Global Warming Worsens Mexico City Smog Ioan Grillo - GlobalPost
go to original June 3, 2015

Activists pretend to be dead during the "Breathing Shouldn't Be Something For Heroes" campaign in Mexico City in 2012. Social organizations in 13 cities around the country participated to call the attention to the problems of air pollution. (Yuri Cortezafp/Getty Images)

On a sweaty May morning in this sprawling mountain capital, residents heard a painfully familiar warning on the radio and TV.

Air pollution was at dangerous levels, environmental authorities said. People were advised to stay indoors as much as possible and avoid exercise. Asthma sufferers should take particular care.

On the city streets, this pollution could be seen in dirty clouds hanging amid grid-locked traffic.

The so-called “environmental pre-contingency,” on May 9 was the fourth this year, compared to three in all of 2014. The warnings are a reminder of the long uphill battle against dirty air in North America’s largest city — which has been a laboratory for pollution in megacities around the planet.

This rise comes after years in which Mexico City air has been getting cleaner, thanks to concerted campaigns. But while some problems have been resolved, others appear.

One issue is that Mexico is getting steadily hotter, apparently due to global warming. Last year was the hottest in Mexico since records began, with average temperatures of 22.1 degrees Celsius (71.78 degrees Farenheit).

Higher temperatures mean that pollutants release faster into the air.

Read the rest at GlobalPost

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!