Mexico City: poor air quality was recorded due to 20 forest fires

Last Saturday, April 2, 20 forest fires were recorded in various mayors in southern Mexico City, such as Xochimilco, Tlalpan, Milpa Alta and Magdalena Contreras, resulting in poor air quality reported in the southeast area, according to the General Directorate of Air Quality.

According to the Secretariat of the Environment (Sedema) of the CDMX, personnel from the Commission on Natural Resources and Rural Development (Corenadr) carried out mitigation and control work in various areas in the south of the city from 11:10 a.m. So far, only one fire is active in the Tlalpan mayor's office.

The rest of the fires were recorded in Arco and Chamilta (Xochimilco); El Tanque in Ajusco, Las Ratas in Topilejo, Ashtrays in Ajusco, Llano de la Viuda, Tianguillo in Ajusco (Tlalpan); West of Calzahuates, Tezonyehualo, Tuzancuacuasco, Tlaxixilpa, Tecorral and La Encinera (Milpa Alta); Old Range (Magdalena Contreras).

And it is that users on social networks commented that a strong smell of smoke and burning could be perceived in various mayors. For her part, the head of government of CDMX, Claudia Sheinbaum, replied to these allegations and indicated that there were also grassland fires in the southern area, as well as in Morelos and the State of Mexico.

In this regard, the Atmospheric Monitoring System announced on Saturday, April 2, that high levels of polluting particles O3, PM10 and PM2.5 were recorded, as well as an index of 136 ozone points, so that air quality was reported as “very bad” for CDMX and Edomex.

While in the Coyoacán and Tlalpan mayors the air quality was “extremely poor”, in Miguel Hidalgo, Cuajimalpa, Iztacalco, Álvaro Obregón, Venustiano Carranza and Iztapalapa it was reported as “very bad”; in Gustavo A. Madero it was recorded as “bad”. Meanwhile, the affected municipalities in the State of Mexico were Nezahualcoyotl, Chalco and Ecatepec.

For its part, the Secretariat for Integrated Risk Management reported that “extremely high” UV radiation rates were recorded, since the UV index was greater than 11, so it recommended using sunscreen, not being exposed to the sun for a long time and wearing sunglasses and a cap.

Last Wednesday, March 30, the Environmental Commission of the Megalopolis (CAme) activated phase 1 of atmospheric environmental contingency by ozone concentration in the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico (ZMVM), due to high levels of pollution.

However, moments later the CAME reported on the suspension of phase 1 of environmental contingency for the ZMVM as of 17:00 hours. This was due to the fact that in the municipality of Ecatepec de Morelos, in the Edomex, the highest concentration of ozone was 100 parts per billion (ppb), while in previous days it was 156 to 162.

Finally, it should be noted that in Mexico City there are 13 detection towers and four Community Innovation and Integration Centers (CIIC), which make up a group of 140 brigades that work 365 days a year for the prevention and detection of forest fires.

In the event of a forest fire, it is recommended to stay away from the area, do not act on your own account and report it to the Fire Management Center (CEMF) at the numbers: 55 56 30 53 60 and 55 45 65 08 22.

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