Air quality in Guadalupe

Is Guadalupe a heavily polluted city in 2021?

Guadalupe is a city and surrounding municipality located in the state of Nuevo León, in northern Mexico. It is part of the Greater Monterrey Metropolitan area. According to a census conducted in 2005, Guadalupe had an estimated population of approximately 691,434 people in the urban area and 3,664,334 when the entire metropolitan area is taken into account.

At the end of the third quarter in 2021, Guadalupe was experiencing a period of air quality that was classed as being “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” with a US AQI reading of 106. This United States Air Quality Index figure is calculated by collating the recorded levels of six of the most prolific air pollutants. These can include, both diameters of PM (PM10, PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone and carbon monoxide. If figures are not available for all six, a level can still be calculated by using what information there is. It can then be used as a metric when comparing one city with another, anywhere in the world. In Guadalupe, the only recording was for that of PM2.5 which was 37.7 µg/m³. This level is almost four times higher than the suggested level of 10 µg/m³ which is a level suggested to be acceptable by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

With the level of pollution of this size, the advice would be to stay indoors and close the doors and windows to prevent the ingress of more polluted air. Operating an air purifier would be beneficial but make sure that it recirculates the air and does not import more dirty air from outside. Those people who are sensitive to poor air quality should avoid venturing outside until the situation improves. If going out is unavoidable then a good quality face mask should be worn at all times. There is a downloadable app from AirVisual which is available for all operating systems which keeps you updated as to the air quality in real-time.

Does the level of air pollution remain the same throughout the year in Guadalupe?

Looking back at the figures for 2020 published by IQAir.com it can readily be seen that for the full twelve months, Guadalupe experienced “Moderate” air quality with figures between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. December was the worst month for dirty air with a reading of 26.8 µg/m³. The month with the cleanest air was June with a 14.8 µg/m³ reading.

Historically, records pertaining to air quality were first held in 2019 when a figure of 17.1 µg/m³ was noted. The following year saw a decline with a figure of 19.1 µg/m³ which is a surprise because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, most cities reported cleaner air than before. Many vehicles were not in daily use as their drivers were no longer required to drive to the office each day. There were also several small factories and processing units that were closed temporarily so their emissions were no longer part of the local atmosphere.

Where does the polluted air come from in Guadalupe?

Air pollution increases due to urbanisation, industrialisation, the automobile fleet and other anthropic activities. Particulate matter and greenhouse gases are the main air pollutants.

The metro area of Monterrey is surrounded by large industrial units such as a steelmaker, a glass manufacturing company and a cement producer, among others. All of them contribute every day with emissions to the smog that covers the Monterrey metropolitan area.

With a surge in the number of vehicles, nearly two million, a large industrial zone, and a lack of inspectors enforcing air pollution control, Monterrey, Nuevo León, is considered one of the metropolitan areas with the highest contamination rates in Latin America. Specialists say that the government will hardly increase pollution control enforcement of the business sector, as that could put a brake on the state's economic activity.

And while federal, state and municipal authorities decide who will be in charge of enforcing pollution control to the more than five thousand industries that exist in the state, it is a real challenge for the Céntrika resident to live. Every morning cars in Monterrey appear covered with a layer of dust that turns into something as hard as cement when owners try to clean it with water. This layer is a mixture of different industrial pollutants: carbon dioxide, benzene, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and lead, among other metals. Those emissions not only cover cars, but also reach the lungs.

What can be done to improve the air quality of Guadalupe and its environs?

The Government of the State of Nuevo León, committed to improving the air quality of the entity, and particularly of the Monterrey metropolitan area, will begin a project to incorporate and strengthen the "Nuevo León Breathe" program into a comprehensive strategy, to control, mitigate and prevent the emission and concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere.

What are the common air pollutants and how do they affect human health?

Among the most common air pollutants and their effects are: carbon monoxide (CO), generated mainly by burning fuel in vehicles and engines. Inhaling it reduces the amount of oxygen in the body's organs and tissues, aggravates heart disease, causes chest pain, among other symptoms.

Ozone (O₃), a secondary pollutant formed by the chemical reaction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the presence of sunlight, decreases lung function and causes respiratory symptoms such as coughing and shortness of breath, causes asthma and exacerbates other lung diseases.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is generated by the burning of fuel (from power companies, large industrial boilers and by vehicles) and the burning of wood, its inhalation aggravates lung diseases that cause symptoms of respiratory problems and increases susceptibility to respiratory infection.

Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5) that are formed through chemical reactions, from combustion (for example, the burning of coal, wood, diesel, gasoline), industrial processes, agriculture (ploughing, field burning), and during road construction and in erosive processes and the extraction of stone material. Short-term exposures make heart or lung disease worse and cause breathing problems; and long-term exposures, heart or lung disease.

Another pollutant, sulphur dioxide, comes from the ignition of fuels (especially high-sulphur coal), In power companies and industrial refining processes, inhalation exacerbates asthma and makes breathing difficult.

Sometimes when an air pollutant, such as sulfuric acid, combines with the water droplets that form clouds, which turn into acid, they form acid rain, which when falling on an area kills trees and harms fish and other wild animals. Acid rain destroys plant leaves, and when it infiltrates soils, it changes their chemistry to make them unsuitable for many living things that depend on them for habitat or nutrition. It also changes the chemistry of lakes and streams, harms fish and other aquatic organisms.