For the first time in 17 years the air quality in Mexico City has activated Phase 1 of the Environmental Alert for four consecutive days. However, Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera considers weather conditions to have improved enough to lift car traffic restrictions. “It is highly likely that the restrictions are lifted on Friday since there was a favorable influx of wind on Thursday night,” said Mancera.
The mayor explained that measurements show high levels of pollution because they encompass a much wider area, but the city’s levels are lower than the rest of the region. He also pointed out that “at the moment, the air quality is far from an emergency situation.”
The Megalopolis Environmental Commission (Came) considered implementing additional measures such as restricting motorcycle traffic, but the city refused any further restrictions. Mancera stated “the air quality is the same that we used to breath while growing up” and that “children nowadays are experiencing a different time where measurements are stricter but the city is doing it’s job.”
The head of Came, Martín Gutiérrez Lacayo, stated that if atmospheric conditions show no improvement, Phase 1 on the Environmental Alert will continue on Saturday and Sunday. “We have experienced high temperatures between 31 and 33 degrees Celsius (87.8 and 91.4 Fahrenheit), along with clear skies, low humidity and practically very little wind, which increased the ozone concentration. We had taken all of this into account and decided to expand the contingency plan,” stated Gutiérrez Lacayo in a radio interview.
