Erta ‘Ale volcano lies at the centre of the Erta ‘Ale rift segment in northern Afar, Ethiopia, and hosts one of the few persistent lava lakes on Earth in its summit caldera. Previous studies have reported anecdotal evidence of a correlation between lake activity and magmatic and tectonic events in the broader region. Here we investigate this hypothesis for the period 2000 to 2015 by comparing a catalogue of regional events with changes in lake activity reconstructed from Earth Observation data. The lava lake underwent dramatic changes during the study period, exhibiting an overall rise in height with concomitant changes in geometry consistent with a change in heat energy balance. Numerous paroxysms occurred in the lake and in the north pit, and a significant dyke intrusion with subsequent re-intrusions indicates a role for dykes in maintaining the lake. However despite some coincidences between paroxysms and regional events, we do not find any statistically significant relationship between the two on a time scale of days to weeks. Nevertheless, changes in lake activity precede the broad uptick in regional activity since 2005 and we cannot rule out a relationship on a decadal scale.