Metro Cebu air quality remains ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’

A view of Metro Cebu on Wednesday, September 2, as haze continues to blanket parts of the area amid deteriorating air quality. | Screengrabbed from Joel Garganera FB

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — Metro Cebu’s air quality remained within the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” category on Wednesday, September 9, after sharp fluctuations in pollution levels last week.

The Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas (EMB-7) recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 116 at 4 p.m. Wednesday, based on fine particulate matter, or PM2.5.

The reading remained in the same category recorded since Monday afternoon, after Metro Cebu previously reached “very unhealthy” and “acutely unhealthy” levels amid the transboundary haze from Indonesia.

The latest conditions still call for caution among vulnerable groups, including children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with heart or respiratory conditions, who are advised to limit outdoor exposure.