By Zea Capistrano
DAVAO CITY – The Air Monitoring Unit (AMU) of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in Region 11 confirmed that a significant increase of fine particles has been detected in the air in Davao City following the forest fires in Indonesia.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) (MANILA BULLETIN)
Melvin Dapitanon, AMU-EMB head, said that based on their monitoring last week, the levels of fine particles in the city was at 20-30 micrograms per normal cubic meter However, from Saturday to Monday, the PM2.5 has reached 40-47 micrograms per normal cubic meter.
“Our standard is at 50 microgram per normal cubic meter, that is the standard set under our Clean Air Act,” Dapitanon said over a phone interview.
The increase was particularly recorded by the air quality monitoring instrument in Calinan National High School. The other instrument is located at the Davao International Airport.
Dapitanon said their hourly monitoring Wednesday was better with a 50 percent decrease, compared to Tuesday’s figures.
“Wala pa tayo sa level na unhealthy,” he said, adding that the air quality in Davao is “good to fair” as of their latest monitoring.
