‘Asian brown cloud’ won’t affect RP — PAGASA exec

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga - The two-mile thick Asian "brown cloud," which the United Nations recently warned could affect the lives of millions of people in Asia, will not affect the Philippines, the weather forecasting chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said yesterday.

"If ever that cloud reaches Philippine territory, its altitude will be so high that it will not affect us," Frisco Nilo told The STAR in a phone interview.

Central Luzon folk are apprehensive about the effects of the so-called Asian brown cloud following unusual freak storms in various parts of the region in recent days. Last Saturday, Angeles City experienced unusually heavy rain despite continuing sunshine.

Nilo, however, said there is nothing to worry about, explaining that the brief thunderstorms being experienced in Central Luzon and Metro Manila were mere effects of the tail of typhoon "Rosa," which was lately spotted heading toward southern Japan after battering South Korea where scores of people were reported killed.

UN environment officials recently warned that the Asian brown cloud would put at risk the lives of millions of Asians because of the drought and flooding it could trigger.

They warned of radically altered rainfall patterns as well as acid rain with "dire implications in economic growth and health."

UN environment program chief Klaus Toepfer was recently quoted as saying, "There are also global implications because a pollution parcel like this (brown cloud), which stretches three kilometers high, can travel half-way around the globe in a week."