Some scientists recently proposed the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) to attempt to standardize the assignment of the relative size of an explosive eruption, using ejecta volume as well as the other criteria mentioned earlier. The VEI scale ranges from 0 to 8. A VEI of 0 denotes a nonexplosive eruption, regardless of volume of erupted products. Eruptions designated a VEI of 5 or higher are considered "very large" explosive events, which occur worldwide only on an average of about once every 2 decades. The May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens rated a VEI of 5, but just barely; its lateral blast was powerful, but its output of magma was rather small. The VEI has been determined for more than 5,000 eruptions in the last 10,000 years. None of these eruptions rates the maximum VEI of 8. For example, the eruption of Vesuvius Volcano in A.D. 79, which destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum, only rates a VEI of 5. Since A.D. 1500, only 22 eruptions with VEI 5 or greater have occurred: one VEI 7 (the 1815 Tambora eruption), four of VEI 6 (including Krakatau in 1883), and seventeen of VEI 5 (counting Mount St. Helens in 1980 and El Chichon, Mexico, in 1982). Considered barely "very large," the eruption of Mount St. Helens in May 1980 was smaller than most other "very large" eruptions within the past 10,000 years and much smaller than the enormous caldera-forming eruptions-which would rate VEI's of 8-that took place earlier than 10,000 years ago. (Tilling, et.al., 1990)

This definition is in context to Volcano. See more contextual defintions for Vei Scale.