Indonesian wildfire haze degrades Northern Mindanao air quality

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Transboundary smoke drifting from raging forest and land fires in Kalimantan, Indonesia, has triggered deteriorating air quality across Northern Mindanao, sending pollution gauges in neighboring Iligan City to “acutely unhealthy” levels.

Air monitoring data released by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau-10 (DENR-EMB-10) revealed a steady spike in fine particulate matter between August 30 and September 1 across key urban centers.

Iligan City recorded the most alarming spike, with its Air Quality Index (AQI) surging past the 200 threshold into the acutely unhealthy range — registering 203 on Aug. 31 and 209 on Sept. 1.

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READ: Unhealthy air quality blanketing eight areas – DENR

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In Cagayan de Oro City, conditions deteriorated from “fair” (78 on Aug. 30 and 96 on Aug. 31) to “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” on Sept. 1 after posting an AQI of 105.

Nearby Tagoloan town remained lodged in the “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” bracket throughout the three days, recording consecutive readings of 109 on Aug. 30 and 31 before climbing to 140 on Sept. 1.

Nick Jabagat, chief of this city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department, said they had just met with the City Health Office and the City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (CLENRO) to discuss the air quality.

“If you have to go out, wear a face mask and please monitor the updates on the official Facebook pages of CHO and CLENRO, which are posting the current air quality in the city,” Jabagat told the Inquirer on Wednesday.

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READ: DOH: Better mask up amid haze from Indonesia forest fires

Under EMB guidelines, an AQI between 201 and 300 warns that people should avoid heavy traffic corridors, people with heart or respiratory conditions like asthma must stay indoors and rest, and unnecessary travel should be postponed.

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DENR-EMB-10 attributed the regional haze to prevailing wind currents funneling transboundary smoke and particulate matter across borders.

“The haze observed in some areas of the Philippines is associated with transboundary smoke from forest and land fires in Kalimantan, Indonesia,” the bureau said in an advisory./coa