The air quality in an evacuation center in Barangay Balingasag, Bago City, Negros Occidental became “very unhealthy” amid the activity of Kanlaon Volcano, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

“For Bago City Sports Complex station, it worsened to Very Unhealthy [165 µg/m³ (micrograms per cubic meter)] index,” the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Western Visayas said in its air quality status update on December 11, 2024.

“People with heart or respiratory disease, such as asthma, should stay indoors and rest as much as possible. Unnecessary trips should be postponed,” it added.

Aside from Bago City, the DENR EMB Western Visayas said that a station in Barangay Ara-al in La Carlota City also recorded an air quality that was “unhealthy for sensitive groups.”

“People with respiratory diseases, such as asthma, should limit outdoor physical exertion,” the DENR EMB Western Visayas said.

For its monitoring, the bureau is checking the pollutant Particulate Matter 10 (PM10). 

PM10 is a microscopic matter suspended in the air that is 10 micrometers or less such as dust from paved and unpaved roadways, according to the DENR.

While some of these particles can be filtered by the body, these can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, DENR added. 

(via GMA Integrated News)