'Very unhealthy' air logged in Koronadal City amid Indonesia haze

The Koronadal City monitoring station recorded “very unhealthy” air quality on Sunday noon amid haze from Indonesia, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB).

In areas where air quality is rated “very unhealthy,” pedestrians are advised to avoid heavy-traffic areas. People with heart or respiratory conditions, including asthma, should stay indoors and rest, postpone non-essential trips, and voluntarily limit motor vehicle use.

Meanwhile, “acutely unhealthy” air quality was recorded at a monitoring station in Iligan City. Authorities advised the general public to limit outdoor physical exertion.

People with heart or respiratory diseases should stay indoors and rest. Non-essential travel should also be postponed, vehicle use restricted, and industrial operations curtailed.

Air quality rated “unhealthy for sensitive groups” was also recorded at several monitoring stations across the country:

• Palawan State University
• Talisay City
• WMSU, San Ramon, Talisayan, Zamboanga City
• DENR X Compound, Cagayan de Oro City
• Barangay Mabini, Cabadbaran City

People in these areas, particularly those with respiratory conditions such as asthma, are advised to limit outdoor physical exertion.

Authorities also advised residents to wear face masks and reduce or avoid outdoor activities.

The DENR-EMB previously said the haze affecting parts of the country consists of smoke from forest fires in Kalimantan, Indonesia, carried over by the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat).

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), PM2.5 refers to fine inhalable particles with diameters of about 2.5 micrometers or smaller. A particle of this size is roughly 30 times smaller than the diameter of an average human hair, which is about 70 micrometers.

PM2.5 may be emitted directly by sources such as roads, fields, and smokestacks, or formed in the atmosphere through chemical reactions involving pollutants from vehicles, power plants, and industrial facilities.

The US EPA notes that while particles smaller than 10 micrometers can penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream, smaller particles such as PM2.5 pose the greatest overall risk to health.