Air pollution worse in Metro Manila

COVERED IN HAZE Smog blankets parts of Metro Manila as seen from a spot in Antipolo City on June 29 2021. Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum said the haze is caused by pollution from vehicles and not from Taal Volcano, which has been emitting thick smoke as high as three-kilometers from its main crater over the last few days. FILE PHOTO BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE

By Bella Cariaso, Manila Times

Air pollution in Metro Manila has worsened with the opening of businesses, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Friday.

The DENR's Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Director William Cuñado said that during the implementation of Covid-19 restrictions, all the monitoring stations in the National Capital Region (NCR) registered green which meant good air quality.

Because of the lockdowns, only 10 percent or 35,000 of the 350,000 vehicles in the NCR were allowed to operate.

"During the pandemic, there was a reduction of 90 percent in volume of the vehicles plying within Metro Manila. Because of this, there was a dramatic reduction on air pollutants. There was a good quality of air because of the small volume of vehicles. Almost all the stations had green color, meaning to say, that we had good quality of air within Metro Manila," Cuñado said.

However, as pandemic restrictions eased, a gradual change in the air quality was noticed.

"Now that the vehicles allowed outside are almost the same compared to the volume we have prior to the pandemic, from green, we have monitored yellow or even orange colors," Cuñado said.

Yellow signifies fair air quality while orange means air quality can be unhealthy for sensitive groups such as those with respiratory problems like asthma.

"The air pollution could aggravate their ailments," Cuñado said.

He added that air pollution is high during heavy traffic in a particular area.

"This is the accumulation of gases discharged in a certain area, especially if there is a high concentration of people that are moving and there is heavy traffic. There is an increase in the particulate matters and other substances," the official said.