Tonga's continuous volcanic eruption has created a new island to add to the 176 it already has.

Scientists, including two from New Zealand, yesterday managed to get to the scene of the eruption, about 70 kilometres northwest of the capital Nuku'alofa.

Ministry of Lands official Taaniela Kula says the eruption has created a new island about 1km long and 2km wide and around 100 metres high.

New Zealand High Commission in Tonga The large volcanic eruption near Tonga.

In area that is about equivalent to Auckland's Browns Island or Wellington's Matiu/Somes Island.

"A new island has been built by the eruption between the existing islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai, and is now joined to Hunga Ha'apai," he said.

The volcano is erupting every five minutes.

"Dense ash was being erupted to a height of about 400m, accompanied by some large rocks.

"Above about 1000m, the eruption plume was almost exclusively steam. As the ash is very wet, most is being deposited close to the vent, building up the new island."

Ash and acid rain is failing within 10km of the eruption.

The trip to the island was funded by the New Zealand High Commission in Nuku'alofa who released the first close up photos from the scene. A second trip will be made later today.

Kula says the scientists have not been able to establish any connection between the volcano and the large ocean algal bloom which has turned a wide area of the sea red.

Earlier in the week the eruption, which began in December, disrupted aviation but this has now resumed and backlogs of passengers cleared.

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Tonga sits on the second deepest oceanic trench in the world and is often afflicted with earthquakes and volcanoes.

New islands are relatively common but seldom last before being washed away by the Pacific.

One dramatic one came into existence at the height of All Black Jonah Lomu's international fame. There were calls for it to be named after him but Tongan authorities have been reluctant to name them and luckily for Lomu they kept to their policy.

The island has since disappeared.