Scientists warn supervolcano at Italy's Campi Flegrei is waking up

"Hundreds of thousands of people could be at risk from a supervolcano that's waking up, experts have warned. In the last few months a series of powerful earthquakes have shaken Italy 's Campi Flegrei, a volcanic field near Naples. In May the region experienced a magnitude 4.4 tremor - the strongest in 40 years. Now, experts have warned the number of earthquakes in the area is actually four times higher than previously thought. And it could mean more powerful, potentially devastating quakes could be imminent."

"Researchers used AI to provide precise earthquake location and magnitude information for the area in near real time. They discovered four times as many earthquakes than earlier tools had detected, expanding the number recorded between 2022 and 2025 from 12,000 to more than 54,000. 'These long faults suggest that an earthquake in the magnitude 5 range is not out of the question," said study co-author Bill Ellsworth, who co-directs the Stanford Center for Induced and Triggered Seismicity."

"Campi Flegrei, which translates to 'burning fields', last erupted in 1538. While it doesn't erupt often, the volcano has shown signs of unrest in recent decades. This volcanic region, which is home to more than 500,000 people, has experienced episodes of unrest dating back to the late 1950s. The last period of unrest started in 2005, with a significant increase of the seismicity in 2018, including five earthquakes above a magnitude 4 in the first eight months of 2025."

Researchers applied AI to produce near-real-time, precise earthquake locations and magnitudes at Campi Flegrei, revealing more than 54,000 events between 2022 and 2025 compared with 12,000 previously detected. The expanded catalog exposes long faults converging beneath Pozzuoli and indicates that magnitude-5 earthquakes are plausible. Campi Flegrei last erupted in 1538 and has undergone intermittent unrest since the late 1950s, hosting over 500,000 residents. Past unrest caused more than 6 feet of uplift, over 16,000 earthquakes, and evacuation of about 40,000 people, with seismicity increasing notably since 2018.

Read at Mail Online