Mount Agung’s alert status was downgraded from level four to level three on Sunday, after seismic activity underneath the volcano showed signs of abating.
However, the head of Bali’s Volcanology Centre (PVMBG) has warned that the threat of an eruption has not passed.
“The volcanic activities have not completely calmed down and there is still a potential for an eruption,” he said.
Translating a PVMBG statement, Dr Janine Krippner, who has been monitoring the Bali volcano closely for weeks, explained that the lower threat level “does not mean the risk is gone”.
She tweeted: “The seismic activity, steam activity in the crater, and thermal signatures seen in satellite data have all decreased.
“These potential hazards remain: pyroclastic flows, lahars, lava flows, ashfall.
“With the reduced activity and threat, the danger zone has been reduced to a 6 to 7.5 km radius. This will continue to be evaluated.
“If an eruption does occur, ashfall can extend beyond the hazard zone. If an eruption occurs and heavy rainfall, lahars may also occur.”
The reduced alert status allows thousands of Balinese refugees to return home after more than a month of living in evacuation centres on the island.
The PVMBG has authorised anyone living further than six kilometres (3.7 miles) from Agung’s crater to return to their villages.
About 180,000 people abandoned their homes to escape the threat of Mount Agung when the warning was raised to it maximum level on September 22.
Of this number, up to 150,000 travelled to one of the makeshift evacuation centres, with the remaining 30,000 staying with friends or family on the island.
Despite the lower alert level, many evacuees have decided to stay in the camps.
One local told Antara News: “I am still afraid to be at home because the status is still standby.”
Bali’s Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has assured worried refugees that they will not be made to leave the camps.
“We did not force them to return home and they can stay at the refugee camp for as long as they want,” Putu Widada, head of the local BPBD said.
Mount Agung has not erupted since 1963, when a series of explosive eruptions killed more than 1,100 people and injured 300 more.