Kiwi geologists have raised the alert level at the Taupō supervolcano from 0 to 1 after more than 700 earthquakes since May and changes in the ground level in and around the caldera have signaled an at least minor increase in activity, the New Zealand Herald reports. This is the first time since the New Zealand official alert system was established in 1986 that the alert level was raised at Taupō, a monster volcano which cataclysmically erupted 25,000 years ago.
“Our understanding of the current activity is informed by new knowledge of past unrest. It has been helped especially by analysis of the 2019 activity, but also activity in 2008, and another 17 unrest episodes over the past 150 years,” said government volcanologist Steve Sheburn.