Haze from Indonesian forest fires keeps Davao Region air quality poor
Digos City stayed in the 'Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups' range on Monday after a weekend in which readings in Digos and Calinan, Davao City topped 200, according to DENR-EMB Davao.
Smoke from forest fires in Indonesia continued to affect air quality in the Davao Region on Monday, October 26, 2026, with Digos City logging air rated "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups," the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) Davao said, as reported by SunStar.
In its 7 a.m. update, EMB-Davao recorded a fine particulate matter (PM2.5) Air Quality Index (AQI) of 105.5 in Digos. Its other stations, in Tagum City, Malita in Davao Occidental and Calinan in Davao City, were in the "Fair" range at 92.5, 82 and 83. The bureau advised children and the elderly in Digos to limit prolonged outdoor exertion, while saying air in the three other areas was acceptable for the general public.
The weekend was far worse. On Saturday, October 24, Digos reached 246.2, the month's highest reading, and three of the four stations fell in the "Acutely Unhealthy" range. On Sunday morning, Calinan, the only Davao City station in the network, hit 234.7. For both areas, EMB issued its strongest advisory of the month, warning: "This is a serious health alert as the air is significantly harmful." It told people with heart or respiratory conditions such as asthma to stay indoors and postpone non-essential travel.
A SunStar Davao review of EMB-Davao's twice-daily updates found that at least one station has recorded air rated "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" or worse on 11 days since October 1, including every day from October 22 to 26. Some stations were offline on certain days due to system errors, maintenance or calibration, the bureau said.
EMB-Davao traced the spikes to transboundary haze from fires in Kalimantan and South Papua, Indonesia, and said smoke is expected to keep reaching the Philippines. How long and how severely will depend on wind direction, dispersion, rainfall and continued fire activity, the agency said.
The Davao City Health Office has been resharing its haze advisory, first posted on September 10, urging the public to avoid long periods outdoors, asking children, older people and those with lung or heart disease to stay indoors, and recommending an N95 mask or equivalent when going out. Residents may also visit the nearest health center for free health services.
As of Monday, no class advisory had been issued in Davao City due to the haze. In Cebu, officials are working on common AQI thresholds for suspending face-to-face classes, SunStar Cebu reported.
Why it matters for Davao
Residents, especially children, older people and those with heart or lung conditions, are advised to follow EMB-Davao air quality updates, limit outdoor time on high-reading days and wear N95 or equivalent masks outside.
This article was written by the DavaoNews desk with AI assistance, using reporting by SunStar. Facts come from the original report, which we credit and link below. Our editorial policy
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