Mount Etna has popped the New Year’s champagne cork and ushered in 2026 with a new eruption. Once again, it was a surprise, as everyone was ready to admire it from the south or west side, where the view of the Voragine crater and the North East crater is better… instead, the soil suddenly opened up on the north face of the Valle del Bove.
A low-altitude eruption
The view is spectacular because from the valley, it looks as if the lava is about to engulf the foothill villages, but this is an illusion. The river of fire spewing from the fracture is far from the towns, though at much lower altitudes than the summit craters. With the naked human eye, when the clouds clear, a large fracture with gushing lava and a copious lava flow descending a very steep slope in a northeasterly direction can be seen.
The INGV Press Release
Catania’s INGV Institute of Volcanology has issued the following press release: since approximately 4:30 PM on January 1, 2026, effusive activity has been observed within the Valle del Bove crater near the northwest face. Explosive activity continues from the Bocca Nuova crater, though with modest ash emissions, and from a seismic perspective the average tremor amplitude has remained at average values ??(yellow in the graph). It was not possible to identify the current source of the tremor due to several technical issues currently being resolved.
The Evolution of the Eruptive Phenomenon
It is too soon to say whether this phenomenon is related to the ongoing crisis. Mount Etna has certainly shown signs of reawakening since Christmas Eve, with the reactivation of the North East crater, which had not erupted for approximately 28 years. In recent days, the North East crater itself—along with the Voragine—has been emitting almost continuous ash columns and booms. Everything seemed to suddenly calm down on the day before New Year’s Eve, with the volcano maintaining high tremor values but no longer showing any visible signs of activity.
Today, January 1st, here comes the “New Year’s Day surprise”! The soil cracked at low altitude, and an effusive eruption began, seemingly imitating the spectacular one from last February: snow and fire under a starry winter sky! It seems like a fairytale, but it’s the wonderful reality of this incredible volcano, Etna, which never ceases to surprise us.
UPDATE
Note from the INGV updating the new low-altitude eruption: the effusive vent feeding the activity in Valle del Bove is located near Mount Simone at an estimated altitude of approximately 2,100 m above sea level. Currently, the most advanced front is located immediately south of Rocca Musarra (approximately 1,580 m above sea level). Volcanologists are still conducting site inspections. Seismic and infrasonic activity have not changed significantly since the previous announcement.
(PHOTO BY G. MUSUMECI)