Barren Island, which is not only India’s but South Asia’s only active volcano, has erupted twice in a span of eight days.
Officials said that the eruptions occurred on September 13 and September 20, but were minor in nature. This island is located around 140 km from Port Blair via the sea route, and is uninhabited. It lies at the juncture of the Indian and Burmese tectonic plates.
History of eruptions at Barren Island
According to data available with the Andaman and Nicobar administration, the first eruption at Barren Island took place in 1787, followed by mild eruptions in 1991, 2005, 2017 and 2022, as per PTI.
The eruption in 1991 was harmful to the animal species that lived on the island. Although there are not many fauna living on the island owing to its harsh conditions, some species of goats, rodents, and pigeons.
There are some claims that a shipwreck in the Bay of Bengal may have been the reason behind the existence of goats on the island, which continued to survive thanks to freshwater springs on the slopes of the volcano.
Check out some videos from the eruption right here:
Although there are no active volcanoes in mainland India, there are some extinct and dormant volcanoes in the country. These are: Narcondam Island (dormant); Deccan Plateau (18.51°N 73.43°E; extinct); Baratang Island (mud volcanoes; active); Dhinodhar Hills (extinct); Dhosi Hill (extinct); Tosham Hills (extinct); and Loktak Lake (Supervolcanic caldera).
As per the Smithsonian Institute’s Natural Museum of Natural History’s Global Volcanic around 46 volcanoes in the world were in the state of continuing eruption till August 6, 2025. ‘Continuing eruption’ does not mean constant volcanic activity, but intermittent eruption without a gap of more than three months.