Air quality in Quezon City

What is the air quality index of Quezon City?

Quezon City is a highly urbanized city and the most populous city in the Philippines. It was the capital city of the Philippines from 1948 until 1976 when it was replaced by Manila. A 2015 census estimated the population to be in the region of 3 million people.

In early 2021, Quezon was experiencing “Moderate” quality air with a US AQI number of 61. This is based on the suggested levels by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The concentration of Pollutant PM2.5 was 16.1 µg/m³.

In neighbouring Metro Manilla, the average reading for 2019 was “Moderate”, with readings between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³.

What is the main source of air pollution in Quezon City?

With an area of 161 square kilometres, Quezon City is the most populous city in the Philippines, centrally located in Metro Manila. Concentrations of fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) are 1.8 times greater than the safe level established by the World Health Organisation. The road transport sector was the source of a huge 69 per cent of PM2.5 emissions in the city. Quezon City is taking definitive measures in order to reduce deaths and diseases often associated with poor air quality.

What is the history of the pollution level in Quezon City?

The population of Manila has grown faster than that in any other city since 1970 and many of these inhabitants live in the shadow of power stations and industrial plants. Smog is constantly seen hovering above the city and over 2 million vehicles ply for space on the city’s congested roads. Pedestrians, very wisely, are seen with face masks covering their noses and mouths.

According to findings from the WHO, the level of lead in the air is more than three times the permitted standard. Concentration levels of PM2.5 and PM10 are also dangerously high.

The proposed legislation would phase out the use of leaded fuel as soon as possible, reduce industrial emissions, promote recycling, phase out vehicles over 15 years old, ban open-air incineration, and drastically increase fines for the owners of polluting vehicles.

It has been noticed that the rush-hour traffic moves at just 7 km/hr which is the slowest of any Asian city. Investing in an overhead light rail system seems to be the most feasible move forward as the best way to reduce some of the congestion. Currently, there is just one 30 km stretch of overhead rail.

Is air pollution in Quezon City getting better or worse?

Due to the extensive use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics displays, the quality of air in Quezon City is very often poor at the start of a new year, due to the celebrations. The monitoring station at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City recorded PM2.5 levels of 369 µg/m. The PM2.5 levels in the city fall under the category of extremely dangerous. This means it is no longer deemed safe to go outside without wearing a face mask, and that is not always safe.

What can be done to improve the air quality in Quezon City?

As part of the Anti-Smoke Belching Program which has been adopted in Metro Manila, the Environmental Protection and Waste Management Department in Quezon City is conducting daily roadside testing of vehicle exhaust levels to check up on the levels of PM2.5 emissions. It was soon discovered that a mere 7 per cent of all tested vehicles gave off emissions within an acceptable level. The remaining 93 per cent were advised to have their vehicles serviced.

Quezon City has introduced an Environment Code that is intended to protect the environment through the introduction of policies which will ensure the quality and safety of air, land and water and help protect biodiversity.

In 2019 the city signed the C40 Clean Air Cities Declaration, which will help it attain the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. Within a few years, they will establish acceptable levels of the pollutants and create targets in order to attain these levels. This should enable them to meet the standards laid down by the World Health Organisation's air quality guidelines for Particulate Matter (both PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ozone (O₃) and sulphur dioxide (SO₂).

As a member of the C40 Clean Air Cities group, there are many suggestions that need to be implemented in order to reach the target. These include the expansion of zero-emission public transport and the creation of low or zero-emission zones, the encouragement of walking and/or cycling throughout the city in designated safe areas. The implementation of vehicle restrictions through either incentives or disincentives so as to reduce their numbers in the city centre. Other sectors which will need attention are city-owned vehicle emissions, the cleaning up of construction sites and equipment, the reduction of industrial emissions and from domestic wood burning, the expansion of affordable clean energy for cooking and heating and the restriction of pollution from solid waste burning and the encouragement to make the city greener through the planting of trees and creation of green spaces.

What are the effects of breathing Quezon City’s poor quality air?

A recent survey by the Philippine Paediatric Society asked doctors to describe the most common illnesses that they treated. The response was unanimously the same: diseases of the upper respiratory tract are the most common.

Urine samples taken from children who live and beg in the worst areas of the city were found to have 7 per cent lead concentrations in their system.

Several doctors reported that their middle-class patients who were more affluent than most kept their children indoors for most of the time. They use ionisers and air purifiers to combat the heavily polluted outdoor conditions, but in doing so, often create other problems due to lack of physical exercise. The number of children suffering from obesity is on the rise, possibly because of this.

Even young strong healthy people experience health impacts from being exposed to polluted air. The actual risk of adverse effects depends on the current health status of the individual, the pollutant type and concentration, and the length of exposure to the polluted air.

High levels can cause immediate problems such as aggravated cardiovascular and respiratory illness and cell damage to the respiratory system. Long-term exposure leads to the accelerated ageing of the lungs which results in loss of capacity and lower functionality.