ILOILO City – The air quality of this southern city remains within standard, based on the monitoring of particulate matter (PM) by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).
EMB said the city has 10 and 2.5 (PM) air quality, which is within fair brackets, despite the eruption of Kanlaon Volcano on June 3.
PM10 are very small particles with a diameter of 10 micrometers (0.01 mm) or smaller.
The ambient air quality report of the EMB showed fair quality within the Metro Iloilo Airshed. The station monitoring in La Paz district released a good air quality index category and fair from the EMB building at the Parola Wharf in the City Proper district.
The result of the monitoring at the Oton Elementary School in Oton town was also under the good air quality index category and fair at the Pavia National High School in Pavia town.
“This indicates that the air quality remained satisfactory following the eruption of Kanlaon Volcano on June 3, 2024. This confirms that the existing air quality within the metro poses little or no risk to the community,” the EMB said yesterday.
EMB Region 6 director Ramar Niel Pascua said EMB has six air quality monitoring stations based in Iloilo City and five towns, but only four are currently available since the two others were for monitoring of the air quality in Negros Occidental, following the Mt. Kanlaon eruption.
“Our equipment operates daily to monitor the air quality of Iloilo,” he said in an interview.
The EMB, he said, has requested from their central office equipment to monitor the presence of sulfur dioxide, so he cannot comment on results posted on various social media accounts because they did not come from their office.
Pascua also advised the public, especially those with respiratory diseases, to take precautionary measures like wearing face masks when they go outside of their houses. (Philippine News Agency)
