Our Health is in the Air We Breathe
- Aleena Bacorro
- 8 hours ago
- 6 min read
Introduction
Growing up, I had the privilege of visiting my extended family in the Philippines during the holiday season. I loved basking in the warm weather, seeing my cousins, and receiving gifts from family members whom I hadn’t seen in years. However, during my last visit in 2022, I was sitting on the balcony of my family’s apartment in Manila when I noticed something odd in the sky: a gray carpet of smog lay atop the clouds. Since then, I’ve been taking note about the little things, such as how the air we breathe affects our health.
What is Smog
In simple terms, smog is a form of visible air pollution that reduces visibility and creates a brownish or grayish haze, predominantly over urban areas. The term “smog” itself originated in the early 1900s in London as a combination of "smoke" and "fog," initially describing the thick pollution from burning coal mixed with atmospheric moisture during the Industrial Revolution. The smog we see today is primarily photochemical smog, which forms when sunlight triggers chemical reactions between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere. Nitrogen oxides mainly come from vehicle exhaust, power plants, and factory emissions, while VOCs are released from sources such as gasoline, paints, cleaning products, and even lawn equipment. When sunlight hits these chemicals, they create ground-level ozone and airborne particles that manifest as the visible smog blanketing cities like Manila, Los Angeles, and Mexico City.
In the Philippines, transportation accounts for 56% of outdoor air pollution, with Manila's iconic jeepneys alone contributing 15% of transportation emissions and 48% of particulate matter in the capital. The country's growing reliance on fossil fuels, including coal-fired power plants and industrial facilities, adds another 35% of emissions. When sunlight interacts with these pollutants, it creates the photochemical smog that blankets cities like Manila with its characteristic brownish-gray haze.
What makes smog particularly problematic in certain cities is geography. Urban areas located in valleys or basins surrounded by mountains, such as the valley where Manila sits, are prone to accumulation of smog because wind cannot easily carry the pollution away. Combined with heavy traffic and industrial activity, these cities become perfect environments for smog to accumulate and persist, creating the gray carpet I witnessed hovering over my family's neighborhood.
What is Air Pollution
Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by chemical, physical, or biological agents that alter the atmosphere's natural characteristics. It consists of tiny solid and liquid particles (aerosols) floating in the air, along with certain gases from both human-made sources (vehicle emissions, fuel combustion, industrial facilities, chemical production) and natural sources (wildfires, volcanic ash, desert dust, sea spray, pollen). Public health is concerned with pollutants like particulate matter (especially PM2.5, which is 30 times thinner than a human hair), carbon monoxide, ground-level ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution is responsible for more than 6.5 million deaths annually, and nearly all people globally (99%) breathe air that exceeds WHO guideline limits.
How is Air Pollution Affecting My Community in the Philippines?
Air pollution has become a public health crisis in the Philippines, particularly in Metro Manila, where over 13 million residents breathe dangerously polluted air daily. Recent research estimates that 66,230 people died from air pollution-related causes in 2019 alone, including 1,310 children, making it the third-highest risk factor for death and disability from non-communicable diseases in the country. Filipino communities face increased rates of respiratory diseases like asthma and chronic bronchitis, cardiovascular problems, including stroke and ischemic heart disease (with air pollution responsible for 32% of these deaths), and neurological disorders. Children are particularly vulnerable, experiencing more respiratory infections and developmental issues, while pregnant women face increased risks of complications, premature births, and low birth weight babies.
The pollution crisis extends beyond air quality to water and waste management. The Pasig River, declared biologically dead in 1990, has been identified as the world's most polluted river for plastic emissions, which threaten both Laguna de Bay (which supplies over 40% of Metro Manila's fish) and Manila Bay. With 40-85% of solid waste going uncollected in many areas, waste ends up in waterways, clogging drainage systems, and causing flooding.
How Does Air Pollution Affect the Global Community?
Air pollution is a global health crisis that transcends borders and affects nearly every person on Earth. The State of Global Air 2024 report identifies poor air quality as the leading environmental threat to human health globally, accounting for 8.1 million deaths in 2021 alone. Health impacts are remarkably consistent across continents — whether in Los Angeles, Beijing, Manila, or London, exposure to fine particulate matter and ground-level ozone causes respiratory diseases, cardiovascular conditions, cancer, neurological disorders, and premature death. Almost 9 out of 10 urban residents worldwide are exposed to unhealthy levels of pollution, with low-income communities bearing disproportionate burdens. Moreover, children worldwide face impaired lung and brain development, pregnant women experience increased risks of complications, and older adults face elevated risks of dementia and Parkinson's disease.
Air pollution doesn't respect borders — pollutants travel thousands of miles through atmospheric currents, from Saharan dust crossing the Atlantic to wildfire smoke affecting neighboring regions. The climate connection is critical: many pollution sources, particularly fossil fuel combustion, also produce greenhouse gases that drive climate change, making pollution reduction a "win-win" strategy for both public health and climate mitigation. International cooperation, through organizations like the WHO and NASA's satellite monitoring systems, is essential and success stories from cities like Singapore — which implemented rigorous emissions standards and comprehensive public transport — demonstrate that when regulations work, the benefits are measurable: decreased respiratory symptoms, fewer childhood asthma cases, lower premature birth rates, and reduced dementia risk.
What Can We Do?
Individual actions matter. Filipinos can reduce their contribution to air pollution by using public transportation, walking, or biking instead of driving, maintaining vehicles properly, avoiding products with high VOC content, and supporting policies that promote renewable energy and stricter emissions standards. Community engagement, whether it be participating in tree-planting programs or advocating for cleaner energy sources, can drive collective change. For example, Filipino communities are fighting back through initiatives like "Breathe Metro Manila," which expands real-time air quality monitoring, and Quezon City's pioneering policy of canceling classes when pollution reaches dangerous levels at any of its 40 monitoring sites.
Conclusion
Air pollution is both a global crisis and a deeply personal threat to communities worldwide. From the smog-covered streets of Manila to polluted cities across every continent, air pollution claims millions of lives, strains economies, and damages the environment we all share. Yet there is reason for hope. The challenge is significant, but solutions exist. When countries implement stricter emissions standards, transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, improve public transportation systems, and expand air quality monitoring, the results are tangible — studies consistently show that air pollution reduction saves lives, improves children's respiratory health, lowers disease rates, and benefits economies.
With growing awareness, improved monitoring technologies like NASA's satellites and local sensor networks, and coordinated action across governments, industries, and civil society, communities can work toward cleaner air and healthier futures. The gray carpet of smog I witnessed over Manila in 2022 doesn't have to be permanent; through collective action — from individual behavior changes to international cooperation — we can clear the air for current and future generations. The time to act is now, because every breath matters, and everyone deserves clean air.
References
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Air Pollution and Your Health | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. (n.d.). National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Retrieved January 25, 2026, from
Koons, E. (2024, June 13). Air Pollution in the Philippines – Solutions. Energy Tracker Asia. Retrieved January 25, 2026, from
Myllyvirta, L., Thieriot, H., & Suarez, I. (2023, February 6). Estimating the Health & Economic Cost of Air Pollution in the Philippines. CREA. Retrieved January 25, 2026, from
Pollution / Philippines. (n.d.). Interactive Country Fiches. Retrieved January 25, 2026, from https://dicf.unepgrid.ch/philippines/pollution
Rahman, M. (2025, May 21). A deep dive on smog. Clarity Movement Co. Retrieved January 25,2026, from https://www.clarity.io/blog/a-deep-dive-on-smog
Swinn, N., & Fuentes, C. (2024, October 1). Smog. National Geographic Education. Retrieved January 25, 2026, from https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/smog/
What Causes Air Pollution? (2025, September 24). NASA Science. Retrieved January 25, 2026, from https://science.nasa.gov/kids/earth/what-causes-air-pollution/
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