Scientists warn one of world's supervolcanoes is waking up:

Scientists warn one of world's supervolcanoes is waking up: AI reveals FOUR times as many earthquakes at Italy's Campi Flegrei than previously thought

XANTHA LEATHAM,

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.

We’ve known that this is a risky place for a long time, since the ’80s when part of the city was evacuated, and now we’re seeing for the first time the geologic structures that are responsible.’

‘Seismicity could change at any time, and that may be the most important thing about this study: this capability of getting a clear view is now operational,’ said study co-author Greg Beroza, a geophysics professor in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.

When the volcano eventually erupts it is likely to be comparable in size to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, experts have previously said.