On Thursday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) explained that the smog seen in Metro Manila is likely caused by air pollution and not by the Taal Volcano in Batangas.
Experts from PHIVOLCS noted that while there is volcanic smog, known as vog, it was mainly found around the Taal Caldera area and not affecting Metro Manila. They mentioned that the smog in the city comes from pollution made by humans, like car emissions and factory smoke.
They also pointed out that the winds around Taal Volcano are very slow, less than 1 meter per second, which means the volcanic gases are not blowing towards Metro Manila.
Vog is made up of sulfur dioxide and other gases that come from volcanoes. These gases mix with air, moisture, dust, and sunlight, and can irritate your eyes, nose, and throat, according to PHIVOLCS.
Earlier this week, Taal Volcano had a small phreatic eruption, which is like a mini explosion caused by steam when water gets heated by magma. This eruption lasted for two minutes.
The alert level for Taal Volcano remains at Level 1, which means there is low volcanic activity. Taal last erupted on October 2, and before that, it had a bigger eruption in July 2021 when it was put under Alert Level 3.
