ONE of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes is showing unsettling new signs of activity.
Scientists from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) are watching closely for changes inside El Chichón – the seemingly dormant volcano in the state of Chiapas.
Rising temperatures, bubbling gases and unusual sulfur formations were detected in the second half of 2025, prompting closer monitoring.
When the volcano last erupted in 1982, it left a trail of devastation behind – a total of 9 villages were erased by the lava and more than 1,900 people were killed.
Several thousands more fled hoping to evade the carnage.
Prior to this, El Chichón erupted in 1360 – and this may have played a role in how civilisation rose and fell in the region.
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Since the 1982 disaster, only the Nevado del Ruiz eruption in Colombia in 1985 – which massacred 23,000 people – has surpassed its impact.
So even the most minor change could be nothing short of cataclysmic for Mexico.
Dr Patricia Jácome Paz, from the Institute of Geophysics, who is working as part of the UNAM team, indicated that the activity currently exhibited by El Chichón is hydrothermal and limited to the crater.
“The observed behavior is consistent with hydrothermal processes or minor steam-driven explosions,” she said in a recent lecture discussing the findings.
For now, there is no evidence that fresh magma is rising to the surface, Dr Paz explained.
This means that the possibility of a large eruption, like the one in 1982, is considered minimal at this time.
Although the current situation does not point to a major eruption, Dr Paz warned that it is no longer possible to descend into the crater safely.
The disturbed ground, the presence of gases, and the high temperatures pose direct risks, so access is strictly banned.
Currently, the local Chiapas Civil Protection Secretariat maintains constant communication with communities, including tour guides, to reinforce safety measures.
A report by UNAM further warned that based on the volcano’s history – if an eruption happens again – it could be “highly explosive”.
It could be what scientists described as a Plinian-type event – a violent and sustained eruption characterised by the discharge of massive, high-temperature plumes of gas, ash, and pumice into the stratosphere.
UNAM added that the formation of a column of gas and ash could reach heights of up to 20-30 kilometres.
Despite the growing concern, experts say that, for now, there is no cause for public alarm.