Smog in Mexico City D.F.

Air pollution is something that everyone in Mexico City has to contend with every day.  Unfortunately, on most days the air is  “mala”.  That said,  some days are better than others.  Oh and, what a difference a day makes!  I took these two pictures a day apart – the first, yesterday and the second, today in the park where my dog Domino and I work out.   The building you see is being built about a kilometer from the Gandhi Park and is located on Paseo de la Reforma, a major avenue through downtown Mexico City’s business district.

When I left the house yesterday you could actually feel the smog, both in your eyes and lungs, as everything I looked at (buildings, trees, people, etc.) seemed to be floating in a smoky haze.  I didn’t do my daily run out of fear of what it might do to my lungs.  Today, I woke up fearing the worst, came outside and was greeted with a beautiful morning, very clear skies, fresh (as it gets) air and warm temperatures.  The only difference I could perceive was a slight breeze out of the southeast that could have helped to blow the pollution over to the surrounding country side.

Strangely enough, the government’s atmospheric monitoring department rated both day’s air quality as “mala” (bad).  While that might be true, a day makes a huge difference – and  it might have been psychological but I breathed much easier today as I ran my laps in the park.

http://www.aire.df.gob.mx/default.php     –    Mexico’s government air quality page