The Decade Volcanoes: Sixteen Mountains Under Special Watch
Not all volcanoes are watched equally. In the 1990s, scientists identified sixteen volcanoes around the world that pose an especially grave threat, and designated them for intensive study. Known as the Decade Volcanoes, these mountains were chosen because they are both highly active and dangerously close to large populations. Together they represent a global effort to focus scientific attention where the risk to human life is greatest.
Why the Decade Volcanoes were chosen
The Decade Volcanoes were named as part of a United Nations initiative, the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, in the 1990s. Scientists selected sixteen volcanoes that combined two dangerous qualities: a history of large, destructive eruptions and proximity to dense populations. The goal was to concentrate research and monitoring on the volcanoes most likely to cause catastrophe.
The sixteen volcanoes
The Decade Volcanoes span the globe. They include Vesuvius and Etna in Italy, Santorini in Greece, Teide in the Canary Islands, Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Galeras in Colombia, Mauna Loa in Hawaii, Rainier in the United States, Colima in Mexico, Santa Maria in Guatemala, Taal and Mayon in the Philippines, Merapi and Ulawun, Sakurajima in Japan, Avachinsky and Koryaksky in Kamchatka, and Unzen in Japan. Each is a volcano whose eruption could threaten huge numbers of people.
Vesuvius and the threat to Naples
Among the most dangerous is Vesuvius, looming over the Bay of Naples and its three million inhabitants. The volcano that destroyed Pompeii remains capable of a catastrophic eruption, and the dense population on its flanks makes it one of the highest-risk volcanoes on Earth. Its inclusion among the Decade Volcanoes reflects the scale of the danger it poses.
Lessons that shaped the programme
The designation of the Decade Volcanoes was driven in part by the hard lessons of disasters like Armero in 1985, where a relatively small eruption killed over 20,000 people because warnings did not translate into evacuation. The programme aimed to ensure that the world's most dangerous volcanoes received the monitoring, research, and preparedness needed to prevent such tragedies.
The Galeras tragedy
The Decade Volcano programme itself was marked by tragedy when, in 1993, Galeras in Colombia erupted during a scientific conference, killing several volcanologists working in the crater. This sobering event underscored the dangers faced by those who study active volcanoes and reinforced the importance of caution and improved hazard assessment.
A legacy of focused study
Although the formal decade has long passed, the Decade Volcanoes remain a focus of intensive study and monitoring. The programme helped advance the science of volcano monitoring and hazard assessment, strengthened international cooperation, and drew attention to the volcanoes that pose the greatest threat to human populations, a legacy that continues to protect millions.
Watching the most dangerous volcanoes
The Decade Volcanoes represent a principle that guides volcano science today: that limited resources should be focused where the risk is greatest. By concentrating attention on the volcanoes most likely to cause catastrophe, scientists can do the most to reduce the human toll of eruptions, turning knowledge into protection for those who live in the shadow of these dangerous mountains.
Explore on the map
From Vesuvius and Etna to Nyiragongo, Galeras, and the volcanoes of Japan and the Philippines, the Decade Volcanoes are among the most dangerous on Earth. Explore them on the interactive map — filter by region to see these sixteen mountains and to understand why they are watched so closely.