‘Light haze’ in Metro Manila possibly from Indonesia fires, says Pagasa

The state weather bureau has monitored “light haze” in Metro Manila on Monday, possibly caused by the Indonesian forest fires that have reached Mindanao and parts of Visayas.

Obet Badrina, weather specialist of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said their stations in Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Science Garden in Quezon City and port area in Manila have monitored “light haze” covering the sky of the city as of 11 a.m.

Badrina could not say whether it was the haze from Indonesia that has reached Visayas and Mindanao.

Other causes of haze are pollution and volcanic eruption, he noted.

The light haze may worsen depending on the source of the haze. It will take another weather system or rains to suppress it, Badrina said.

In a separate statement, Pagasa said that “thick smaze” (smoke-haze) has been observed in Mindanao and parts of Visayas recently.

This has resulted to “some inconveniences ranging from reduced visibility to cancelled flights.”

“Wind analysis using the Haze Information Portal of the Asean Specialized Meteorological Center based in Singapore suggests that equatorial winds enhanced by Typhoon Lando have reached the Philippines,” Pagasa said.

Lando may have aggravated the situation, Pagasa noted, as the smaze from Indonesia peatland fires drifted over Mindanao and Palawan-Visayas area.

“Thick smaze began to manifest late September particularly during occurrence of tropical cyclones in North Western Pacific areas,” Pagasa said.

The weather bureau noted that during El Nino, countries in the Western Pacific such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Singapore and the Philippines and others experienced hot and dry climate, which resulted to forest and peatland fires similar to the 1997 to 1998 El Nino.

Pagasa advised the public to take appropriate precautionary actions to avoid hazards brought by this thick smaze.