The christmas celebrations caused poor air quality in at least six metropolitan areas of the country in which they were activated precontingencies environmental and the population was asked to avoid outdoor activities. The highly contaminated regions are Mexico City. The Industrial Corridor of Guanajuato (Irapuato, Celaya and Salamanca)he Toluca Valley and the metropolitan area of Santiago Tianguistenco in the State of Mexico, the metropolitan area of Puebla and Mexicali, Low California.
The poor air quality It is due to the fact that between the night of December 24 and the early morning of December 25, burning of pyrotechnics, campfires and high mobility vehicular in these cities.
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The country’s capital woke up yesterday with poor air quality in seven of its 16 mayoralties and very bad in one, Iztapalapa. The main pollutants were particles PM10 and PM2.5. The adverse conditions continued until after noon, when the air quality began to improve, so It was not necessary to establish an environmental contingency.
In Guanajuatoaccording to the monitoring carried out by the Secretariat of Environment and Territorial Planning state, air quality in the Runner Industrial It was extremely bad yesterday.
In Salamancathe monitoring station Nativites —in the center-west of the city— detected at 8:00 a.m. yesterday a concentration of particles PM10 of 320 micrograms per cubic meter of air, when permitted by Official Mexican Standard NOM-025-SSA1-2021, is an average of 70 micrograms per cubic meter of air in 24 hours.
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The PM10 particles They cause damage to the lungs, since when inhaled they adhere to their mucosa. “They measure one thousandth of a millimeter and come from soot, heavy metals and some minerals.”
In the case of Celayatwo monitoring stations recorded concentrations of 193 and 239 micrograms per cubic meter of air of particles PM10Meanwhile in Irapuato The average concentration was 200 at two of its three stations.
The authorities activated the phase of precontingency environmental and invited the population to take shelter in their homes, avoid physical activities outdoors and keep windows closed. Some public parks such as Irekua —the largest green area in Irapuato— were momentarily closed to the public.”
In it Mexico statehe Government state activated the Phase I of the Care Program of Atmospheric Environmental Contingencies in the Metropolitan area of the Toluca Valley and Santiago Tianguistenco —both to the west of the Mexico City— for concentrations of up to 134 micrograms per cubic meter of PM2.5 particles. These are more harmful than PM10 because they are smaller and penetrate the lungs more easily.
The maximum concentrations allowed for PM2.5 particles are 41 micrograms per cubic meter of air averaged over 24 hours.
Through a statement, the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development The state detailed that maximum values of 204 and 131 micrograms per cubic meter of PM10 particles were also recorded.
In Puebla, the State Atmospheric Monitoring Networkdetected concentrations of up to 150 micrograms of particles in the air since last Sunday, so Health authorities recommended susceptible groups such as children, older adults, people who carry out intense physical activity or with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases avoid exposure. outdoors and advised the general population to limit exits from closed spaces.
In the north of the country, Mexicali, Baja California, registered the worse air quality with concentrations of up to 500 micrograms per cubic meter of particles PM2.5 between the night of December 24 and the early morning of December 25, according to the local monitoring system called Redspira.
The concentration of these particles was the highest of the year for the capital of Baja California and the Directorate of Environmental Protection The population was advised to avoid outdoor activities and stay indoors since the concentrations of particles are harmful to health.
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With information from Oscar Reyes/El Sol de Irapuato, Ana Hernández/El Sol de Toluca, Martha Cuaya/El Sol de Puebla and Mariela Tapia/La Voz de la Frontera