Recently, I saw a post on a Facebook organization for foreigners living in Mexico City. It would simply say, “When does the air quality start here?Like smart (lmao).
I wish there had been a positive reaction or a transparent day in sight. Sadly, a more realistic answer would be, “Maybe the air quality will improve for a day in a few weeks. “
The air in Mexico City is some of the worst you can breathe on this planet.
The Swiss air quality awareness organization, IQAir, ranks it as the fourteenth most polluted city in the world, the worst rating of any city in Latin America. From January to August 2023, the city recorded just 55 days of fresh air, meaning the air quality is poor 77% of the time.
Air quality is measured on a scale of 0 to 500, where 0 is perfect. On a typical day in Mexico City, the air quality index (AQI) hovers around 100, largely due to pollutants from vehicle emissions.
More than five million cars drive through the city every day, releasing carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides into the air we breathe on the streets and in our homes. In many cities, those emissions are dispersed and burned after peak hours. However, Mexico City is in a valley, so pollutants rise and settle every day like glitter in a snowball.
This year, several other factors have deteriorated the air quality in Mexico City. Increased activity at the nearby Popocatepetl volcano, wildfires in central Mexico, and reduced rainfall have made the air muggy in 2024. Residential and advertising emissions, as well as burning fuel for stoves and radiators, family products, personal care products, paints and pesticides.
Despite the patience of Mexico City’s poor air quality, the air is much higher today than it was 30 years ago.
Air pollutants in Mexico City peaked in the 1980s and 1990s, when the five most sensitive air pollutants — ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter — reached record levels. Since then, federal and municipal projects have been implemented to monitor and restrict emissions that have reduced atmospheric concentrations of lead, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide. However, ozone and particulate matter (PM) concentrations in Mexico City remain above federal and foreign air quality standards.
Are you sneezing and coughing more than ever this spring?Pulmonologist Dr. Paula Olvera of Mexico’s National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (INER) says an increased presence of two primary pollutants will cause an immediate allergic reaction.
The two maximums for lung health are particulate matter 2. 5 (PM2. 5), which is found in vehicle emissions, and PM10, which includes dust from structures, landfills and agriculture, wildfires, and commercial emissions. Debris in the air is measured through its diameter and anything smaller than 10 micrometers can be inhaled through the lungs, causing inflammation of the lung tissue.
“It’s not very uncommon for other people to come and live here in Mexico City and develop rhinitis, which causes a lot of sneezing, discomfort and nasal congestion. . . it’s not very serious, but it’s persistent,” says Dr. Olvera “Then they go to Cuernavaca and it’s as if they had never been sick,” he continues.
Although rhinitis can be controlled with allergy medications, eye drops, and (many) tissues, over time, inflammation of the lungs and breathing formula can lead to other diseases, in addition to lung cancer.
According to the World Resources Institute, in 2019, Mexico reported more than 48,000 premature deaths attributable to exposure to polluted air. Beatriz Cardenas, director of air quality at the World Resources Institute, describes air pollutants as the world’s biggest environmental risk.
A study published in late 2023 found that PM2. 5 exposure in Mexico City was also linked to diseases beyond the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, affecting digestion and even intellectual health. Although air pollutants cause damage to the lungs, more serious consequences are observed. after prolonged exposure.
“To spread a more serious disease, such as cancer, it would take [approximately] 20 years of exposure,” Dr. Olvera says. “What happens is that poor air quality leads to chronic inflammation. Over time, chronic inflammation will lead to mobile diseases. “mutation and metaplasia,” he explains.
It’s important to note that certain populations are at higher risk for headaches due to air pollution, along with other people with respiratory illnesses such as asthma, older adults with chronic heart or lung disease, and children. If this is the case for you, you may be living in a domain with less traffic and more green space.
In addition, Dr. Olvera says there are several tactics to improve lung health when living in Mexico City.
1) Pay for air quality
“The air quality [in Mexico City] is rated as passive, moderate, poor, or incredibly poor,” Dr. Olvera says. “Depending on the weather of the day, exercise outdoors or move to a gym where you’ll be less exposed. “”
2) Check your oxygenation with an oximeter
This pandemic acquisition aims to track lung health in the long term.
Dr. Olvera says an oximeter is a wonderful tool for tracking how air quality affects you personally. The first thing is to know what its fundamental oxygenation is.
“For example, if you’re oxygenating 98 all the time, your oxygenation usually goes from two points, to a hundred or 96,” says Dr. Olvera. “But if one day you’re 90 years old, that’s a direct indication of a bronchial problem. “
If your cough lasts longer than six weeks or you have difficulty breathing, seek medical attention.
3) Fill Your Home with Air-Purifying Plants
Plants thrive in Mexico City despite the air and can help us breathe easier.
Easy-care pothos are an excellent selection for purifying the indoor environment, as are peace lilies, palm trees, ferns, and the Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema modestum).
4) Wear a mask when the air is at its worst.
An N95 mask not only helps keep COVID-19 away, but it can also block destructive air pollutants.
Face masks are rated N90, N95, N99, or N100, depending on the percentage of debris they can filter. An N95 mask, for example, blocks 95% of debris larger than 0. 3 micrograms, which comes with the vast majority of PM2. . 5 and PM10.
5) Finally, in an air purifier.
Many other people have turned to air purifiers since the COVID-19 pandemic, both as a way to prevent the spread of airborne illnesses and for overall lung health.
To get an accurate reading of the air quality in your neighborhood, go to aire. cdmx. gob. mx, which also provides more data on pollutants by neighborhood.
The AQI also provides an air pollutant monitor.
Also, stay vigilant when Mexico City decrees an environmental contingency (contingency ambiental). This is an emergency program to alert the public to serious air quality events and limit the movement of certain vehicles based on the levels of ozone, PM2. 5 and PM10 in the air.
When Mexico City is subject to environmental contingencies, the most productive thing to do is to stay home and restrict physical activity.
By Caitlin Cooper, editor of Mexico News
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