Metro Manila's haze due to 'thermal inversion, air pollutants' -- Phivolcs
Metro Manila's haze due to 'thermal inversion, air pollutants' -- Phivolcs
Maria Antonia Bornas, chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) monitoring and eruption prediction division, said that the current fog over Metro Manila is not in any way caused by Taal volcano's elevated sulfur dioxide emission. The haze is caused by "thermal inversion and air pollutants." Volcanic smog is only being experienced in parts of Batangas. Just the same the agency advises the public to stay indoors and wear N95 masks.
Video and Interview by Ezrah Raya
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Maria Antonia Bornas, chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) monitoring and eruption prediction division, said that the current fog over Metro Manila is not in any way caused by Taal volcano's elevated sulfur dioxide emission. The haze is caused by "thermal inversion and air pollutants." Volcanic smog is only being experienced in parts of Batangas. Just the same the agency advises the public to stay indoors and wear N95 masks.
Video and Interview by Ezrah Raya
Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe
Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net
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Transcript
00:00 I'm Esther Araya reporting on the hottest issues and the biggest stories.
00:04 This is the Manila Times.
00:06 A thick haze or fog engulfs the regions of Calabarzon and Metro Manila.
00:11 As you can see outside my window, it is very persistent even in Quezon City.
00:16 The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology or PHIVOLCS latest report said that
00:21 Taal volcanoes' sulfur dioxide levels remain elevated, leading to persistent volcanic smog,
00:28 which they also like to call "Vog" at Taal Volcano in Batangas, causing concerns about
00:35 potential health risks and harm to the environment.
00:38 The acidic volcanic gas can severely irritate the eyes, throat, and respiratory tract,
00:44 and is harmful to individuals with heart and respiratory diseases,
00:48 elderly, pregnant women, and children.
00:51 The Bureau advised those affected by the volcanic smog to stay indoors,
00:56 shut the doors and windows, use N95 face masks, and seek medical help if needed.
01:03 Here to give us an update is PHIVOLCS Volcano Monitoring and Eruption
01:08 Prediction Division Chief Maria Antonia Bornas.
01:12 Welcome to the Manila Times, ma'am.
01:14 Ma'am, what is the cause for the smog that is currently over Metro Manila?
01:18 And does this mean that there is another impending eruption from Taal Volcano?
01:23 We had some reports of people in several communities in the municipalities of Tuoy,
01:33 Lemery, Calaca, Calatagan, and other municipalities to the west of Taal Lake being affected by the
01:44 vog.
01:45 Now, the vog is actually facilitated, the vog formation or volcanic smog formation
01:52 was facilitated actually by a phenomenon that is now occurring, that is still occurring
01:58 over the Taal region and Metro Manila as well, which is called a thermal inversion.
02:05 I'm not a climate expert or a weather expert, but Paghaasa, the weather bureau, our sister agency,
02:12 has already released statements in their social media accounts explaining that there is thermal
02:20 inversion in the atmosphere over our city that is preventing the mixing of the atmosphere,
02:31 so it's become layered and the pollution that we have emitted is getting trapped at the lower
02:41 levels of the atmosphere.
02:42 And that is why we have very low visibility over the metropolises.
02:47 This is different from what is being experienced at Taal, although the thermal inversion is also
02:54 trapping pollutants over the area, but the pollutants actually include volcanic aerosol
03:04 and therefore we have vog or volcanic smog over Taal region.
03:10 So ma'am, what Batangas is experiencing in Calabarzon is really volcanic smog because
03:16 there is dioxide that is coming out of the Taal volcano, but the current fog that envelopes
03:23 Metro Manila now has nothing to do with it.
03:25 It's caused by thermal inversion.
03:28 So is the volcano eruption of Taal still indirectly responsible for the thermal inversion
03:34 on Metro Manila?
03:34 No, I think this is a common weather phenomenon.
03:41 We've experienced this several times.
03:42 I remember in the past few years there have been issuances by Pag-asa of thermal inversion
03:50 causing low visibility and fog over the metropolis and of course smog.
03:56 Smog is not able to be dissipated away from the metropolis.
04:04 We also have very, very low wind speeds.
04:06 Actually, this is one of the main factors that we have noticed or we have observed to
04:15 be the primary driver of volcanic smog formation.
04:20 Very low wind speeds causing volcanic gas to accumulate over the Taal region instead
04:28 of being dissipated away from the volcano or dispersed away from the volcano.
04:34 And so the volcanic gas accumulation actually forms aerosol which leads to the formation
04:43 of volcanic smog.
04:45 In the metropolis, I'm pretty sure it also happens, except the difference that sulfur
04:50 dioxide and other chemicals or other gases are actually emitted by vehicles and industries.
05:02 Ma'am, so this is very different from the 2020 Taal eruption that caused fog and also
05:09 hit Metro Manila.
05:09 Yes, sir.
05:10 This is thermal inversion and there's very low wind speed that's causing this thick
05:17 air.
05:18 So pollution in Metro Manila is not clear.
05:21 Yes, that's right.
05:22 Definitely, there is volcanic smog but it's in Batangas.
05:25 So when can we expect the fog or this thermal inversion to subside in Metro Manila?
05:32 And when can we expect the volcanic smog to subside in Batangas?
05:38 If the wind is going to pick up by September 27, there's going to be some, based on their
05:45 forecast, there is going to be an increase in wind speed.
05:52 So until then, the wind is really slow.
05:58 It's between 1 and 2 meters per second.
06:04 Right now, if you look outside your window, nothing is moving.
06:11 So the wind is really still.
06:15 So unless we get the wind picks up, we might see some of this, both smog and fog, continue.
06:26 For Taal, for the Taal region, Taal has been emitting sulfur dioxide in large quantities
06:35 since March 2021.
06:37 In fact, in the first year, in the first two years of SO2 emission, the total concentrations
06:47 were really high, such that in October 15 of 2021, we reached almost 25,000 tons per
06:56 day of sulfur dioxide.
06:58 Right now, we measured, well, today we're measuring, but yesterday we measured 4,569
07:06 tons per day.
07:07 This is quite small compared to what Taal was really belching out in the first two years.
07:14 We've seen Taal has been emitting sulfur dioxide in the beginning, in increasing and
07:22 then in decreasing quantities since 2021.
07:26 It's a cycle, so it's cyclical.
07:30 There would be increase and then decrease and then increase and then decrease.
07:35 But these cycles are decreasing through time.
07:38 So hopefully in a year or two, we will see the end of Taal's degassing, but it's really
07:45 going to be taking a long time.
07:46 I see.
07:48 So like what you said, Mama, based on Pag-Asas data, if the wind picks up on September 27,
07:54 so we can expect this hazy weather as well.
07:59 I'm not an expert.
08:01 I'm just judging.
08:02 I'm just basing this on the wind data because for volcanic smog, this is what we noticed.
08:08 If the wind is very weak, then we have a bug over the Taal region.
08:13 To be clear, Ma'am, there's no impending eruption from Taal?
08:17 No, our other parameters indicate that there is no new magma that is threatening to erupt.
08:29 Although again, we cannot discount the small or the phreatic or the weak phreatomagmatic
08:36 eruptions from occurring because we are seeing Taal belching out a lot of volcanic gas.
08:41 And if for some reason the volcanic gas that is being continuously spewed out by the volcano
08:53 gets trapped beneath the volcano, that will pressurize and cause minor small eruptions.
09:04 And that's why we are still at alert level one.
09:07 I see.
09:08 Still at alert level one at the Taal volcano.
09:11 Ma'am, volcanic smog or bug can cause serious health hazards.
09:14 So what is your advice to the public in general?
09:17 Yes, we are always advising for people to stay indoors.
09:22 As much as you can, if you can avoid going out, avoid it.
09:26 Wear a mask, an N95 mask or a wet cloth over your nose if you are experiencing really
09:39 high concentrations of SO2.
09:45 You can smell this.
09:47 It smells like rotten eggs.
09:51 Especially if there is an acrid, if our throat is chest.
10:00 And then if there are really adverse ill effects like people feel dizzy or are having difficulty
10:08 of breathing or are experiencing chest pains, please call your local health units or health
10:20 centers.
10:21 The rural health centers around Batangas have been dealing with this since 2021.
10:29 They are already well-versed.
10:30 They are already very well-equipped.
10:33 They know what to do.
10:35 And they have practiced and have done so many times.
10:41 And they will actually temporarily evacuate areas, villages or situas or barangays
10:50 which are receiving so much volcanic SO2 or volcanic smog if necessary.
10:56 So all of these measures have been in place and have been practiced since 2021.
11:02 So to our communities, please make sure to contact your local government units in case
11:16 you need help.
11:18 Thank you so much.
11:18 PHIVOLTS Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division Chief, Maria Antonia Bornas.
11:24 Maraming salamat.
11:25 Thank you.