Mexico City Pollution: Residents Advised To Not Go Outdoors

The administration of Mexico City on Sunday asked the residents to stay indoors as the metropolis was covered in a smoky haze due to the forest and brush fires.

The environmental commission of the city said the air had high levels of solid particles including ash and prolonged inhalation of this could cause respiratory problems among the residents. In the recent days, Mexico City witnessed over 20 fire incidents including 13 brush fires, four fires on barren plots of land, a forest fire and an industrial warehouse blaze.

Others parts of Mexico also witnessed fire incidents in the last few days. Emergency was declared in 11 municipalities in the southern state of Oaxaca after forest fires caused dry conditions across the country. Over 300 firefighters attempted to contain five blazes just outside Guadalajara, one of Mexico’s largest cities, Saturday. Authorities also closed an archaeological zone in Tepoztlan, just south of Mexico City, over the weekend after over 200 acres were consumed by a fire.

Mexico City and the surrounding metropolitan areas were home to 22 million people. Though activities continued in the city Sunday, fewer people were seen on the roads.

“Terrible air pollution generating apocalyptical vibes in Mexico City this weekend. All over the city the air tastes and smells of smoke,” Duncan Tucker, a journalist, tweeted. “It would be absolutely hilarious if the pollution in Mexico City is the one that ends shutting my lungs down. I can barely breathe and my nostrils hurt like hell. Can’t wait to go back to D.C,” wrote another Twitter user.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Olivia Meza, a resident of Mexico City, said she was walking her dog in the city despite the warning because she was used to the air. “We're like cockroaches -- It's hard to kill us,” she said.

Michelle Serralde, another resident, said, "Last night it smelled burnt.” She, however, stepped outside Sunday because she had “few free days."