The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Friday, June 18, said that the Taal Volcano continues to exhibit "magmatic unrest at shallow depths" based on its current monitoring parameters.

In the past 24 hours, Phivolcs has not detected a volcanic earthquake however a low-level background tremor has persisted since April 8, 2021.

The activity at Taal's main crater, meanwhile, was dominated by the upwelling of hot volcanic fluids in its lake which generated plumes one kilometer high.

Phivolcs also noted that Taal Volcano continues to register high sulfur dioxide emission, averaging 3,871 tonnes day on Thursday, June 17.

"Based on ground deformation parameters from electronic tilt, continuous GPS and InSAR monitoring, Taal Volcano Island has begun deflating in April 2021 while the Taal region continues to undergo very slow extension since 2020," it said.

Phivolcs pointed out that these parameters indicate overall that magmatic unrest continues to occur at shallow depths beneath the edifice, thus Alert Level 2 is maintained.

Taal Volcano has been under Alert Level 2 since March 9, 2021.

Phivolcs reiterated that there remains a possibility of sudden steam- or gas-driven explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall, and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas that can occur and threaten areas within and around the Taal Volcano Island.

It said that entry into the volcano island, which is a permanent danger zone, especially the vicinities of the main crater and Daang Kastila fissure, should be strictly prohibited.