Which active volcanoes are likely to erupt next and how many are there across the globe?
AT least 1,500 volcanoes are thought to have erupted over the past 10,000 years.
Knowing precisely when a volcano will erupt can be difficult to pinpoint, but tell-tale signs like increased sulphur dioxide levels or a sudden rise in minor earthquakes and tremors are key indicators.
So should you be planning your holidays around eruptions? These are the volcanoes that are likely to erupt next...
Ol Doinyo Lengai, Tanzania
Tanzanian volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai, known to the Massai people as “Mountain of God”, is showing signs of an imminent eruption.
In June 2016, scientists placed five sensors around the 7,650ft-tall peak, and eight months later, the team saw a shudder in the data from one such monitor.
This movement suggests the volcano is not only merely rumbling, but that parts of it are lifting forward – meaning an eruption is on the cards in the near future.
Not only could this be catastrophic for local villages, but it could wipe out a historic site nine miles away nicknamed “the dancehall” - which has a collection of 400 human footprints dating back 19,000 years.
Mount Agung, Bali
In October, officials warned that an eruption of Mount Agung on the tourist island of Bali, Indonesia, was imminent.
Frequent tremors have been recorded amid a spike in volcanic activity.
Indonesia’s Centre for Volcanology of Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) and the Geology Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) warned all the signs show “the potential for eruption is still high”.
Mount Agung spewed ash and steam on November 21, then erupted again a few days later, leaving all flights into and out of Bali cancelled and thousands of tourists stranded.
The volcano last erupted in 1963 killing more than 2,000 people.
Hekla, Iceland
As one of the most intensely volcanic countries on earth, Iceland suffers from major eruptions every three to seven years.
The last big eruption was in 2010, when air travel across Europe was brought to a six-day standstill by a huge cloud of volcanic ash when Eyjafjallajökull erupted – costing the European economy £4billon.
The next time could be even worse, with scientists warning Hekla, known as the “Gateway to Hell”, could be next.
The volcano has erupted approximately once every ten years since 1970 – but has lain dormant since February 2000.
This long period of inactivity is especially worrying given it now has a higher internal pressure than before the past two eruptions, and is building up magma.
The risk is now so great that last year Professor Einarsson of the University of Iceland warned an Icelandic news agency that people must stay away from the volcano, which is popular with hikers in the summer.
But even if visitors take heed of the advice and avoid the volcano, there is little that can be done about the 20-30 planes which fly over Hekla every day.
Katla, Iceland
Just north of Hekla, scientists have long been keeping their eyes on the volcano's big sister Katla.
Katla's last eruption was 99 years ago in 1918 – the longest it’s been dormant since the 1100s.
Of Katla’s past ten eruptions, eight took place between September and November - when it's thought glacial melting creates the necessary conditions for magma to burst forth.
It is this glacial ice – hundreds of metres thick – that most worries locals about an eruption.
Should such an explosion happen, the ice covering the volcano will melt, flooding the surrounding areas so severely that authorities have plans in place to evacuate Iceland’s entire southern coast.
Öræfajökull, Iceland
On November 20, 2017, experts wanted that Öræfajökull may be ready to erupt.
A new half-mile caldera has formed and elevated seismic activity in the area mean the volcano could be preparing to explode, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office.
“There is considerable uncertainty about how the situation will evolve,” the Met Office said.
Öræfajökull, located in Vatnajökull National Park in the south east of the country, last erupted in 1727.
The ice-covered mountain is Iceland’s largest volcano.
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Cumbre Vieja, Canary Islands
The island of La Palma was rocked by dozens of earthquakes in 48 hours, sparking fears it's volcano Cumbre Vieja could be about to blow.
More than 40 mini quakes were recorded over the weekend of October 7-8, measuring between 1.5 and 2.7 on the Richter scale.
The latest tremors sparked panic across the La Palma's 86,000 residents, with volcano experts labelling the tremor activity as "a seismic swarm".
The last time the volcano erupted was in 1971 but La Palma is considered to be the most active island in the Canary Islands.
Mauna Loa, Hawaii
The world’s biggest active volcano Mauna Loa, the largest of the five volcanoes that make up Hawaii, has been a cause of concern for geologists over the past few years.
Mauna Loa usually erupts quite regularly – doing so ten times in the 20th century.
But the last eruption was in 1984, and the subsequent 33-year period of inactivity is the longest the volcano has been quiet in at least 150 years.
Since 2013, Mauna Loa has been slowly rumbling back to life, with data showing increasingly frequent small earthquakes.
This heightened seismic movement sparked concern, and in September 2015 its Volcano Alert Level was raised from Normal status to Advisory.
The biggest eruption at the volcano over the past century occurred in 1950, and lasted for 23 days. Although nobody died, 376million cubic meters of lava poured down the volcano’s sides, reaching the sea within four hours and destroying a village.