The air quality in the Philippines’ capital city has reached an “unhealthy” level on New Year’s Day due to air pollution, based on data by Swiss research firm IQair.
As of 12:00 noon, IQair said that the air quality index in Manila was at 167, with Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) being the main pollutant.
The company noted that the PM2.5 concentration of 78.4 µg/m³ was 15.7 times the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual PM2.5 guideline value.
“PM2.5 particles are floating particulate matter in the air measuring 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less. PM2.5 is so small it can be absorbed into the bloodstream upon inhalation. For this reason, it is typically the pollutant posing the greatest health threat,” IQair said.
The PM2.5 can come from combustion resulting from power plants, smoke and soot from wildfires and waste burning, vehicular emissions and combustion from motors, and industrial processes involving chemical reactions between gases.
Across the world, Manila ranked the 22nd city with the highest air pollution.
The IQAir thus advised the public to do the following:
- Avoid outdoor exercise.
- Close windows to avoid dirty outdoor air.
- Wear a mask outdoors.
- Run an air purifier.
—KG, GMA Integrated News
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