PhilSA: Smoke emissions from Navotas landfill fire decline in past 2 days

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) on Wednesday said it has monitored a decline in the volume of smoke from the ongoing fire at the Navotas Sanitary Landfill in the past two days.

Satellite data of the PhilSA showed that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration in Metro Manila fell below April 6 or pre-fire levels on April 28 and 29.

“Lower NO2 concentrations indicate a reduction in the volume of smoke emitted from the landfill fire,” the agency said in a statement.

PhilSA said nitrogen dioxide is a pollutant produced from burning and is a component of smoke.

It said its observations are consistent with measurements conducted by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB’s National Capital Region and Central Luzon offices.

Based on satellite image captured on April 26, PhilSA said the Navotas landfill had an estimated 31.95 hectares (~319,500 sqm) of burnt area.

“Comparing with the burnt area estimate from 16 April, there was an estimated 0.89 hectares decrease (in green) in burnt area in the southern part of the landfill while an increase of around 3.10 hectares (in red) was detected in the eastern part,” the agency said.

“Please note that the analysis is based on Sunday (26 April) image and does not reflect the current state in the area. In addition, the analysis detects the extent of burnt areas only and does not identify actively burning areas,” PhilSA added.

PhilSA assured that it will continue its monitoring of NO2 “to assist in quantifying the impact of ground interventions” and reminded the public to follow local and national health agencies for the latest advisories.

Earlier, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it will deploy additional heavy equipment at the Navotas Sanitary Landfill along with concerned government agencies and Japan as part of intensified efforts to contain the fire.

Following an inspection, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said around 50% of the blaze has been contained.

Dizon said about 90% of the landfill’s 44-hectare area was affected by the fire that started on April 10.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has yet to provide a timeline on when the fire will be fully extinguished. — JMA, GMA News