Phivolcs allays fears over Taal smog, no need to raise alert level

THE chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said on Friday that the smog or vog caused by gas emissions from Taal Volcano in Batangas since early September is no cause for alarm.

Phivolcs Director Teresito «Toto» Bacolcol told The Manila Times that the vog was due to the «persistent sulphur dioxide (SO2) emission,» which could be traced to the possibility that «the volcano did not emit gas when it erupted in 2020.»

He said that the current scenario in the area should not be a cause for the residents to panic as the volcano remains at Alert Level 1.

«It is not alarming and it would not be a signal for us to raise the alert status to Level 2,» the Phivolcs chief said.

However, Bacolcol said he could not say as to when the vog would stop.

«As long as the volcano continues to emit gas in that manner, we can experience vog in the area,» he said.

As a result, he advised residents to be extra vigilant and ready to wear masks whenever they smell the vog to protect their health.

«Continuous upwelling persists at Taal's main crater lake, generating steam plumes that rose 2,400-meters high before drifting to the west-northwest,» he said.

With only five volcanic tremors recorded over the past 24 hours, Phivolcs said a total of 4,569 tons/day of SO2 gas emission was measured.

Vog consists of fine droplets containing volcanic gas such as SO2 which is acidic and can irritate the eyes, throat and respiratory tract with their severity depending on the gas concentrations and durations of exposure.

«People who may be particularly sensitive to vog are those with health conditions such as asthma, lung disease and heart disease, the elderly, pregnant women and children,» it added.

The Batangas volcano is currently