Cumbre Vieja 2021
How the air over La Palma changed during the 85 days of the 2021 eruption, told through data from the island's stations.
Between 19 September and 13 December 2021, the Cumbre Vieja eruption released large amounts of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) that reached inhabited areas. This page looks back at how La Palma's air quality stations recorded it and, when imagery is available, how the gas clouds looked from space.
Historical episode
Cumbre Vieja eruption
La Palma
85 days of eruption · No highlighted series available yet
Period
Sep 19, 2021 - Dec 13, 2021
Stations
No highlighted series available yet
SO₂ peak
No aggregated peak available
Daily SO₂ evolution
We show the daily maximum by station in La Palma to provide a compact reading of the episode without blending current observations and retrospective data.
There is not enough history in the database yet to reconstruct this series in the current environment.
Satellite plumes
No satellite imagery has been published for this episode yet.
How to read this retrospective
The chart summarises what La Palma's stations measured: the highest SO₂ value of each day. The plume viewer is complementary: it adds spatial context, but it does not replace the station network or official notices.
Why we remember this episode
The 2021 eruption showed that an island's air can change abruptly for natural reasons. Keeping this episode helps put today's data in context, understand future volcanic alerts and explain how SO₂ behaves when it reaches inhabited areas.