This was taken in Quiot, Pardo at 9 a.m. today.
With Metro Cebu skies looking gloomy, many ask : has haze reached Cebu?
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environment Management Bureau 7 is conducting Ambient Air Quality Monitoring to verify this.
Eddie Llamedo, DENR-7 information officer said that they will be taking samples in Metro Cebu area, which includes Cebu City, Mandaue City, Consolacion, Talisay City and Liloan town to check for the presence of nitrous oxide and sulfuric oxide.
“Our gas tester just arrived two days ago so we are going to use it,” he said.
Llamedo said they got confirmation from EMB counterparts that some parts of Mindanao are already experiencing haze, which is described as an atmospheric phenomenon where dry particles, dust and smoke obstructs the clarity of the sky making it look gloomy.
“But we still have to collect samples here in Metro Cebu. Let’s wait for the results of EMB-7,”.
He said DENR has yet to confirm whether the haze in Indonesia caused by forest fires has reached the Philippines.
Air samples will be collected every four hours and checks for the status of nitrous oxide and sulfuric oxide concentration, said Llamedo.
As of this morning, Cebu’s sky visibility is four kilometers according to PAGASA Visayas director Oscar Tabada.
Read related story: ‘Cebu had both haze and smog’