A ‘land’ that’s getting bigger? Why a Japanese island just got 14 times bigger ‘Surprise’.

Yonhap News

A decade ago, a volcanic eruption occurred near the small Pacific island of Nishinoshima. The island has since expanded its area by 14 times due to continuous volcanic activity.

According to Asahi Shimbun on the 20th, Nishinoshima is an island located about 621 miles south of Tokyo. On November 20, 2013, a volcano erupted about 0.3 miles away in the sea, creating an island with a diameter of about 656 feet.

Since then, volcanic activity has continued on this island, and the lava that flowed out solidified, merging with Nishinoshima in December of the same year. In 2020, a large-scale eruption that spewed volcanic ash also occurred.

Asahi reported that a survey conducted over Nishinoshima on the 3rd of this month confirmed that white smoke was rising from the central crater and the slope, and the surrounding sea had turned green and brown.

It added, “Volcanic activity and small-scale eruptions are still ongoing.”

The repeatedly expanded Nishinoshima currently has an area of about 1.5 square miles, which is larger than Yeouido in Seoul (1.1 square miles).

Nishinoshima was an island inhabited by many sea birds before the volcanic eruption, but the ecosystem completely changed as the lava covered the island, and the number of birds drastically decreased.

New islands are still being created in the Ogasawara Archipelago, where Nishinoshima is located, due to volcanic activity.

Last month, an eruption occurred in the sea around Iwo Jima, located further south than Nishinoshima, creating an island with a diameter of about 328 feet.

Setsuya Nakada, a volcano researcher and emeritus professor at the University of Tokyo, said, “The entire Ogasawara Archipelago is in a very active period of volcanic activity.”