The volume of clouds of hot gas discharged from Mt. Merapi located in areas bordering Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces, Indonesia, has been declining, which means that the volcano's activity has decreased, an expert said.

Up till 3 p.m. local time on Sunday, Mount Merapi spewed clouds of hot gases 12 times four kilometers to the upper reaches of Cedol river, Antara news agency on Monday quoted Atdomo Purbo, a volcanologist based in Yogyakarta, as saying.

He said that the clouds of hot gases decreased compared to 34 times on Saturday and 102 times on Friday 4.5 kilometers to the upper reaches of Cedol river.

Though the volcano's activity had significantly declined in the past three days, he said it must be watched thoroughly.

According to him, the agency for volcanic investigation and technology development will evaluate the mount's current activities on Monday and its result would be sent to the Center for Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation in Bandung.

"Based on the result of the evaluation, the center will decide on its next status," he added.

The volcano has been in an 'eruption phase' for weeks.

Indonesia raised Merapi's status to its highest alert level three weeks ago, while thousands of people have been back and forth between evacuation centers and their homes on the mountain slopes to tend to their livestock and crops.

The rumbling lava dome of Mt. Merapi has swelled from time to time and volcanologists are worried that it could collapse and send fast-moving hot gas into areas where many villagers have refused to be evacuated.

Source: Xinhua