Taal Volcano toxic gas emissions surge after hitting year's lowest level

File photo. Time-lapse footages of a minor phreatomagmatic eruption at the Taal Main Crater at 01:45 PM today, 10 April 2026. Screengrab: phivolcs facebook

LUCENA CITY, Quezon – Sulfur dioxide emissions from Taal Volcano in Batangas province increased sharply after dropping to their lowest daily level this year, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported on Thursday, July 16.

Based on its 24-hour monitoring, Phivolcs said Taal Volcano released 289 metric tons of sulfur dioxide from its Main Crater on Wednesday, up significantly from the 59 metric tons recorded on Tuesday.

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READ: Taal Volcano’s toxic gas emissions drop to lowest level this year

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The 59-metric-ton emission was the volcano’s lowest daily sulfur dioxide output so far this year, surpassing the previous low of 78 metric tons recorded from Jan. 1 to 8.

For comparison, Taal’s highest sulfur dioxide emission this year reached 5,287 metric tons on June 4.

Phivolcs also observed moderate emission of volcanic plumes that rose about 600 meters above the Main Crater before drifting north-northeast.

No upwelling of hot volcanic fluids was observed in the Main Crater Lake on Taal Volcano Island, and no volcanic smog, or “vog,” was detected during the monitoring period.

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The agency also recorded one volcanic tremor lasting nine minutes on Wednesday.

Phivolcs defines volcanic tremors as continuous seismic signals with regular or irregular oscillations at low frequencies—typically between 0.5 and 5 hertz—that persist for more than a minute.

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Despite the increase in sulfur dioxide emissions, Taal Volcano remains under Alert Level 1, indicating a low level of volcanic unrest.

However, Phivolcs reminded the public that the volcano remains in an abnormal condition and warned that Alert Level 1 should not be interpreted as an indication that volcanic unrest has ceased or that the threat of eruptive activity has completely disappeared. /jpv

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