Residents go on their daily life amid volcanic smog or vog from Taal Volcano in Agoncillo, Batangas on August 19, 2024. (INQUIRER file photo / RICHARD A. REYES)
LUCENA CITY — After spewing a high volume of sulfur dioxide (SO2) for the past week, Taal Volcano’s alarming release of harmful gas has subsided.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported this development on Sunday morning, Sept. 8.
A total of only 1,379 metric tons (MT) of SO2 from Taal Volcano’s main crater was measured over the past 24 hours and it rose to 900 meters tall before drifting north-northeast and north-northwest.
It was significantly lower than the 9,645 MT of SO2 logged from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7.
Phivolcs again noted an “upwelling of hot volcanic fluids” in the main crater lake.
No earthquake was recorded during this monitoring period.
The volcano sits on Taal Volcano Island (TVI), locally known as “Pulo,” in the middle of Taal Lake in Batangas.
It remains under alert level 1 (low level of volcanic unrest), according to the state volcanologist.
Phivolcs reminded the public that Taal Volcano remained in an “abnormal condition” and “should not be interpreted to have ceased unrest nor ceased the threat of eruptive activity.”
Under alert level 1, sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas can occur and threaten areas within the Taal Volcano Island.