Seismic activity eases at Teide with 48 hours of calm — but experts urge caution
Seismic activity in Las Cañadas del Teide in Tenerife, has eased over the past 48 hours, with no new earthquake swarms recorded, the longest pause in ten days. Only a few low-energy, low-frequency tremors have been detected.
Rubén López, spokesperson for Spain’s Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN), confirmed the slowdown but stressed that “this does not mean the episode has ended.” Since 18th February, the island has experienced seven seismic swarms.
Most Recent Swarm Was the Weakest
The latest swarm took place on Thursday morning producing around 1,000 small quakes between 5:00am and midday.
López noted it was the least energetic of the series of seismic swarms detected.
No Signs of Increased Eruption Risk
At a meeting on Friday, the scientific committee of Pevolca (Plan de Emergencias Volcánicas de Canarias) reviewed all monitoring data. They confirmed that, aside from the seismic activity, there are no changes in land deformation, and gas emissions have decreased.
As a result, experts reiterate that there is no increase in the likelihood of a volcanic eruption in Tenerife in the short or medium term (weeks to months), but also that volcanic monitoring is being strengthened, and the evolution of the activity is being analysed “in detail” as a precaution.
Thursday’s Magnitude 4.1 Quake Not Linked to Teide Swarms
Scientists also explained that the magnitude 4.1 earthquake felt widely on Thursday, located in the Enmedio Volcano between Tenerife and Gran Canaria, does not appear to be directly related to the Teide seismic swarms. However, the swarms do confirm that the unusual seismic behaviour observed since 2016 “continues to increase slowly over time”.
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