BLANKET OF HAZE

By NITZ ARANCON, Correspondent
and FROILAN GALLARDO, Contributor

HEALTH officials yesterday sounded alarm bells over the quality of air as Cagayan de Oro and many other areas in Mindanao found itself in a blanket of haze blamed on the brush fires in Indonesia.

The haze believed to have been caused by the forest fires in Indonesia has continued to affect the skies over Mindanao, five days after it was first spotted over General Santos City last Sunday.

Dr. Ramon Neri, medical director of the city hall-owned JR Borja General Hospital, called on residents not to take chances, saying poor air quality could soon take a toll on public health.

Dr. Neri said people with asthma, heart, and lung problems are the most vulnerable, and the haze could cause allergies and affect the respiratory system.

Neri and the Department of Health (DOH), in an advisory, said people with respiratory ailments could opt to stay home or if not, use N95 masks or breathing protection masks.

Neri said motorists may also consider using fog lights if it becomes smoggier in order to avoid road accidents.

Sabdullah Abubacar, director of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in northern Mindanao, said the air pollution in the region has remained “tolerable,” citing the Oct. 18-Oct. 22 results of an air monitoring  in Iligan City.

Abubacar said the government standard is 75 micro grams per cubic meter. The EMB recorded 95 micro grams per cubic meter in Oct. 18,  72 micro grams per cubic meter in Oct. 19, 55 micro grams per cubic meter in Oct. 20, 63 micro grams per cubic meter in Oct. 21, and 76 micro grams per cubic meter in Oct. 22.

“Sa Oct. 18, misaka sa 95 micro grams gikan sa standard nga 75 micro grams, ug sa Oct. 22, 76 micro grams, pero tolerable ra kaayo kini nga increase sa air pollution. Dili pa angay kabalak-an,” said Abubacar.

He said the EMB have yet to determine if the air pollution was a direct result of the forest fires in Indonesia “kay na-a man poy daghang  aso sa tambotso sa mga sakyanan, ug buga sa  panghaw sa mga planta dinhi sa atong rehiyon.”

But Dante Arriola, a weather observer in General Santos City, said their assessment showed the haze could have come from the raging forest fires in parts of Sumatra in Indonesia.

Luz Mercado, a weather specialist of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geographical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the haze has resulted in “moderate visibility” in the past few days across Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro.

Mercado said Pagasa found “solid tiny particles” in the air.

“Dili man lang kana kay aso ra, lakip na diha ang abo o abog kay mga solid tiny particles man kana nga na-apil pagka padpad sa huros sa hangin,” Mercado said.

Mercado said Pagasa was expecting the skies over Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro to clear in the next few days because of changes in wind directions that started yesterday.

She said winds that brought typhoon “Lando” to the country were the same winds that pushed the smog from Indonesia.

Pagasa, she said, was expecting winds from the Pacific Ocean to move westward starting yesterday.

Victor Flores, another Pagasa weather specialist in El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental, said the haze could still be seen over the skies in Mindanao especially in the early mornings and late afternoons.

Flores said visibility over the affected skies dropped from the normal 20 kilometers to only 10 kilometers. He said visibility was worse last Sunday when it was first spotted.

“Last Sunday was the worst at only eight kilometers visibility,” he said.

He noted that the prevailing southwesterly winds continued to bring hazardous air pollutants from Sumatra in Indonesia to Mindanao.

The almost weeklong haze has already caused the cancellation of several flights in Cotabato City and at least one person was hospitalized in General Santos city after complaining of “difficulty in breathing.”

The prevailing winds also affected Cebu City and the rest of the country in early October.

“There will some respiratory problems because of the presence of dust, particles and moisture in the air,” Flores said.

In General Santos City, Maysheen Collong, information officer of the EMB in Region 12, said she could not make any conclusion as of the moment whether the monitored haze really came from the forest fires in Indonesia.

“The prevailing wind patterns in the region are not from Indonesia so it’s still a big question mark. Right now we’re studying all possible situations, including observations that the foggy or hazy atmosphere was actually caused by low cloud formations,” Collong said.