The Sezione di Catania – Osservatorio Etneo (INGV) reported eruptive activity at Etna’s summit craters during 29 June-5 July characterized by lava effusion from two vents, Strombolian activity at Voragine Crater (VOR), and activity at a new fissure between VOR and Northeast Crater (NEC). Lava that began to effuse on 29 June from a vent on the E base of VOR, at 3,030 elevation, continued into July. INGV staff conducted a field survey on 2 July and observed that the lava flow field was active and complex, characterized by superimposed lava flows, ephemeral vents, and small lava tubes.
Later that evening a small lava flow effused from a new vent, located between VOR and NEC at around 3,200 m elevation, and traveled 150 m before stopping the next morning on 3 July. The staff also observed that Strombolian activity from a pit crater on the upper E flank of VOR that began overnight during 26-27 June was continuing and intensified during 2-4 July. The flow from the vent on the E base of VOR became less active and stopped on 4 July.
The lava-flow field was about 1.2 km long, with the most advanced lava flow reaching about 2,605 elevation, and about 87,000 square meters in size, based on drone photos from 2 July and a 5 July satellite image.
On 5 July intense explosive activity began at several vents that formed along a new fissure that extended NNE from VOR to the NEC. Vents along the higher elevations of the fissure continuously produced ash while lower vents produced Strombolian activity. Ash plumes rose about 4.5 km a.s.l. and drifted mainly S, causing ashfall in several municipalities on the S flank, in the area between Rifugio Sapienza (5 km S) and Catania (around 29 km SSE), and the temporary closure of the Catania airport, about 30 km SSE.
Lava effused from the NNE end of the fissure, traveled about 180 m, and flowed into NEC. Activity at the fissure began to decrease during the afternoon of 6 July and ceased during the early afternoon of 7 July. The Alert Level remained at Yellow (the second lowest level on a four-level scale) according to the Dipartimento della Protezione Civile.
Sources: Sources: Sezione di Catania – Osservatorio Etneo (INGV), Dipartimento della Protezione Civile
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Global Volcanism Program, 2026. Report on Etna. In: Mayberry, G (ed.), Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 2 July-8 July 2026. Smithsonian Institution and USGS.
View the original Weekly Volcanic Activity Report entry
