Widening fissures in areas around Taal Volcano, a new “steaming” fissure on the northern side of Volcano Island and hundreds of earthquakes were signs of rising magma that may result in an explosive eruption, scientists said on Friday. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the water of the entire Taal Lake also was receding, and this could be attributed to ground deformation caused bby magma trying to reach the surface.“Steam rising from the fissure is another indication that there is still magma pushing upwards,” said Mariton Bornas, chief of Phivolcs’ Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division.There were at least five “discrete weak explosions” recorded by the Taal Volcano Network on Friday.

Chiu, P. D. M., & Enano, J. O. (2020, January 18). Volcano watch: Island fissures steaming, lake water receding. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. A1, A4.