Phivolcs: Taal volcano unlikely to erupt despite sulfur dioxide emissions

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Tuesday that the Taal Volcano in the province of Batangas, which spewed over 14,000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide on Monday, is not likely to erupt.

Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol said in a public briefing that besides the emission of SO2, there are other factors to be considered when assessing whether a volcano is likely to erupt.

"Besides the volcanic gas emissions, we are looking at other parameters before we can say that it will erupt again, such as the increase in earthquakes that we have not seen yet,” noting that only one volcanic earthquake in Taal was logged in the past nine days.

He added: "[The sulfur emissions] are only an indication that the degassing activity or release of gases from the magma chamber of Taal Volcano is still ongoing... For as long as Taal Volcano is spewing out sulfur dioxide, there is always the possibility that there will be another vog.”

The Phivolcs official said that there are also indicators to review before vog forms, including the wind strength and temperature.

"As of the moment, the wind is strong in the Taal area, so we are not generating any vog. Sulfur dioxide is easily dissipated, especially when it rains or the wind is strong," said Bacolcol.

Meanwhile, Phivolcs volcano monitoring and eruption prediction division head Mariton Bornas said that there are no flights canceled due to the volcano’s increased sulfur emissions.

“There are currently no known negative impacts of volcanic SO2 on aviation safety as per the findings of the International Airways Volcano Watch of the International Civil Aviation Organization,” Bornas told the DAILY TRIBUNE.

She added that, as per the Batangas Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office report on Monday, no evacuation was implemented in the area.

The recorded SO2 emission of the Batangas stratovolcano on Monday is its second-highest flux logged this year, bigger than the 12,685 MT recorded on 4 January.

The Phivolc kept Taal Volcano under Alert Level 1, an indication that there is a low level of unrest with increased chances of steam-driven or phreatic eruptions.

No volcanic earthquakes were recorded on Taal on Tuesday.