Can Melting Glaciers Due To Climate Change Reawaken Dangerous Volcanoes?

A claim that dangerous volcanoes may erupt due to the melting of glaciers, was picked from the SPOTAI platform. The post which was shared by a Reddit user, fungussa in December 2025 reads “Glaciers melting from climate change may reawaken the world’s most dangerous volcanoes.”

VERIFICATION

Scientific research shows that when thick ice melts from a glacier-covered volcano, the removal of the ice’s weight reduces pressure on the crust and magma chamber below. This can allow gases in the magma to expand and may alter volcanic behavior.

In 2016, geologists analysing past periods of deglaciation especially at the end of the last Ice Age, found that volcanic activity increased when large ice sheets melted and relieved pressure on the crust. A paper presented at a foremost geochemistry conference in July 2025 also revealed that montane or ice-covered volcanoes (e.g., in Iceland, the Andes, and Antarctica) could become more active or explosive as glacial ice retreats. This basic physical effect called decompression melting is accepted in geoscience: as ice melts, the stress on underlying rocks changes, potentially influencing magma systems.

According to the researchers, even where glacial melt could affect volcanic stress, these changes occur over decades to centuries. Volcanoes do not suddenly explode the moment ice melts. Scientists emphasise that while pressure changes may influence magma systems, the process is gradual and complex.

CONCLUSION

The claim that Glaciers melting from climate change may reawaken the world’s most dangerous volcanoes is MISLEADING. While there is a scientifically plausible link between melting glaciers and changes in volcanic activity where ice directly overlies a volcano, scientists continue to investigate how significant these effects might be and in which regions they matter most.