The Philippines is located Pacific Ring of Fire which is an area characterized by active

volcanoes and earthquakes. Also, the Philippines sit at the boundaries of two tectonic plates,
the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian plate, which is ideal to volcanism and earthquake
activity. This explains the abundance of volcanoes in the country, one example is Mount Taal.

Taal Volcano is a large caldera filled by Taal Lake in the Philippines, located in the
province of Batangas. Mount Taal is the country's second-most active volcano, with 38 previous
eruptions. A recent eruption occurred on January 12, 2020, and this volcano is still active, with
volcanic earthquakes occurring. The eruption has triggered public concern, not only for its
impact on local society but also for the potentially disastrous effects on the Earth's climate and
environment.

Mount Taal is classified as a "complex volcano" because it has multiple eruption points
that have altered over time, rather than simply one major vent or cone. Since the formation of
the caldera, subsequent eruptions have created a volcanic island within the caldera, known as
Volcano Island. The island consists of different overlapping cones and craters, of which forty-
seven have been identified. Twenty six of these are tuff cones, five are cinder cones, and four
are maars, which are volcanic craters formed when hot magma collides with shallow ground
water, causing a dramatic steam explosion. Underneath Lake Taal, there are more vents and
eruption spots. Phivolcs have declared the entire Volcano Island a perpetual danger zone. The
main crater occupies the central portion of the Volcano Island. Twelve of Mt. Taals eruptions
were occurred at this crater from 1749 to 1911.

Three weeks after Taal Volcano's phreatic eruption on January 12, 2020, PHIVOLCS
reduced the Alert Level from 4 to 3. Over 400,000 people were affected at the time. Satellite
images, combined with reports from the ground, revealed the environmental and social effects
of the eruption. Satellite observations revealed the drying of Taal's crater, ash deposits on the
volcano island and surrounding provinces, increased turbidity in Laguna Lake, damaged fish
pens, and ground deformation. Ashfall blanketed towns north and west of Taal Lake. The towns
west of Taal Lake that were heavily ash-covered in this recent eruption were previously the
locations of towns that were obliterated by the 1911 eruption. When maps from the 1911
eruption were compared to data from the 2020 eruption, similarities in the location of the
fissures were discovered.

Mount Taal was identified as a Decade Volcano by the Philippine Institute of

Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) among 200 potentially active volcanoes in the
Philippines because of its complex and little known eruptive history and tremendous potential
for calamity. On June 28, 2020, Taal Volcano emitted its highest ever recorded amount of sulfur
dioxide (SO2), a volcanic gas that will affect people's health and the environment. SO2 from
volcanoes can affect not just humans, but also plants and animals through acid rain, and even
the Earth's climate.