Philippine Air Pollution Is Three Times Higher Than the Safe Level

(SPOT.ph) Once upon a time, Metro Manila had bluer skies and cleaner air—a silver lining at the height of pandemic lockdowns. 

As predicted, air pollution has worsened with the return of motor vehicles on the roads, making the Philippines the 69th most polluted country in the world in 2022. This is based on the 2022 World Air Quality Report by Swiss air-quality technology company IQAir.

The data in this report is measured in units of micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3), but all you will need to know is that the lower the number, the better the air quality.

Also read: When the Air You Breathe Can Kill You

Air pollution in different cities and regions in the Philippines

To be fair to the Philippines, air quality had slightly improved from 15.6 μg/m³ in 2021 to 14.9 μg/m³ in 2022. However, this was still three times more than what the World Health Organization recognizes as safe at 5 μg/m³ or less. This went as low as 12.8 μg/m³ when national lockdowns were in place.

Chronic exposure to air pollution will put the population at risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, the worst case scenario of which could lead to lung cancer. Car-centric Taguig is the most polluted area based on IQAir’s available data at 24.4 μg/m³.

Aside from motor vehicles, the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil is also one of the main contributors to air pollution in the country.

Here are the other cities and regions in the Philippines with IQAir data, arranged from least to most polluted:

• San Juan City – 9.1 μg/m³
• Davao City – 13.9 μg/m³
• Metro Manila – 14.6 μg/m³
• Silang – 14.6 μg/m³
• Makati City – 14.7 μg/m³
• Rizal – 15.8 μg/m³
• Batangas – 17.2 μg/m³
• Mandaluyong City – 19.4 μg/m³
• Taguig – 24.4 μg/m³

Other countries in Southeast Asia have it worse: Indonesia is at 30.4 μg/m³, Laos at 27.6 μg/m³, and Vietnam at 27.2 μg/m³. 

Also read: No Surprise Here: Air Quality in Metro Manila Is in the Red Zone