Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Mt Ruapehu crater lake temperature rising says GNS

Ethan Griffiths
By Ethan Griffiths
Multimedia journalist·Whanganui Chronicle·
3 Nov, 2020 04:00 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The temperature on Mount Ruapehu's crater lake has been increasing. Photo / File

The temperature on Mount Ruapehu's crater lake has been increasing. Photo / File

Mt Ruapehu's crater lake temperature is rising, almost doubling in just over a month, according to volcanologists at GNS.

Recent data collected from observations and temperature recordings at Mt Ruapehu show the lake temperature is sitting around 22C, up from a temperature of 12C recorded in late September. The lake is currently overflowing via an outlet within the crater.

Despite the increase, GNS science Volcanologist Brad Scott said the rise was no cause for concern.

"Typically, over periods of months, Ruapehu's crater lake has heating and cooling cycles. Since mid-October, the lake has been warming slowly and has now reached 22C," Scott said.

"These are normal observations for the start of a heating cycle."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
GNS science Volcanologist Brad Scott said the rise was no cause for concern.
GNS science Volcanologist Brad Scott said the rise was no cause for concern.

According to Scott, volcanic activity at the volcano remains low, with some small earthquakes and volcanic tremors recorded.

"The intensity of volcanic tremor has remained weak over the past three months, and small earthquakes continue to be located in the vicinity of Mt Ruapehu.

"None of these observations are unusual for Mt Ruapehu. All observations over the past months indicate that the volcano remains in a general state of minor unrest."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Mount Ruapehu. Photo / Ned Bullock
Mount Ruapehu. Photo / Ned Bullock

While Ruapehu's Volcanic Alert Level remains at 1, GNS said Ruapehu was still an active volcano and has the potential to erupt with little or no warning. The only other New Zealand volcano at Alert Level 1 is Whakaari/White Island.

GNS Science and the National Geohazards Monitoring Centre closely monitor volcanic activity at Mt Ruapehu with the GeoNet network of seismic and acoustic sensors, GPS receivers, sensors in the lake and visits to the lake area, as well as flights to collect and analyse volcanic gases.

The volcano last erupted in September 2007 without warning, with two lahars travelling down the mountain, with a seven-minute long earthquake recorded nearby.

Premium gold
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'It was unreal': Orca pod amazes Tauranga jetskier near Whangamatā

08 Jul 04:03 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

BoP shooting happened at 'private dwelling', suspect still wanted

08 Jul 01:36 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Boat in perilous position in Tauranga Harbour

08 Jul 01:04 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'It was unreal': Orca pod amazes Tauranga jetskier near Whangamatā

'It was unreal': Orca pod amazes Tauranga jetskier near Whangamatā

08 Jul 04:03 AM

The pod, including a large male, circled him and his group for about half an hour.

BoP shooting happened at 'private dwelling', suspect still wanted

BoP shooting happened at 'private dwelling', suspect still wanted

08 Jul 01:36 AM
Boat in perilous position in Tauranga Harbour

Boat in perilous position in Tauranga Harbour

08 Jul 01:04 AM
'Risk to the public': Police search for wanted man

'Risk to the public': Police search for wanted man

07 Jul 11:57 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP