Environmental officials warned that air quality in Metro Cebu will continue to fluctuate as shifting wind patterns alter the movement of fine particulate matter originating from forest fires in Indonesia.

Engr. Arthur Nino Calupig, an air quality monitoring specialist for the Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas, said changes in wind speed and direction directly influence how much haze reaches the region.

“Gustiness, or sudden strong winds, has a significant effect,” Calupig said, noting that brief gusts can temporarily divert air pollutants away from Central Visayas.

However, when prevailing southwest winds resume, fine particulate matter from the active Indonesian fires is carried back toward the Philippines.

Air pollution also tends to peak during cooler hours from midnight to early morning, when pollutants remain suspended closer to the ground.

Monitoring records show severe volatility in local air quality over recent days. Conditions were categorized as acutely unhealthy on 3 and 4 September before fine particulate matter levels reached very unhealthy in parts of the metropolitan area on 5 September.

Readings temporarily improved on 6 September to the classification of unhealthy for sensitive groups, but pollution spiked again on 7 September into the very unhealthy range with a fine particulate matter air quality index reading of 158.

Calupig clarified that wind-trajectory models show general pollutant movement but do not measure actual ground-level concentrations. Because of this, the bureau relies on monitoring stations in Talisay City and Toledo City to track real-time air conditions.

While rainfall can wash airborne particulates out of the atmosphere, officials noted that precipitation provides only temporary relief as long as the Indonesian fires remain active and winds blow toward the archipelago.

The bureau stated it cannot provide a specific long-term forecast for Metro Cebu’s air quality due to the unpredictable nature of wind shifts and pollution transport.