Six high school students experienced discomfort due to smog from Taal volcano, the Batangas provincial public information office reported on Thursday.

According to Balete Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (MDRRM) Officer Jocelyn Tangpuz, the six students experience skin irritation, difficulty of breathing and asthma.

Some schools in Agoncillo, Laurel and Tanauan that were affected by the volcanic smog returned to modular distance learning or alternative delivery mode.

Tangpuz said the damage to agriculture due to the effect of the smog has reached P1.9 million.

In a meeting on Wednesday, James Angelo Ano of Department of Education Batangas cited DepEd Order 37, Series of 2022, or the "Guidelines on the Cancellation or Suspension of Classes and Work in Schools in the Event of Natural Disasters, Power Outages / Power Interruptions, and Other Calamities."

In a radio interview, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) Director Teresito Bacolcol, the volcanic smog is composed of water vapor at particulates with sulfur dioxide.

He explained that the smog disperses when steaming in the volcano is high and drifts to the community if it fails to move up.

Bacolcol said as of Thursday Phivolcs has recorded 4,569 tons of sulfur dioxide in the past 24 hours. Robina Asido/DMS