Mexico Valley: 27 years of air pollution and ineffective environmental programs

The Mexico City faces a challenge due to the amount of ozone and particles that pollute the air every day.

27 years ago first environmental contingency in the metropolitan area of ​​the Valley of Mexico. It was March 16, 1992, that day, 398 ozone points were recorded. The program Today, No Circula had only three years of implementation.

The problem of poor air quality in Mexico City has lasted for decades. In the eighties the Mexican Valley has recorded high levels of pollution, people said that birds fell dead trees with their rigid bodies.

The situation worsened in the 1990s, particularly at the United Nations. (UN) has declared the CDMX as the most polluted in the world. In the first environmental contingency courses have been suspended at the basic level, the circulation of certain official vehicles has been banned and restrictions have been imposed on businesses.

On September 18, 2002, Phase 1 of the Ozone Environmental Contingency was activated. cWhen 242 points were recorded at Pedregal station.

Three years later, on January 1, 2005, a alert for high concentrations of suspended particles, similar to the one that stifled the city this weekend. At that time, 197 points were reached at Villa de las Flores, in the State of Mexico.

In 2006, The Ieca point has ceased to be used as a measure contaminants in the environment. The air quality index, based on environmental standard NADF-009-2006, has changed

The 2016 was one of the worst years in terms of air quality reference in recent years. The American newspaper The New York Times reported that in the first half of this annual cycle It was only 20 clean days in the Mexican capitalthe remaining 345 days recorded ozone levels above government limits.

Mars was the worst month. Day 15 of Contingency Phase 1 has been activated Environment, after 14 years without activating it. The air quality index for the afternoon was 203 points at the Cuajimalpa station.

One year later, on May 15, 2017, the CMegalopolis environmental omission (CAME) activated Phase 1 who stayed for seven days in the valley of Mexico. The stations with the worst records are Xalostoc in Mexico State and Azcapotzalco in Mexico City.

Since this year, the phase 1 environmental contingency by ozone concentration is activated from the 150 points of the index in at least two stations.

Atmospheric conditions favor the concentration of pollutants in the environment. Weak winds, lack of rain, and intense sunlight, combined with CO2 emissions from cars, businesses, industries and other highly polluting human activities, are factors that degrade the quality of the air.