Mexico City Declares Environmental Contingency
The Megalopolis Environmental Commission activated phase 1 of the environmental contingency due to high ozone concentration. The municipalities of Coyoacán, Cuajimalpa, Álvaro Obregón, Iztacalco and Iztapalapa are also affected.
The Government of Mexico City declared this Monday afternoon an environmental contingency after registering an ozone concentration of 169 parts per billion (ppb) in the municipality of Benito Juarez and very poor air quality in the districts of Venustiano Carranza, Miguel Hidalgo, and Iztacalco.
Mexico City's head of government, Claudia Sheinbaum, urged from her Twitter account to consider the measures determined by the Megalopolis Environmental Commission. "I request your cooperation to follow the measures determined by said authority," she stated.
Said Commission activated phase 1 of the ozone environmental contingency, based on the Programs to Prevent and Respond to Atmospheric Environmental Contingencies that are applied in the Metropolitan Zone of the Valley of Mexico.
This phase was adopted "to reduce the exposure of the population to polluted air and the risk of affecting their health, as well as to reduce the generation of pollutants and the probability of reaching high ozone concentrations again tomorrow," according to the entity's statement.
"At 17:00 hours (23H00 GMT) today, maximum ozone concentrations exceeding 155 ppb were recorded at the monitoring stations Benito Juarez (169 ppb), CCA-UNAM (169 ppb), Santa Fe (165 ppb), Pedregal (166 ppb), Iztacalco (156 ppb) and UAM-Iztapalapa (155 ppb)," the Commission detailed.
The records were located in the municipalities of Benito Juarez, Coyoacan, Cuajimalpa, Alvaro Obregon, Iztacalco and Iztapalapa in the Mexican capital.
Among the recommended measures is to avoid civic, cultural, and recreational activities, as well as an outdoor exercise between 13:00 and 19:00 local time (between 19:00 and 01:00 GMT).
In addition, both public and private outdoor activities between 13:00 and 19:00 are suspended and postponement is recommended. Smoking is prohibited, especially in enclosed areas.
