Volcanoes of India (1)

Barren Island

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Significant volcanic eruptions: India

In historic times, at least 1 volcanoes have been active in India, including Barren Island volcano. A total of 17 eruptions have been witnessed and documented since 1787.
The table below lists volcanic eruptions, significant eruptive episodes or related events in India during geologically recent times.

Date	Volcano	VEI	Region
2024 Mar 15 - May 29	Barren Island	?	Indian Ocean
2022 Dec 30 - 2023 Aug 18	Barren Island	2	Indian Ocean
2018 Sep 25 - 2022 Jan 30	Barren Island	1	Indian Ocean
2017 Jan 15 - Mar 24	Barren Island Main cone, summit crater	1	Indian Ocean
2015 Mar 17 - 2016 May 17 ±1 d.	Barren Island Main cone	?	Indian Ocean
2013 Oct 12 - 2014 Jun 1 ±15 d.	Barren Island Main cone	2	Indian Ocean
2013 Feb 16	Barren Island Summit caldera	2	Indian Ocean
2010 Sep 17 - 2011 Jun 22	Barren Island Summit caldera and N flank	1	Indian Ocean
2008 May 13 - 2010 Apr 19 ?	Barren Island	2	Indian Ocean
2005 May 26 - 2007 Dec 23 ?	Barren Island Central cone summit, N, S, and SW flanks	2	Indian Ocean
1994 Dec 20 or before - 1995 Jun 5 ±8 d.	Barren Island Central cone summit, SW & S flanks	2	Indian Ocean
1991 Apr 1 - Oct 31 ±7 d.	Barren Island Central cone summit and NE flank	2	Indian Ocean
1832 Mar	Barren Island	2?	Indian Ocean
1803 Nov - 1804 Jan 31 or later	Barren Island	2	Indian Ocean
1795 Dec 20 - Dec 21 or later	Barren Island	2	Indian Ocean
1789 Mar 24	Barren Island	2	Indian Ocean
1787 May 12	Barren Island	2	Indian Ocean

Remark:

Our list of volcanic eruptions closely follows the database of eruptions of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Project (GVP), the internationally most recognized data source for volcanic eruptions, but also includes significant eruptive episodes or related volcano events. "Volcanic eruptions" are usually to be understood as sequences of individual eruptive episodes that can follow each other, or even overlap (if several vents are involved), and can last many years, decades or even longer. For example, the current activity of Stromboli volcano is understood as a single eruption that has been ongoing since 1934.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K | Global Volcanism Project / Smithsonian Institution

India FAQ

+When was the last volcanic eruption in India?

The last volcanic eruption in India was from Barren Island volcano in 2024.

+When was the first documented volcanic eruption in India?

The first historically documented eruption occurred 1787 from Barren Island volcano.

+How often do volcanoes in India erupt?

Since 1787, India has seen at least 17 historically documented eruptions. This means that a volcano erupts on average every 14 years.

+How active are the volcanoes in India?

India is volcanically infrequently active: Since 1900, at least 1 volcanoes in India have been active.Since 1900, India has had 12 volcanic eruptions from 1 individual volcanoes. Volcanic eruptions have been recorded erupted during 22 years out of 126 as of now. This means, at least one volcano in India has been in eruption in one in 5.7 years on average. The last volcano to erupt in India was Barren Island volcano, which erupted in 2024, 12 months ago.

+When was the largest volcanic eruption in India?

The largest eruption in India in historic times was from Barren Island volcano. It occurred during 2022 - 2023. It ranks as a strombolian to vulcanian eruption with a magnitude 2 on the VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) scale.

Latest earthquakes: India

In the past 7 days, India was shaken by 1 quake of magnitude 4.5, 6 quakes between 3.0 and 4.0, and 4 quakes between 2.0 and 3.0.

A Magnitude 4.5 earthquake occurred in Nicobar Islands, India Region .

Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake Nicobar Islands, India Region -

Date and Time	Mag / Depth	Nearest Volcano / Location
May 21, 11:46 pm (Kolkata)	3.5 10 km	198 km (123 mi) SW of Kunlun	Kashmir-Xinjiang Border Region I FELT IT	Info
May 21, 07:51 pm (GMT +5:30)	4.5 79 km	364 km (226 mi) S of Barren Island	Andaman Sea, 113 km northeast of Trinkat Island, India I FELT IT - 1 report	Info
Monday, May 19, 2025 GMT (1 quake)
May 19, 10:44 am (Kolkata)	3.3 5 km	471 km (293 mi) SW of Kunlun	29 km northeast of Chamba, Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, India I FELT IT	Info
Saturday, May 17, 2025 GMT (2 quakes)
May 18, 05:06 am (Kolkata)	3.8 10 km	501 km (311 mi) NW of Tengchong	Eastern Xizang-India Border Reg. I FELT IT	Info
May 17, 03:11 pm (Kolkata)	3.4 12 km	483 km (300 mi) NW of Tengchong	Arunachal Pradesh, India I FELT IT	Info
Friday, May 16, 2025 GMT (1 quake)
May 16, 11:53 am (Yangon)	3.5 60 km	316 km (196 mi) W of Tengchong	Myanmar-India Border Region I FELT IT	Info

See Recent Quakes

Significant Earthquakes in India since 1900

The deadliest earthquake in India since 1900 was the magnitude 7.6 earthquake in

India, State of Gujarat on Jan, 26, 2001. It resulted in 20,005 fatalities and 166,836 injured people. This was the most disastrous quake in India ever recorded. This was also the most damaging earthquake that occurred in this time: total economic losses were estimated to the equivalent of $2.6 billion US Dollars. 339,000 houses and other buildings were destroyed and 339,000 damaged.

Date	Mag	Region	Deaths	Damage
2016 Jan 3	6.7	Impahl	13	heavy	Info
2001 Jan 26	7.6	Gujarat Bhuj, Ahmadabad, Rajokot; Pakistan	20,005	catastrophic	Info
1999 Mar 28	6.6	Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal	100	heavy	Info
1997 Nov 21	6.1	India-bangladesh: Chittagong, Bangladesh	23	light	Info
1997 May 21	5.8	Southern Jabalpur	56	very heavy	Info
1993 Sep 29	6.2	Latur-osmanabad, Killari	11,000	very heavy	Info
1991 Oct 19	7.0	Chamoli, Uttarkashi, New Delhi, Chandigarh	2,000	heavy	Info
1984 Dec 30	5.6	Assam, Cachar District	20	heavy	Info
1980 Aug 23	4.8	Kashmir	1-50 (*)	light	Info
1980 Aug 23	4.9	Kashmir	15	moderate	Info
1975 Jan 19	6.8	Kashmir Kinnaur District	47	moderate	Info
1970 Mar 23	5.4	Broach	26	moderate	Info
1967 Dec 10	6.6	India	180	unknown	Info
1966 Aug 15	5.6	N	15	light	Info
1963 Sep 2	5.3	Kashmir Sw	80	moderate	Info
1956 Jul 21	6.0	Anjar, Bhuj, Gandhidham, Kandla	156	heavy	Info
1941 Jun 26	8.0	Andaman Islands, Madras; Sri Lanka Colombo	1-50 (*)	very heavy	Info
1905 Apr 4	7.8	Kangra	19,000	very heavy	Info

(*) Estimated numbers

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K

All Quakes in History

Map

Oldest quakes (until 1960) are shown in yellow, most recent (from 2000) in red.

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Significant Earthquakes in India FAQ

+Which was the deadliest earthquake in India since 1900?

The deadliest earthquake in India since 1900 was the magnitude 7.6 earthquake in India, State of Gujarat on Jan, 26, 2001. It resulted in 20,005 fatalities and 166,836 injured people. This was the most disastrous quake in India ever recorded.

+How many people were killed by earthquakes in India since 1900?

Since 1900, at least 32 earthquakes claimed an estimated total of 53,000 fatalities in India.

+How much damage did earthquakes cause in India since 1900?

There were 68 damaging or deadly quakes during this period that caused economic losses of approx. $3.8 billion US Dollars combined.

Volcano List

Barren Island

(Stratovolcano 354 m / 1,161 ft.)

Eruption of Barren Island volcano in 1994

Barren Island, a possession of India in the Andaman Sea about 135 km NE of Port Blair in the Andaman Islands, is the only historically active volcano along the N-S-trending volcanic arc extending between Sumatra and Burma (Myanmar). The 354-m-high island is the emergent summit of... [more info]

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