Annual Overview of Earthquakes 2025

Induced earthquakes are the result of human activities, often caused by gas extraction. Most induced earthquakes occur in the Groningen field, despite gas extraction having stopped. In total, there were 31 earthquakes in the Groningen field (figure 1), of which 6 had a magnitude of 1.5 or higher. Earthquakes of 1.5 or higher have always been measured, even when the seismic network was less dense. This allows the development of seismicity over the years to be monitored. The number of earthquakes of 1.5 and higher remained the same (figure 2) as in 2024.  

Although the chance of strong earthquakes decreases after stopping gas extraction, they can still occur. Near Zeerijp was the third strongest earthquake in the Groningen field on November 14 with a magnitude of 3.4 (KNMI - Earthquake of 3.4 in Groningens Zeerijp). This quake was followed by two aftershocks. A few hours after the main shock, an aftershock with a magnitude of 2.1 occurred and on November 19 there was another aftershock with a magnitude of 1.0. The earthquakes have been studied in detail and the results published in a report (KNMI Research - Analysis of the ML 3.4 earthquake near Zeerijp on November 14, 2025 and two aftershocks). Most energy is released during strong quakes. This is reflected in the seismic moment, a measure of the released energy, in figure 3.

Near Warffum, a noticeable earthquake occurred on May 18 with a magnitude of 2.1 (KNMI - Earthquake details knmi2025jrxk). This quake was also further studied because the location lies on the border of the Warffum and Groningen gas fields. It was not possible to determine to which gas field this quake should be attributed, the Warffum gas field or the aquifer of the Groningen field (KNMI Research - Analysis of the hypocenter for the Warffum 2025-05-18 earthquake).

Natural earthquakes occur along tectonic faults in the south of the Netherlands and near the BES islands. These faults result from plate tectonics. Constant stress builds up underground, which is occasionally released by earthquakes along existing faults. Around the BES islands, there were 93 natural earthquakes and in Limburg there were 24. The strongest earthquake near Saba and St. Eustatius occurred on October 27 with a magnitude of 6.6. The strongest earthquake in southern Netherlands occurred near Kerkrade on January 3 with a magnitude of 2.4. The number of natural earthquakes in Limburg is higher than last year, when there were 7. This is partly due to a small earthquake swarm near Heerlen (link to report) and multiple quakes near Herten.

Besides earthquake research, scientific studies have been published in the leading journal Nature about the Nyiragongo volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo (KNMI - The rumble of an emptying volcano) and asteroid 2023CX1 over France (KNMI - KNMI measures infrasound from asteroid over France). Such studies often use measurements from the International Monitoring System (IMS) established for verifying the nuclear test ban treaty. KNMI is the National Data Center for this (KNMI - Nuclear Test Ban Treaty). The decades-long acoustic measurements of the IMS have also been used to measure temperature changes in the deep ocean (Decadal observations of deep ocean temperature change passively probed with acoustic waves | JASA Express Letters | AIP Publishing). Collapsing icebergs in Antarctica can also be monitored in detail with seismo-acoustic measurements (Seismo‐Acoustic Detection and Localization of Iceberg Collapse in Atka Bay, Antarctica - Averbuch - 2025 - Geophysical Research Letters - Wiley Online Library).

Also read the weather annual overview and the climate barcode 2025. The state of our climate 2025 will be published Thursday, January 29.