Air quality in San Juan de Lurigancho

What is the current level of air pollution in San Juan de Lurigancho?

San Juan de Lurigancho (SJL) is a district in Lima, Peru, located in the area known as Cono Este. It is Lima's most populous district, with a 2017 population of just over one million people.

Towards the middle of 2021, San Juan de Lurigancho was experiencing a period of “Moderate” air quality with a US AQI figure of 62. This United States Air Quality Index number is an internationally used set of metrics supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and is used to compare the air quality in different cities throughout the world using comparable standards. It is calculated by using the levels of the six most commonly found pollutants. All six figures are not always available in which case, a level is calculated by using what data there is. For San Juan de Lurigancho there were just two readings available which were PM2.5 and sulphur dioxide (SO₂) with readings of 17.4 µg/m³ and 83.4 µg/m³, respectively. It can easily be seen that the level of PM2.5 is almost twice the recommended level of 10 µg/m³, by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

With levels such as these, the advice is to close doors and windows to prevent more dirty air from entering the room. Those of a sensitive disposition are advised to remain indoors or if travel outside is unavoidable, then a good quality mask is recommended. The table at the top of this page will help with that decision.

Does the level of air pollution remain the same throughout the year in San Juan de Lurigancho?

Air pollution can be very volatile and, as such, can change very quickly depending on many variables, such as wind speed and direction and the strength of sunlight.

Looking back at the figures published by the Swiss air monitoring company IQAir.com for 2020 it can be seen that during the month of February, San Juan de Lurigancho achieved the target figure suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO) of 10 µg/m³. The figure recorded was a very small 3 µg/m³. The air quality in April was classified as being “Good” with a figure of 1.7 µg/m³. Records for January were not available so the other nine months returned a “Moderate” level of pollution with figures between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. There were no historic records kept before 2020 when the average annual reading was 22.4 µg/m³. However, this may not be a true reflection of reality because of the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many vehicles were no longer used as the drivers were furloughed and not required to commute to and from work. There were also many factories and other non-essential production units which were temporarily closed in an attempt to prevent the spread of the virus.

What are the main sources of air pollution in San Juan de Lurigancho?

According to the WHO, Lima is one of the most polluted cities in Latin America. Local authorities specified that this pollution comes mainly from the automobile fleet, the industrial park, and various commercial activities.

San Juan de Lurigancho is one of the districts with the highest amount of polluting gases in the air, due to its geographical formation. The area is in a ravine, which causes local winds from the south and centre to load the air in the area and affect its population. In May, said district exceeded the Environmental Quality Standard (ECA) approved by the Ministry of the Environment for 19 days.

Peru is the country with the highest exposure to pollution in Latin America and Lima is the second city with the most traffic congestion. It should be noted that this congestion is responsible for almost a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions and is possibly the main source of pollution in San Juan de Lurigancho. As the population expands, so does the number of personal vehicles using the city’s roads.

What can be done to improve the air quality in San Juan de Lurigancho?

The World Health Organisation highlights that most sources of outdoor air pollution are beyond people's control, and require measures by cities, as well as national and international regulations in sectors such as transportation. , energy waste management, construction and agriculture. In this way, by including air pollution as one of the risk factors for non-communicable diseases, you will be protecting public health.

During the first confinement due to Covid-19, there were significant reductions in air pollutants as a positive effect of the decrease in vehicle activity. However, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the reduction in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions as a result of quarantines is momentary and cannot replace larger actions against climate change.

For this reason, it is important to have scientific knowledge about air pollution, determine emission sources and make effective decisions to reduce its impact on the environment and public health. For example, in Peru, the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service (SENAMHI) monitors air quality in Metropolitan Lima so that citizens have information on the levels of pollution to which they are exposed on a daily basis.

What detrimental effects on human health does the air in San Juan de Lurigancho have?

According to the World Health Organisation, there are short- and long-term health effects of air pollution, with exposure to high levels of pollution and long duration being the most significant for public health.

This can cause a variety of adverse outcomes such as an increased risk of respiratory infections, heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. In fact, nine out of ten people in the world breathe polluted air and, in Lima, more than 1,600 premature deaths a year are attributable to this problem.

A recent study showed that if a group of people breathe in polluted air for a long time, their cognitive capacity decreases. The toxic substances that were considered in the analysis were nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and particles smaller than 10 micrograms. These substances are emitted from smoke from road transport units, emissions from factories.

Previous research had already shown, in the Peruvian case, the effects of air pollution on the increase in hospital admissions for asthma, premature mortality from cardiovascular-respiratory causes and lung cancer.