blasts from a crater, then flows out in several small streams of glowing molten rock.
Gary Miller / GettyHawaii’s Kīlauea volcano erupts on May 11, 2025.
Lava shoots into the air, arcing above a broader crater floor, in Hawaii.
M. Zoeller / USGSOn December 6, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists monitored and measured the Kīlauea summit eruption episode 38 from multiple vantage points. This photo was captured around 10 a.m. from the northwest rim of the crater, near the a livestreaming webcam, with a vigorous lava fountains under way at both the north and south vents.
Bright streaks of lava erupt from the top of a volcano and splash on its slopes, seen at night.
Johan Ordonez / AFP / GettyFuego volcano erupts, pictured from Alotenango, southwest of Guatemala City, on March 10, 2025.
Ash and steam rise from the top of a volcano, with an aerial view of a city in the foreground.
Fabrizio Villa / GettyMount Etna exhibits a strombolian eruption, with a volcanic plume rising from the southeast crater, on June 2, 2025, in Catania, Italy.

​​​​​​​This photo essay originally misidentified the location of Kīlauea volcano.

About the Author

Alan TaylorAlan Taylor is a senior editor at The Atlantic.

SPONSORED
CTA Image

The Mouth of Truth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe

In questo spazio non si paga per entrare: si entra perché si riconosce un’eco, un frammento di sé, un varco che merita di essere custodito.

Se desideri sostenere questo lavoro con un gesto libero, puoi farlo qui:

This space does not ask for payment to enter: you enter because you recognize an echo, a fragment of yourself, a threshold worth preserving.

If you wish to support this work with a free and voluntary gesture, you may do so here:

En este espacio no se paga por entrar: se entra porque uno reconoce un eco, un fragmento de sí mismo, un umbral que merece ser cuidado.

Si deseas apoyar este trabajo con un gesto libre y voluntario, puedes hacerlo aquí:

Tre lingue, un solo gesto. Ogni offerta diventa parte della storia di questo luogo.

Tags

Gianfranco Maitilasso Grossi

Editor, curator, and founder of bilingual platforms focused on cultural critique, legacy-building, and editorial transparency. Based in Spain, active across Europe and Southeast Asia.Championing editorial clarity, mythic publishing, and queer voice.