Real-time air-quality data is giving businesses and local authorities in Toledo City, Cebu, a tool to assess operational and public-health risks as transboundary haze and volcanic activity periodically disrupt air conditions in the region.
A monitoring station in Barangay Cabitoonan recorded a sharp rise in fine particulate pollution during the recent haze episode linked to fires in Indonesia, highlighting how localized environmental data can help companies and government agencies respond to rapidly changing conditions.
The station recorded an hourly average PM2.5 reading of 83.46 micrograms per cubic meter at 10 p.m. on Sept. 2, more than 10 times its reported baseline of 8.2 micrograms per cubic meter from May 2025 to August 2026.
Established in 2021 by Therma Visayas Inc., a subsidiary of AboitizPower Corp., in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau Region 7, the facility provides continuous readings that can support decisions on public-health advisories and local responses.
The system, known as the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System, or CAAMS, measures PM1, PM2.5 and PM10, as well as key meteorological conditions. Data can be consolidated more frequently during exceptional events such as haze and volcanic activity.
For businesses operating in industrial communities, access to localized environmental information can help improve preparedness and risk management when air-quality conditions deteriorate, while giving local authorities a more precise basis for public advisories.
DENR-EMB has direct remote access to the station’s readings, while Toledo City receives the data through its Multipartite Monitoring Team, which includes the City Health Office.