Active Alert: How Guatemala's Most Dangerous Volcanoes Are Monitored in Real Time
Pacaya stands barely 30 kilometers south of Guatemala City, making it a persistent economic and logistical hazard. While Fuego's main threat lies in fast-moving incandescent avalanches, Pacaya’s risk profile centers on long-duration basaltic lava extrusion and sustained Strombolian eruptions that shower the capital metropolitan area with volcanic tephra.
Active for centuries, Pacaya entered a highly destructive phase in 1961 and has erupted semi-continuously since. When its vents generate sustained explosive columns, south-to-north winds push ash clouds straight over La Aurora International Airport (GUA). Air traffic shuts down instantly, commercial routes are paralyzed, and fine silicate ash settles over urban power grids and municipal water reservoirs.
Ground fissure systems on Pacaya's flanks also produce effusive lava flows that travel down into nearby coffee plantations and agricultural acreage. INSIVUMEH monitors Pacaya using thermal sensors and webcams to identify newly formed secondary fissures, ensuring that local communities on the lower flanks receive timely evacuation warnings before lava fronts cut through residential access roads.
