You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?

There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!

Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!


Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!

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Showing posts with label Haze. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haze. Show all posts

Monday, October 26, 2015

Philippines Cancels Flights and Alerts Hospitals Over Haze

By: Agence France-Presse

A woman takes a photo from a building of the thick haze, believed to be from Indonesia's forest fires, engulfing the city of Davao on Friday. Smog from the fires on Sumatra island and the Indonesian section of Borneo island has affected several Southeast Asian countries. Photo by Dennis Jay Santos, AFP.
MANILA -- The Philippines cancelled flights and put hospitals on alert on Sunday, as its southern and central islands were covered by thickening haze from Indonesian forest fires.
Smog from Indonesian slash-and-burn farming has choked vast expanses of Southeast Asia for weeks, killing at least 10 people, forcing events to be shut down and schools to close across the region.
International efforts to douse the blazes have done little to clear the air, and Filipino authorities warned ash levels were becoming increasingly dangerous in the southern islands.
"The department of health is advising those who have breathing problems or respiratory diseases to wear face masks in areas covered by haze," presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma told reporters.
Hospitals in the south were ready to receive anyone affected by the haze, he added.
Six flights to central and southern islands were cancelled or delayed Sunday due to the thickening smog, after thousands were left stranded over the past 10 days.
Pilots flying in the central city of Cebu could only see eight kilometers ahead, said government weather observer John Agbay, adding that visibility was also impaired in the western island of Palawan.
Indonesian forest fires are an annual occurence, but dry weather has made them particularly bad this year and Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Japan have all sent help to fight the blazes.
While the haze in the Philippines has been mild compared to other parts of Southeast Asia, the smoke has been largely unexpected as the islands affected lie thousands of kilometers away from the fires.
Singapore, one of the worst hit, on Sunday urged fellow ASEAN members to take "firm and decisive action" against ahead of a group summit in Malaysia next month.
The city-state issued the call after Singaporean troops and firefighters returned from an international assistance mission in Indonesia's Sumatra island.
Experts say Typhoon Koppu (local name "Lando"), which passed over the northern tip of the Philippines last week, may have contributed to the problem in the archipelago by dragging the smoke across from Indonesia.

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

The Haze is on


 BY 


EDITORIAL
Davao City’s skyline looks like it came straight out of a surreal painting with the darkened horizon. While everyone wants to believe that this fog-like image came as a result of the cool weather brought about by Typhoon Lando, the experts at Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) were however quick to awaken us from dreamland to tell us that this is all haze straight from Indonesia. Apparently, the monsoon winds have brought us not the romantic air we beget but the haze from Indonesia’s forest fires. The same haze is visible in General Santos City, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro City. Even ASEAN countries like Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore have been under a blanket of haze for quite sometime now, no thanks to the forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia.
Forest fires occur because of farmers who engage in slash-and-burn practices when clearing their lands primarily for economic reasons. The El Niño or the long periods of drought or dry season has only worsened the forest fires and unfortunately, the haze. This should be a cause of concern for all of us not only because it is detrimental to our environment. More importantly, this haze could be detrimental to our health especially those suffering from asthma and other chronic diseases. If you find yourself coughing a lot now, or sneezing more than you should be, then you should start to wonder if this is all caused by the haze. It is high time for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to start measuring air quality in the cities and provinces affected by the haze so we become aware if it is still safe to breathe freely. The Health Department should also come up with a guideline as to the effects of haze on our health, and what we can do to minimize the ill effects if there are.
Indonesia may be thousand of miles away from the Philippines but the haze that we are experiencing now shows that no country is isolated from the outside world anymore. As Joey Ayala’s song “Magkaugnay” goes…
Lupa, laot, langit ay magkaugnay
Hayop, halaman, tao ay magkaugnay
Ang lahat ng bagay ay magkaugnay
Magkaugnay ang lahat.
(C) 2015 by MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR, Davao City