Greenpeace: in Mexico, for 20 years, she had not breathed so much pure air

A last report made by Greenpeace revealed that the quality of air in the mexico radically improved compared to the last 20 years during the period of shortage of gasoline registered from January 8 to 26, 2019.

On these dates, breathing air that met the established by the World Health Organization (WHO) for suspended particles at least 80% of the days. Which means that for the first time in two decades, the inhabitants of the capital exuded an air of quality.

The observed improvement in CO and NOx levels is explained by the shortage of gasoline, as Transport is the main emitter of these gases.

The badysis of the weather has shown that the difficult wind conditions in surface and in height, the state of the mixing layer and the surface temperature can explain abnormal concentrations during the shortage.

According to the report The real consequence of the shortage of gasoline, prepared by Jorge García Franco, from the Department of Physics of the University of Oxfordduring the above-mentioned period, a decrease of 5 main pollutants: nitrogen oxides NOx (NO + NO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter less than 2.5 and 10 micrometers (PM2.5 and PM10).

For the case of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides during the gasoline shortage, average concentrations were lower than all others observed in recent years. two decades. In many of 18 stations of the atmospheric monitoring system of Mexico, CO and NOx decreased by at least 1.5 particles per million (ppm).

Methodology of the study

The badysis of particulate matter concentrations shows that, compared to other years, between January 8, and January 26, 2019, the lower percentage of days with lower air quality to international standards.

Contrary to 80% compliance this year, 2018 only meets the standards of 50% of the days

The researcher pointed out that the data was obtained by badyzing the concentrations of gases and particles measured by the atmospheric monitoring network and its contrast with the measures this year with those of the last 20 years.

Weather conditions were evaluated to determine if
the temperature and wind speed were abnormal during the period of shortage.

As "no particular atypical condition of mixture of layer height, surface wind and height was found, it can be concluded that the changes in concentration observed during the period of scarcity are highly probable. they were products of less traffic and less emissions", determined the investigation.

The pollution of Mexico

The results of this report show how sensitive air quality is to Mexico City traffic and how important mobility strategies can be.

"This highlights the extraordinary changes in air quality in the CDMX during shortage period, which bases our request for improvement and extension of public transport infrastructuremainly electric and non-motorized, with the goal of improving the air we breathe and reducing GHG emissions generated by our way of moving around the citiessaid Pablo Ramírez, head of air quality issues at Greenpeace Mexico's "Urban Revolution" project.

The sector of private transport occupies one of the first places in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and particles harmful to health. Therefore, it is essential to implement strategies that regulate the use of this type of transport and develop better infrastructure for the public transport.

Germany, Holland and Dinamarcare countries where "many bikes and few cars"They allow their residents to breathe in one of the cleanest tunes in the world.This is why Mexico must adopt similar measures to improve air quality and contribute to the realization of its international goals. on climate change.

"What happened was an example ofand how to improve the quality of the air based on the evolution of mobility trends in the metropolitan area of ​​the Valley of Mexico (ZMVM), an example that occurred accidentally during the shortage of gasoline that we knew in January 2019, "concluded Ramirez.