Photo courtesy of Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Taal Volcano in Batangas recorded 51 volcanic earthquakes over the past 24 hours, signaling a renewed increase in seismic activity, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
The agency said the earthquakes were accompanied by 13 volcanic tremors, each lasting between one and three minutes.
The spike followed a generally quieter December, when monitoring instruments logged a lower number of seismic events compared with previous months.
From Dec. 1 to 31, the agency recorded 101 volcanic earthquakes and 26 tremors, with several days showing no detectable seismic activity.
Despite the lull, Phivolcs noted that three minor phreatomagmatic eruptions were still observed during the month.
Volcanic activity was higher in November, when hundreds of earthquakes and tremors were recorded, along with eruption events.
Taal Volcano remains under Alert Level 1, which indicates low-level unrest and means the volcano is not erupting but continues to be closely monitored.