Popocatepetl (Mexico) - Report for 16 September-22 September 2026 - Continuing Eruptive Activity — volcanic activity reported was recorded by Global Incident Tracker on Thursday, 24 September 2026 at 11:03 UTC. The event is classified as a volcanic eruption incident with a severity rating of Moderate, and was detected through GVP.
The Centro Nacional de Prevención de Desastres (CENAPRED) reported that eruptive activity was low at Popocatépetl during 16-23 September. The seismic network recorded 8-120 long-period events per day, accompanied by steam-and-gas emissions; the emissions contained small amounts of ash during 20-23 September and drifted SSW and W. During 20-21 September the seismic network also detected 55 minutes of low-amplitude tremor and a 229-minute sequence of emissions. Four volcano-tectonic earthquakes were recorded during 21-22 September. According to the Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) ash plumes were visible in webcam and/or satellite images on 19 and 21 September rising 6.1-6.7 km (20,000-22,000 ft) a.s.l. (as high as 1.3 km above the summit) and drifted S. The Alert Level remained at Yellow, Phase Two (the middle level on a three-color scale) and the public was warned to stay 1
Where this happened
The incident is located in Mexico (North America), whose capital is Mexico City. Historically, Mexico is most affected by earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic activity and floods. You can follow every incident recorded in this country, updated live, on the Mexico incident tracker.
Approximate coordinates of the reported event are 23.600°, -102.600°. 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 24 Sep 2026, 11:03 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
Light rain of 1 mm was recorded, and the temperature peaked at 27°C.
Weather reanalysis for this location and date via Open-Meteo.