Student Research Reports
Urban Heat & Greenhouse Gas Trends in Filipino Urban Areas: Pre- vs. Post-Quarantine
Organization(s):Philippines Citizen Science
Country:Philippines
Student(s):Andrei Joshua A. Alayon
Lara Yuarelle G. Lista
Julienne Mikyla P. Cruz
Yohan Maco P. Alkayde
Grade Level:Undergraduate
Educator(s):
Contributors:Angelo Paolo Atip
Anthony Jose Angeles
Report Type(s):International Virtual Science Symposium Report
Protocols:Air Temperature, Clouds, Relative Humidity, Surface Temperature
Presentation Video:
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Language(s):English
Date Submitted:03/05/2025

This study examines the impact of quarantine on urban heat and greenhouse gas levels in the Philippines. The research measured air pollutants, Carbon Dioxide (CO₂), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Formaldehyde (HCHO), and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC), along with urban heat parameters before and after quarantine. Air pollution occurs when certain gases and particles, known as pollutants, accumulate in the atmosphere to levels that can cause harm to human health and the environment. The proponents visited several locations, namely IBP Road, San Mateo Bridge, and Don Antonio, to evaluate chemical pollutant levels and urban heat parameters before and after the nationwide lockdown. Meters were placed in these urban locations and exposed for an hour every day for a week. Data analysis involved Pearson’s Correlation to test correlations between all sets of data and the T-Test to examine differences in data. The findings indicate a significant decline in greenhouse gas levels (except for HCHO, which showed a slight increase) post-quarantine, with CO₂, CO, and TVOC levels dropping across all test locations. However, despite reduced pollutant emissions, urban heat parameters, particularly surface and air temperatures, increased across all areas. The extraneous cloud data suggest that temperatures were lower on days with more cloud cover than that of when clouds were overcast, which corresponds to the higher humidity levels during those same days. The statistical analysis confirmed notable differences between pre- and post-quarantine data, with 61.47% of measured factors showing high variability. These results suggest that while reduced human activity lowered air pollution, it did not immediately mitigate rising urban temperatures. The study underscores the need for long-term, consistent efforts to combat climate change, as halting emissions alone is insufficient to reverse urban heat effects.