Pollution causes environmental alert in Mexico City

Mexico City and its surrounding areas of Mexico State remain under environmental contingency on Saturday due to weather conditions preventing air pollutants from dispersing, informed the Environmental Commission for the Megalopolis (CAME) on Saturday.

CAME said through a press release that the weather factors led to a stagnation of polluting ozone on Saturday morning. The high pressure weather system that is affecting the big city is causing atmospheric stability, weak wind, low humidity and a misty environment, added CAME.

Since Friday afternoon, the metropolis of almost 22 million inhabitants has been experiencing the fifth pollution alert of the year.

On Saturday, almost two million cars are forbidden from the streets, around 40 percent of the total 5.4 million cars in the capital city and 18 suburban municipalities in Mexico State.

Experts from National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) asked children, senior citizens and people with respiratory or heart related problems to stay indoors in the afternoon, when the ozone pollution became worse.

Since the first pollution alert on March 14 this year, there have been five such alerts and academics and experts agree that there will still be more until the rainy season arrives in the massive conurbation. The rains generally start in mid June.