Haze disrupts Zamboanga weather monitoring

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - The haze that lingered the southern skies in Mindanao since last week affected the weather monitoring, according to the local weather bureau.

Alan Gelani, local weather observer of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said the heavy haze was already 5,000 kilometers below the sky.

“The weather monitoring was already affected like the visibility and the observation of the amount of clouds. So due to the obstruction of haze our reports here were limited because the haze is already overcast,” Gelani said.

Based on reports, the haze came from the forest fire in Indonesia.

According to Gelani, the Air Transportation Office (ATO) has started coordinating the visibility problem.

“They were really concern of the low visibility,” Gelani said.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has not reported any cancellation of flights here.

Meanwhile, City Health Officer Dr. Rodelyn Agbulos said residents in the highland villages complained of respiratory problem.

Agbulos said the haze could trigger respiratory illness.