In fact, Metro Manila’s air quality during the New Year’s revelry was even much worse, said Dr. Gerry Bagtasa of the University of the Philippines Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology on Monday. ADVERTISEMENTBagtasa explained that the weather, along with land cooling at nighttime, prevented volcanic ash to move closer to the surface of Metro Manila. “But most of the ash plume [blown toward Metro Manila] descended only up to 3 km,” he said. But in the face of Metro Manila’s daily pollution, particularly pollutants from vehicles, masks to cover the nose and mouth can be helpful. Both pollutants reached more than a hundred ug/Ncm in the early morning of Jan. 1.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer January 13, 2020 20:48 UTC