The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) did not detect any volcanic earthquake at Taal Volcano in past 24 hours.

Despite this, Phivolcs has maintained the Alerts Level 2 or “Increased Unrest” over the volcano, noting that phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall, and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas can occur.

In its latest volcano bulletin issued Thursday, April 22, the agency recorded low-level background tremor since 9:05 a.m. on April 8, while activity at Taal’s main crater consisted of weak emission of steam-laden plumes that rose five meters.

It also measured a significant sulfur dioxide emission that averaged 2,010 tonnes/day on April 21, while temperature highs of 71.8 degrees Celsius and pH of 1.59 were last measured from the main crater lake on March 4 and February 12, respectively.

Ground deformation parameters also observed a very slow and steady inflation and expansion of the Taal region that began after the January 2020 eruption.

The agency explained that these parameters indicate persistent magmatic activity at shallow depths beneath the edifice.

With the alert level maintained, Phivolcs recommends that entry into Taal Volcano island, Taal’s permanent danger zone, especially the vicinities of the main crater and the Daang Kastila fissure be prohibited, as well as occupancy and boating on Taal Lake.

Local government units were advised to continuously assess and improve their preparedness in case of renewed unrest.

Likewise, civil aviation authorities were urged to advise pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano as airborne ash and ballistic fragments from sudden explosions and wind-remobilized ash may pose hazards to aircraft.