Aira (Japan) - Report for 13 August-19 August 2026 - Continuing Eruptive Activity — volcanic activity reported was recorded by Global Incident Tracker on Thursday, 20 August 2026 at 08:08 UTC. The event is classified as a volcanic eruption incident with a severity rating of Moderate, and was detected through GVP.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported ongoing eruptive activity at Minamidake Crater (Aira Caldera?s Sakurajima volcano) during 10-17 August. Crater incandescence was visible in nighttime webcam images. The monitoring networks recorded a total of 14 eruptive events and one explosion. Eruptive events during 10-15 August generated ash plumes that rose as high as 1.8 km above the summit and drifted in multiple directions. Emissions were sometimes continuous, notably during 0020-0150 on 12 August, during 1906-2220 on 14 August, and during 1019-1150 on 15 August. An explosion at 2232 on 13 August ejected large blocks 800-1,100 m from the vent; plume characteristics were not reported. The Alert Level remained at 3 (on a 5-level scale), and the public was warned to be cautious within 2 km of both the Minimadake and Showa craters. Source: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)
Where this happened
The incident is located in Japan (Asia), whose capital is Tokyo. Historically, Japan is most affected by earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons and volcanic eruptions. You can follow every incident recorded in this country, updated live, on the Japan incident tracker.
Approximate coordinates of the reported event are 36.200°, 138.300°. The marker on the map above shows this position; for news-derived reports the location reflects the place named in media coverage and may represent a district or city rather than an exact site.
Understanding volcanic eruption events
Eruptions producing ash, lava, pyroclastic flows and lahars. Volcanic risk extends far beyond lava. Pyroclastic flows, ashfall that collapses roofs, lahars (volcanic mudflows) and aviation-grade ash clouds account for most volcanic casualties and economic damage.
How severity is rated
Global Incident Tracker rates every event on a four-step scale — Minor, Moderate, Severe and Extreme — derived from the source signal: earthquake magnitude, official GDACS alert colour, or the volume of independent media reporting for news-derived incidents. This event is currently rated Moderate. Ratings can change as more information becomes available, and a rating is a monitoring signal rather than an official government assessment.
Safety guidance for volcanic eruption situations
- Follow exclusion zones exactly — pyroclastic flows travel faster than any vehicle on local roads.
- Protect against ashfall with an N95 mask and eye protection; ash damages lungs and engines.
- Avoid river valleys and low ground downstream, where lahars concentrate.
- Clear roof ash carefully; wet ash is extremely heavy and collapses structures.
- Follow only official instructions from local authorities and emergency services — this page is a monitoring record, not an emergency alert.
Data and verification
This record was generated automatically from GVP and de-duplicated against our archive. Early reports for any incident can be revised: locations get refined, magnitudes are recalculated and impact figures change as assessments arrive. We deliberately do not publish casualty numbers unless an official source states them. The original source report is linked at the top of this page.
Keep watching the situation on our live world incident map, browse every volcanic eruptions we track on the Volcanic Eruption tracker, or see today's global picture on the incidents today page.
Timeline and sources
Officially recorded
An official record exists from Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program. That confirms the event was recorded; figures quoted from news reports are not confirmed by it.
How statuses are decided · the number of reports is never treated as confirmation.
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· received · event time 20 Aug 2026, 08:08 UTCFirst report Official agency record
First recorded from Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.
Times are when this site received each report, in UTC; the event time is shown where the source gave one. Copies of one syndicated story count as one report.
Conditions at the time
32.8 mm of rain fell that day, and the temperature peaked at 25°C.
Weather reanalysis for this location and date via Open-Meteo.