I was meaning to upload these two photos taken during the same day but one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The photos were supposed to show the quality of the air we breathe based on the smog. The band of brown that is the smog over Metro Manila is clear in the first photo while the second photo seems to be clearer. The operative word there is “seems” because although the band does not appear in the photo, it does not mean the pollution is gone.

Before – photo taken during the morning at 6:43 AM

After – photo taken in the afternoon at 2:01 PM.

One shouldn’t be fooled by the second photo where it appears as if the smog has been dispersed or that the pollution is gone. On a real clear day, one should be able to see the Manila Bay in the horizon and not the bright white seen in the second photo. If my science is correct, this bright white is actually the dispersal of light due to the same smog or haze that is above us but which we cannot discern with our eyes. I think the term is “photo chemical smog” that I remember picking up from health advisories broadcast on radio while I was living in Japan in the 1990s. The reality is that there is much pollution and while this is not visible from the ground, it is clear when one is in the air. I refer the reader to an earlier post I made about this condition.

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