Two new islands emerge in Indonesia after the terrifying eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano

In Indonesia there are two new islands: the structures emerged after the violent awakening of the volcano Anak Krakatau which, according to what was reported by local authorities, erupted continuously for 25 hours between 4 and 6 September 2026.

The eruption, filmed by the mission of European Space Agency Copernicus Sentinel-3caused the blocking of flights for days but, apparently, also changed the local geography: the new islands were identified thanks to satellite images of the flooded caldera on which it stands Anak Krakatauin Sunda Straitamong the islands of Java And Sumatra.

Based on the analysis of Sentinel satellite images – Rita Susilawati, researcher at the Center for Volcanology and Geological Risk Mitigation (PVMBG) told AFP – two formations similar to small islands can be observed around Mount Anak Krakatau

One of the islands is located approximately 760 meters northwest of Anak Krakatau mountain, the other approximately 495 meters southwest. Experts point out that it is still early to define these islands as “daughters” of the mountain Anak Krakatauitself formed following an underwater eruption within the caldera from the volcano’s colossal explosion Krakatau original, which occurred in 1883 (“Anak” actually means “son” in Indonesian).

In other words, further studies are needed to establish whether the new islands are emerging from the base of the caldera in a similar way to what happened for theAnak Krakatauor due to the accumulation of volcanic material.

In the case of theAnak Krakatauseveral land masses emerged briefly starting in 1927 and then disappeared due to erosion, before a stable island was formed in 1930, so the two new islands could also suffer the same fate and be eroded over time.

However, it is certain that the volcano erupted continuously for 25 hours last September, covering several cities with volcanic ash and forcing the closure of numerous airports, with over 300,000 passengers stranded.

From 2 July 2026 theAnak Krakatau it is at alert level 3 on a scale of four risk categories, as reported by the Indonesian Geological Agency, and unfortunately it was recently the scene of a tragedy: five journalists, on a mission to cover the September eruption, were declared presumed dead together with three crew members, almost two weeks after they disappeared without leaving a trace of the vessel they were traveling on.

©Indonesian Geological Agency

But all of Indonesia has intense volcanic and seismic activity: in fact, it is found there Pacific Ring of Firewhere continental plates meet, generating instabilities.

Sources: The Jakarta Post / EU Space Policy / The Jakarta Post/X / CopernicusEU/Instagram