Volcanic Eruption Chart

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Pages	Earthquake Charts - Explosion Radius - Volcanic Eruption Chart

Overview

The aim of this page is to find the values of Volcanic Eruptions from the official Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) scale. Do note the energy of a volcanic eruption can vary widely thus these are just rough estimates.

Volcanic Eruptions Chart

VEI Level	Eruption Type	Joules	Tons	Tier	Description
VEI 0	Effusive (Non-Explosive)	~1.0e+10 J	~2.4 Tons	Small Building level	Gentle lava flow without significant explosions, common in shield volcanoes like Kilauea.
VEI 1	Small Hawaiian/Strombolian	~1.0e+12 J	~240 Tons	City Block level	Small explosive bursts of gas and lava, like Stromboli’s regular eruptions.
VEI 2	Moderate Strombolian/Vulcanian	~1.0e+14 J	~24 Kilotons	Town level	Short-lived explosions, producing ash columns up to 5 km high, seen in volcanoes like Etna.
VEI 3	Large Vulcanian/Sub-Plinian	~1.0e+15 J	~240 Kilotons	Town level	Significant ash clouds (10-15 km high) with pyroclastic flows, similar to the 1991 Mount Unzen eruption.
VEI 4	Sub-Plinian	~1.0e+17 J	~24 Megatons	City level	Ash plumes reaching 20 km, widespread tephra deposits, as seen in the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption.
VEI 5	Plinian (e.g., Mount St. Helens)	~1.0e+18 J	~240 Megatons	Metropolis level	Highly explosive eruption with a column over 25 km, massive pyroclastic flows, and widespread devastation.
VEI 6	Large Plinian (e.g., Krakatoa 1883)	~1.0e+19 J	~2.4 Gigatons	Island level	Can destroy entire islands, create tsunamis, and alter global climate. The 1883 Krakatoa eruption was heard 3,000 miles away. Volcanoes at this level, such as Krakatoa, have unleashed around 200 megatons of TNT.
VEI 7	Supervolcanic (e.g., Tambora 1815)	~1.0e+21 J	~240 Gigatons	Island level	Capable of covering continents in ash and drastically lowering global temperatures. Tambora caused the "Year Without a Summer."
VEI 8	Supervolcanic (e.g., Yellowstone scale)	~1.0e+23 J	~24 Teratons	Country level	Rare catastrophic event that could cause mass extinctions, blanketing the Earth in ash and disrupting ecosystems for decades.