NEGROS ISLAND, Philippines — To the casual observer, a volcano often appears as a permanent, unchanging fixture of the horizon — a silent sentinel of stone. But for volcanologists studying real-time streams of seismic, geodetic and geochemical data, mountains are anything but static. As of Feb. 22, 2026, Kanlaon Volcano remains under Alert Level 2, signifying “increased unrest.” From afar, its summit may look serene. Yet beneath that calm profile, instrumentation reveals a mountain undergoing subtle but consequential transformation.
The data portray a system shifting away from baseline equilibrium into a phase of pressurization and internal change. In scientific terms, Kanlaon is not erupting — but it is awakening.
A Volcano That Breathes and Stretches
Among the clearest indicators of the current unrest is ground deformation: the volcano edifice is measurably inflating.
To scientists, a volcano behaves less like a rigid monolith than a vast elastic shell — more balloon than bedrock. When magma, gas or hydrothermal fluids migrate through the subterranean “plumbing,” they exert outward force on surrounding rock. The result is swelling, sometimes imperceptible to the human eye yet unmistakable to satellite-based geodesy and tiltmeters anchored on the slopes.
This inflation is not merely geometric; it is mechanical evidence of pressure. Something is occupying space within the edifice — magma intruding into fractures, gases accumulating in chambers, or fluids heating and expanding. Each possibility increases internal stress, and stress, in volcanic systems, is the currency of hazard.
For monitoring teams, deformation is among the most consequential metrics. Inflation implies that the volcano is storing energy. And in geology, stored energy tends eventually to find release.
Chemical Signals in the Air
Kanlaon is also exhaling clues.
On Feb. 21, monitoring stations measured sulfur dioxide emissions at approximately 910 tonnes per day — a level consistent with elevated degassing. Volcanic gases are among the most direct indicators of subsurface processes because they originate from magma itself. As molten rock ascends or decompresses, dissolved gases escape, migrating upward through fractures and vents.
A sustained SO₂ flux of this magnitude suggests that either magma is rising closer to the surface or pressurized gas is flushing through the conduit system. In both scenarios, the implication is the same: the internal environment is dynamic and reactive.
Gas emissions and deformation are intimately linked. As gas accumulates, pressure builds; as pressure builds, rock stretches. Together, they form a coherent narrative of unrest — a volcano inflating while venting chemical breath.
Seismic Murmurs Beneath the Crater
Above the crater, a moderate plume rose about 200 meters before drifting southwest — visually modest activity. But the more revealing motion occurred underground. During the 24-hour observation window ending Feb. 22, instruments recorded nine volcanic earthquakes.
Significantly, none were large enough to allow precise location. To volcanologists, this matters. Such events are likely micro-fractures — tiny ruptures or fluid movements detectable only by sensitive seismometers. They are the acoustic signatures of a system adjusting under stress.
Volcanoes rarely transition abruptly from quiet to eruption. Instead, they murmur. Micro-seismicity often precedes larger events, marking the progressive opening of pathways through which magma or gas may later travel. In this sense, the earthquakes are less shocks than whispers — the sound of rock yielding.
For communities downwind of the plume’s southwest drift, these invisible tremors represent early warning long before any dramatic surface change.
Why Alert Level 2 Matters
Alert Level 2 denotes increased unrest — a state between dormancy and eruption. It does not mean an eruption is imminent. But it confirms that the volcano is deviating from baseline behavior.
Under such conditions, hazards may arise with little warning. The most concerning are phreatic or steam-driven eruptions — sudden explosions triggered when groundwater flashes to steam upon contact with hot rock or magma. These events can occur without precursory lava or ash emission, ejecting rocks and ash violently from the crater.
PHIVOLCS has therefore enforced strict restrictions: entry into the four-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone is prohibited, and aviation authorities advise aircraft to avoid the summit airspace. The zone reflects empirical risk — the radius within which ballistic ejecta, ash bursts or pyroclastic surges could occur during sudden activity.
Volcano risk management, scientists note, is not prediction but probability. Boundaries are drawn where likelihood intersects consequence. Respecting them is the first layer of public safety.
Living With a Restless Landscape
Kanlaon’s unrest is not unusual in the life of a stratovolcano. Such mountains evolve through cycles of pressure accumulation and release over decades to centuries. Most episodes of unrest resolve without eruption. Yet each demands vigilance because the system is demonstrably active.
For residents of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, the volcano is both landmark and neighbor. Agriculture, culture and settlement have long unfolded in its shadow. Understanding its behavior is therefore not abstract science but practical knowledge — an awareness that landscapes are alive on geological timescales.
Scientists describe monitoring as taking the pulse of the Earth. Ground deformation measures swelling; gas emissions measure breath; seismicity measures heartbeat. Together they form a physiological portrait of the volcano.
At present, that portrait shows elevated vital signs — not crisis, but strain.
Watching the Pulse
Alert Level 2 at Kanlaon is a reminder that the planet beneath our feet is dynamic. The mountain’s inflation, gas flux and seismic murmurs indicate genuine geological change — a system pressurizing beneath a calm surface.
For scientists, the task is continuous observation: satellites scanning millimeter-scale movement, spectrometers sampling invisible gases, seismometers listening for fractures in rock kilometers below. For the public, the task is awareness: respecting hazard zones, following official advisories and recognizing that quiet mountains can still be active ones.
In the end, Kanlaon’s unrest underscores a broader truth of Earth science. Landscapes are processes, not monuments. Even when they appear still, forces move within them.
The mountain is swelling. And scientists, listening closely, are watching its pulse. ©️KuryenteNews