Hawaii’s Mauna Loa and Kilauea volcanoes stop erupting within a day of each other. ‘Is this a coincidence?’

By Holly Yan, Aya Elamroussi and Taylor Romine, CNN

It was a magnificent light show that illuminated Hawaii’s Big Island, but now it’s over.

The world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, and its neighbor Kilauea have both stopped erupting, the US Geological Survey said.

Lava stopped spewing out of a fissure on Mauna Loa on Saturday, and “sulfur dioxide emissions have decreased to near pre-eruption background levels,” the USGS said Tuesday.

“Spots of incandescence may remain near the vent, along channels, and at the flow front for days or weeks as the lava flows cool,” the USGS said. “However, eruptive activity is not expected to return based on past eruptive behavior.”

About 21 miles away from Mauna Loa, Kilauea stopped erupting Friday for the first time since September 2021.

But unlike the 2018 Kilauea eruption that destroyed hundreds of homes, lava from the latest eruption was contained to the summit crater.

This was the first time Mauna Loa and Kilauea erupted simultaneously since 1984 — the last time Mauna Loa exploded.

Now, many are wondering why both volcanoes stopped erupting within a day of each other.

“Is this a coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not,” the USGS tweeted.

“The volcanoes are not directly connected, but might ‘feel’ one another via stress effects. Mauna Loa’s eruption could have allowed Kīlauea to ‘relax.’ That said, Kīlauea’s eruption was already pretty tenuous, occurring at very low rates.”

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CNN’s Andi Babineau contributed to this report.