VIDEO: the shock before and after the environmental contingency in Mexico City

(VIDEO: Twitter, Santiago Arau)

The Mexico is drowningliterally.

A series of forest fires around the valley of Mexico blew up a extraordinary environmental alert in the Mexican capital. The authorities asked the population to stay at home and canceled outdoor activities for school children.

To understand the extent of the eventuality, the award-winning Mexican photographer Santiago Arau, published in your Twitter account a video taken with a drone downtown.

It is difficult to distinguish between structures and skyscrapers amid the smoke caused by the usual pollution of burned hydrocarbons, but also now by the microparticles 2.5 who invade the environment.

More dramatic is to observe the difference with a video of the same Arau de Mexico with the atmosphere free of contaminants.

The valley of Mexico, which has amazed the Spanish conquerors for the purity of its air, is now transformed into a pot of pollutants for which there is no immediate solution, according to Mexico's own head of government. Claudia Sheinbaum

The head of the capital's government said the air quality will not improve over the next two days and blamed the previous administrations for the lack of protocols.

"There is no clearly defined environmental emergency program for 2.5 particles. Historically, there are only environmental contingencies for PM10 particles, ie those smaller than 10 microns, but not for the finer particles, "acknowledged Claudia Sheinbaum at the Secretariat for the Environment and Environment. natural resources (Semarnat).

"You need to determine an environmental contingency for 2.5 particles and it's what we're working on "added the head of the government of the capital.

Given the apparent inaction of the capital's government, Sergio Zirath Hernández, director of the CAME, defended in an interview with the Forotv channel the way forward of the executive. He explained that the environmental contingency had not been decreed because the level of contaminating particles had not exceeded the necessary limit of 151 points.

"The forest fires that caused a complicated weekend in terms of pollution are being extinguished. In the last days there were so many that the situation was complicated"said Zirath Hernández.

Throughout Monday, according to information from the state government, 23 fires took place in 11 town halls of the capital. By the end of the day, 16 people had been suppressed, but the number of fires remained active simultaneously during the day and high levels of contamination did not help trigger the environmental contingency.

Environmental contingency is maintained

Measurements will remain due to continued evidence of fine particle contamination. According to the document, the high levels of pollutants result from the presence of fires in this atmospheric basin of Mexico City and its metropolitan area.

The Megalopolis Environment Commission has launched an appeal to the population to reduce emissions from all sources, prevent and warn the authorities of forest, agricultural and grazing fires. As well as the combustion of garbage, tires, fires, fireworks and other activities and events generating emissions of pollutants.

According to the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR) and the civil protection zones of the entities, more than 130 fires have occurred in the State of Mexico, 66 in Mexico City and more than 112 in Mexico City. Hidalgo and 87 in Morelos.