Why in the News?

Barren Island, which is not only India’s but South Asia’s only active volcano, has erupted twice in a span of eight days.

About Barren Island:

• Location: In the Andaman Sea, about 138–140 km northeast of Port Blair, within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India).
• Unique Status: The only confirmed active volcano in the Indian subcontinent and South Asia, lying on the volcanic arc between Sumatra (Indonesia) and Myanmar.
• Geophysical Features: Roughly circular island (~3 km diameter); volcanic crater located 0.5 km from shore, rising to 354 m above sea level and classified as a stratovolcano made of lava, volcanic ash, and rock fragments.
• Volcanic Activity
  • First Recorded Eruption: 1787.
  • Notable Eruptions: 1789, 1795, 1803–04, 1852, 1991, 2017, and minor eruptions in 2025.
  • 1991 Eruption: Lasted ~6 months, destructive to local fauna.
  • Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI): Generally low, around 2.
• Geological Significance:
  • Age of Flows: Oldest subaerial lava flows dated to 1.6 million years ago.
  • Crust: Built on 106 million-year-old oceanic crust.
  • Tectonics: Part of the subduction zone where the Indian Plate meets the Burmese Plate.
  • Research Value: Critical for geological and volcanic studies as India’s only active volcano.

Note:

Although there are no active volcanoes in mainland India, there are some extinct and dormant volcanoes in the country. These are: Narcondam Island (dormant, A&N Islands); Deccan Plateau (18.51°N 73.43°E; extinct, Maharashtra); Baratang Island (mud volcanoes; active, A&N Islands); Dhinodhar Hills (extinct, Gujarat); Dhosi Hill (extinct, Haryana–Rajasthan border); Tosham Hills (extinct, Haryana); and Loktak Lake (Supervolcanic caldera, Manipur).

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