Taal Volcano records minor eruption
Taal Volcano in Batangas spews plumes on Thursday, September 18, 2025. — Screengrab from Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council Talisay Batangas/Facebook
LUCENA CITY—Taal Volcano in Batangas province recorded a minor phreatomagmatic eruption on Monday morning, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.
Phivolcs said the event at the summit crater occurred at 6:13 a.m. and lasted only one minute.
The eruption produced a 500-meter-high plume, captured by the main crater IP camera, a digital video surveillance device.
A phreatomagmatic eruption occurs when magma interacts with water, causing explosive activity that produces a mixture of steam, ash, and fragmented volcanic materials.
After 14 days of continuous seismic activity, Taal Volcano showed signs of calm. Phivolcs reported in its Monday bulletin that no volcanic earthquakes or tremors were detected over the past 24 hours.
The volcano had been recording daily volcanic earthquakes from Oct. 6 to 19, with no seismic activity observed on Oct. 1, 5, and 20. From Oct. 1 to 20, it registered 193 volcanic earthquakes and 10 tremor episodes, compared with 189 earthquakes and 129 tremors in September.
Volcanic earthquakes are generated by magmatic processes beneath or near an active volcano. Volcanic tremors, meanwhile, are continuous seismic signals with regular or irregular sine wave patterns and low frequencies (0.5–5 Hz), Phivolcs explained.
In its latest update, the agency reported 312 metric tons of sulfur dioxide emissions, rising 300 meters.
During the observation period, no upwelling of hot volcanic fluids was detected in the main crater lake of Taal Volcano Island, located at the center of Taal Lake. No volcanic smog, or “vog,” was observed.
