Shiveluch remains the most dangerous and unpredictable volcano in Kamchatka

Brief retelling from RIA II

Shiveluch is the most dangerous and unpredictable volcano in Kamchatka, which can begin an explosive eruption at any moment, said Olga Girina, head of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT).

In April 2024, on the slope of Old Shiveluch, scientists discovered a new lava dome, which they called “300 years of the Russian Academy of Sciences.”

Since the beginning of 2026, explosive events with ash removal up to 10–11 kilometers above sea level have occurred from time to time.

P.-KAMCHATSKY, October 5 – RIA Novosti. Shiveluch is the most dangerous and unpredictable volcano in Kamchatka, which at any moment can begin an explosive eruption, Olga Girina, leading researcher at the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, head of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT), told RIA Novosti.

“Shiveluch is the most dangerous and unpredictable volcano in Kamchatka. It can explode at any minute. In the Shiveluch crater, lava domes continue to be squeezed out. In what place and at what time a new block of lava will begin to be squeezed out or another powerful explosion will occur, it is impossible to predict yet,” Girina said.

The volcanologist recalled that in April 2024, on the slope of Old Shiveluch, scientists discovered a new lava dome. It was called "300 years of the Russian Academy of Sciences" - it grew up in the anniversary year of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In August, September and November 2024, powerful explosive eruptions of the dome were observed, then it stopped working. The dome of Young Shiveluch was silent all this time, and then its activity began to grow.

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"He is in an active phase. Since the beginning of 2026, explosive events with ash removal up to 10–11 kilometers above sea level have occurred from time to time,” the scientist noted.

Girina emphasized that a repeat of the paroxysmal eruption of 2023, when a huge lava dome that took 20 years to form, collapsed, is not yet expected. Then, in three days in the village of Klyuchi, 58 kilograms of ash fell per square meter - a layer of 8-9 centimeters. Now, according to the scientist, the dome continues to grow after the April eruption; it is still small. But in order to grow, it needs channels for the supply of magmatic matter - hence the single powerful explosions with the help of which they are formed, and the volcano continues to build itself up.

According to video surveillance data from the Kamchatka branch of the Federal Research Center of the Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences, on Monday morning Shiveluch threw ash to a height of about six kilometers above sea level.