The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) advised the public to stay at home and avoid making direct contact outside after a volcanic smog or vog was detected at Taal Volcano in Batangas on Friday, Sept. 22.
The vog has been observed over Taal Lake Sept. 21 and lingered over Taal Region until Friday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said. It said that there was continuous upwelling at the Taal Main Crater Lake as it generated steam plumes that rose to 2,400 meters before drifting to west-southwest direction.
The vog consists of fine droplets containing volcanic gas such as volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO2) which is acidic and can cause irritation of the eyes, throat and respiratory tract with severities depending on the gas concentrations and durations of exposure, state volcanologists explained.
As such, OCD deputy spokesperson Diego Agustin Mariano said: “Stay at home. Close the doors and windows.”
Mariano added that people in the affected areas should avoid exposure to vog by using N95 face mask or gas mask.
“Drink plenty of water to lessen the effects of fume inhalation. Seek medical help of experiencing strong adverse effects,” he added.
Metro Manila’s smog
The presence of vog was earlier reported to have reached Metro Manila.
However, the OCD clarified that what Metro Manila was experiencing was only a “smog” or smoke and fog, or air pollution.
Mariano said the vog in Taal and the smog in Metro Manila was not related.
“The said ‘vog’ in Metro Manila was due to a possible occurrence of a natural phenomenon called temperature inversion and the wind direction is going away from Metro Manila,” he stated.