The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Friday, June 28, recorded the highest sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from Kanlaon Volcano since instrumental gas monitoring began.

In its advisory released at 6:15 p.m., Phivolcs said Kanlaon Volcano’s SO2 emissions averaged 5,397 tons per day.

It noted that this year, Kanlaon has been releasing higher concentrations of volcanic SO2, averaging 1,897 tons per day.

However, since the June 3 eruption, emissions have spiked to an average of 3,175 tons per day.

Phivolcs added that volcanic earthquake activity has persisted at an average of 10 events per day since the eruption.

“The overall monitoring parameters indicate that magmatic processes beneath the volcano may be driving current unrest, causing persistently high concentrations of volcanic gas emission, swelling of the edifice, and occasional volcanic earthquake activity,” it said.

Phivolcs said that Alert Level 2 is maintained as Kanlaon Volcano is still experiencing “increased” volcanic unrest.

This indicates ongoing unrest due to shallow magmatic processes, which could potentially lead to explosive eruptions or precede hazardous magmatic activity at the summit crater.

Phivolcs reminded the public that entry into the four-kilometer radius permanent danger zone (PDZ) is strictly prohibited due to volcanic hazards, including pyroclastic density currents, ballistic projectiles, and rockfalls.