YOU may have noticed a NASA DC-8 aircraft flying low, combing the skies across Metro Manila a few days ago. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United States' space agency, is in the Philippines for two weeks to conduct air quality monitoring exercises in Metro Manila as part of an eight-week mission in Asia, including South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. Environment Secretary Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga invited me to see the NASA airborne science laboratory in Clark, Pampanga, last February 8. This international collaboration with local scientists, air quality agencies and government partners is under the program called ASIA-AQ, or the Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality. The mission collects detailed air quality data over multiple Asian mega cities using aircraft, ground sites and satellites to give us a better understanding of local air quality issues. In the Philippines, the program is led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Philippine Space Agency, Manila Observatory, the Ateneo de Manila University and the University of the Philippines. All findings will be made available to the public within one year.
According to the World Health Organization, air pollution is one of the greatest environmental risks to health. Air pollution brings risks of stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic and acute respiratory diseases like asthma. A 2019 WHO report showed that 99 percent of the world's population was living in places that do not meet WHO air quality standards. Outdoor air pollution was estimated to have caused 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide. One-third of that figure was in Asia.
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