Air quality in Emiliano Zapata

Is Emiliano Zapata a heavily polluted city right now?

Emiliano Zapata is a city in the west-central part of the Mexican state of Morelos. The municipality is the sixth largest in the state of Morelos according to a census conducted in 2020. At that time, it was estimated to have an estimated population of approximately 107,000 inhabitants. The city itself was recorded as having 64,000 residents living there. Towards the end of 2021, Emiliano Zapata was experiencing a period of “Moderate” air quality with a US AQI reading of 72. This United States Air Quality Index number is calculated using the levels of six of the most prolific air pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide and both sizes of particulate matter, which are PM2.5 and PM10. It can then be used as the metric when comparing air quality in other cities around the world. If data is unavailable for all 6 pollutants, a figure can still be calculated by using what figures there are. The only pollutant recorded in Emiliano Zapata was PM2.5 with a measurement of 22.1 µg/m³.

This level of PM2.5 is just over twice the recommended safe level of 10 µg/m³ as suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as being an acceptable level. Although no amount of air pollution is considered to be safe.

When air quality is classed as “Moderate” the given advice would be to stay indoors as much as possible, closing doors and windows to prevent more the ingress of more dirty air. Those who are more sensitive to poor quality air should avoid venturing outside until the quality improves. If this is unavoidable, then a good quality face mask should be worn at all times. There is a downloadable app from AirVisual.com which is suitable for all operating systems which gives the latest information regarding air quality in real-time. This information should help with any decisions that need to be made.

Does the level of air pollution vary much throughout the year in Emiliano Zapata?

During the entire year of 2020, Emiliano Zapata was subject to “Moderate” air quality with figures between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. The cleanest month was August with a reading of 15.2 µg/m³, in contrast, the dirtiest was May with a reading of 30.3 µg/m³.

Records of air pollution were not available before 2020 when the figure was 23.7 µg/m³. This figure may not be a true reflection of reality though because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many vehicles were no longer in daily use because the offices were closed, and staff were told to work from home in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus. Many factories and non-essential production units were also required to close which removed their emissions from the atmosphere, albeit on a temporary basis. Worldwide, cities reported a much better quality of air because of the general lack of traffic pollution in city centres due to the pandemic.

Is there a major source of pollution in Emiliano Zapata?

There are two fundamental types of emission sources according to their origin. One is pollution of natural origin, which is generated by nature and that of anthropogenic origin, produced by man. Of the latter, the majority comes from industrial, transportation and domestic routes.

Environmental contamination is called the introduction into the natural environment of physical, chemical and biological agents that alter environmental conditions, causing harmful effects on the health, well-being and habitability of animal and plant life in general.

Pollutants can be chemical substances (pesticides, herbicides, cyanide, etc.), oil, radiation, polluting gases, urban waste, among other things. All of them, in general, can cause serious damage to ecosystems, although the main reason for their production is human activities associated with industry, commerce, mining, among others.

Calera Chica is a community in Morelos over which, for at least three years, a cloud of microscopic polluting particles has been hovering, coming from four companies that shred construction material. Its production process generates dust that is deposited in the lungs of the population, as well as in "movable and immovable property, facades, doors, sidewalks, vehicular stream, trees and shrubs" in the area.

Can anything be done to improve air quality in Emiliano Zapata?

As with most large cities, anywhere in the world, the majority of air pollution comes from the transportation sector or from industrial emissions.

Unusually high levels of ozone have led authorities to activate an environmental contingency plan, restricting vehicle use and ordering factories to limit greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by up to 40 per cent. in 1996, city and regional governments introduced the celebrated Management Programme to Improve Air Quality (Proaire in Spanish), which harnessed the will of both civil society and business interests to tackle the problem. Several other programs exist which made verifying vehicles obligatory and established a supply of unleaded petrol and stricter vehicle emissions standards by introducing catalytic converters.

Natural gas began to replace fuel oil in industry and in thermoelectric power generation in the Valley of Mexico – which comprises Mexico City, the federal district of Mexico and the states of Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala and Hidalgo. Local governments also began to register air quality more systematically.

What are the health impacts of breathing dirty air in Emiliano Zapata?

When the particle is 10 microns it enters through the nose and stays in the throat. For these, the body has special filters that are like a strainer. If the size of the particle is very large, it traps them and leaves them there. These particles cause sneezing, itchy throat, throat rash and eye irritation in people, but they are not as dangerous as those that are below PM2.5.

Particles of 2.5 microns, as they are smaller, manage to pass from the throat and reach the distal bronchi. Which are like the farthest branches of a tree. These bronchi communicate with the alveolus, which is where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. And there are other particles smaller than those that not only reach the alveolus but also pass into the circulation. Those are the most harmful.

It should be noted that a hair is 70 microns wide and a grain of sand 50 microns, so these particles smaller than 2 microns are so small that after breathing them and going into circulation they can accumulate in the brain and heart.