Push Admin

LOOK: These photos of Metro Manila's skyline show how air quality has improved since lockdown

Article (news)

Anjo Bagaoisan, ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA -- Surrounded by clear skies and visible from across the sea and beneath the shadow of a mountain range, it&#x27;s Metro Manila as people have not seen it before. </p><p>With the enhanced community quarantine against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on its second week, residents of both the city and the nearby suburbs have snapped glimpses of the metropolis that have only been made possible by the lockdown. </p><p>People have called the smog-free and close-to-nature images rare and amazing. </p><p>It&#x27;s also visible proof of data released by private and public groups showing a decrease in air pollutants in the metro since the quarantine began on March 16. </p><p>Vehicular traffic has largely been banned during the month-long lockdown--the main factor cited by the groups for the quick improvement in <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/25/20/look-data-show-less-polluted-air-in-metro-manila-amid-lockdown" target="_blank">air quality</a>. </p><div><strong>DWARFED</strong></div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/03/26/p1.jpg"/><figcaption>The Sierra Madre mountain range looms over the Metro Manila skyscrapers. <em>Photo by Johair Siscar Addang</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>One characteristic of the metropolis made noticeable by the cleaner air is its proximity to a mountain range. </p><p>Photos taken by construction quality control engineer Johair Addang from the roof of a condominium tower in Pasig reveal the peaks of the Sierra Madre in neighboring Rizal and Aurora provinces dwarfing the city&#x27;s skyscrapers. </p><p>The Sierra Madre, dubbed the &quot;backbone&quot; of Luzon, is the Philippines&#x27; longest mountain range that stretches north to south from the Cagayan to Quezon provinces. </p><p>Unable to return to his home province before the lockdown, Addang has been staying in at the condo where he also works.</p><p>He took the photos with his camera phone on Monday, March 23, past 5 p.m. </p><p>Addang said he had just chanced upon the view of what he was already aware to be the Sierra Madre. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/03/26/p2.jpg"/><figcaption><em>Photo by Johair Siscar Addang</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>&quot;Dati matagal ko na siya nakikita. Pero shadow lang siya. Tapos nung nasa roofdeck ako nakita ko sya in details at maliwanag na siya,&quot; he told ABS-CBN News in an online chat. </p><p>(I&#x27;ve been seeing the mountain range before, but it was only a shadow. When I went to the roofdeck that day, I finally saw it brightly and with more details.)</p><p>As of this writing, he has not revisited the roof deck since taking the photo. </p><p>&quot;Na-amaze lang ako kasi ngayon lang ako nakakita ng ganoong view within Metro Manila.&quot; </p><p>(I was just amazed, having only now seen such a view from within Metro Manila.)</p><div><strong>UNPOLLUTED VIEW</strong></div><p>Residents on elevated suburbs across the border of Metro Manila have also been treated to an unobscured view of the <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/photo/03/21/20/smog-free-sunset-days-after-start-of-lockdown" target="_blank">city skyline</a>. </p><p>Celebrity Doug Kramer, whose family&#x27;s house overlooks the city, noticed the absence of smog and posted the view on Instagram together with shots from the same spot on December 2019. </p><p>Kramer&#x27;s photo 4 months ago showed a thick layer of gray smog blanketing the city--all gone in his March 21 shot. </p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9-3w9uHfVF/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"> </div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"> </div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"> </div><div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9-3w9uHfVF/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></a></div><div style="padding-top:8px"><div style="color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9-3w9uHfVF/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div></div><div style="padding:12.5% 0"> </div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;align-items:center"><div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(0px) translateY(7px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"> </div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"> </div></div><p style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9-3w9uHfVF/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Doug Kramer (@dougkramer)</a> on <time dateTime="2020-03-21T04:31:41+00:00" style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px">Mar 20, 2020 at 9:31pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>In the post, he called it &quot;a little good news.&quot; </p><p>&quot;We&#x27;ve been here almost a year now. And it&#x27;s a rarity to get consecutive days of a clear and unpolluted view. I would always wonder why our kids would easily get coughs and allergies when we were still living in the Metro,&quot; Kramer wrote. </p><p>With it he added a call for people to &quot;take care of our home better&quot; after the COVID-19 pandemic passes. </p><p>Even locals from Bataan province are able to see the Metro Manila skyline from across the other end of Manila Bay. </p><p>Bles Yee-Defeo of Mt. View in Mariveles, Bataan shared photos of the skyline and the bay which she took with her camera phone from her house&#x27;s rooftop over consecutive afternoons. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/03/26/p3.jpg"/><figcaption>Metro Manila&#x27;s skyline seen directly from Mariveles, Bataan, taken on 24. <em>Photo by Bles Yee-Defeo</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>She said Metro Manila--an estimated 45-kilometer direct distance from Mariveles--was last clearly visible from their area during her father&#x27;s time. </p><p>&quot;Kami tuwing gabi noon, malalaman lang namin na Manila kasi madaming ilaw. Pero ngayon, kahit umaga hangang hapon matatanaw mo &#x27;yung mga gusali mismo. Tuwing hapon &#x27;yan tinatanaw namin, eh nakakagaan ng pakiramdam,&quot; Yee-Defeo said. </p><p>(Before at night, we would recognize it as Manila because of the many lights. But now, even from morning until afternoon, you could see the buildings themselves. We would look at it now on afternoons, since it lightens our mood.)</p><p>She said she wanted to share that feeling to others by posting the photos online. </p><p>&quot;Sana po makapag-send din ng positive vibes &#x27;yan sa lahat ng makakakita po, lalo&#x27;t lahat ngayon ay stressed.&quot;</p><p>(I hope the photos would also send positive vibes to all who saw it, especially since all of us are now stressed.)</p><p>Metro Manila has long been panned for its air quality reaching levels way above global safety limits. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/27/20/worse-than-coronavirus-world-ph-air-quality-needs-improvement-groups-say">Worse than coronavirus: World, PH air quality needs improvement, groups say</a></li></ul><p>It may have changed with the lockdown, with Philippine environment Sec. Roy Cimatu even lauding similar initiatives in other countries as allowing &quot;the earth to heal from environmental degradation.”</p><p>The questions remains, however, if these rare views are only temporary and could disappear once the city again goes up and running.</p>

<p>MANILA -- Surrounded by clear skies and visible from across the sea and beneath the shadow of a mountain range, it's Metro Manila as people have not seen it before. </p>

MANILA -- Surrounded by clear skies and visible from across the sea and beneath the shadow of a mountain range, it's Metro Manila as people have not seen it before.

LOOK: These photos of Metro Manila's skyline show how air quality has improved since lockdown

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

News

LOOK: These photos of Metro Manila's skyline show how air quality has improved since lockdown

Anjo Bagaoisan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 27, 2020 05:48 AM PHT

Read More:

Metro Manila

Sierra Madre

air quality

COVID-19

coronavirus

enhanced community quarantine

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.