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This week, Honduras has experienced what could be its worst air quality crisis. On Sunday, May 5, monitors in Tegucigalpa, its capital, gave the alert that the air fell into the “very harmful to health” category, the sixth most risky of the seven in the Air Quality Index. And, since then, although without reaching that peak again, the city has remained at the levels of “very harmful” and “harmful for sensitive groups”, the fifth and fourth categories respectively. On Wednesday, May 8 at noon, for example, IQ Air portal pointed out that in Tegucigalpa air pollution was 11 times above what was recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The crisis is felt and has been so deep that on Monday, May 6, the Secretary of Education, Daniel Esponda, published a statement requesting the suspension of classes from Tuesday until this Friday, May 9, throughout the Municipality of the Central District , of which the capital, the city of Comayagüela and other rural areas are part.
Due to the adverse meteorological and environmental conditions caused by global warming and high levels of pollution, with instructions from the President @XiomaraCastroZ It is ordered to suspend face-to-face academic activities in all centers… pic.twitter.com/Uw5oD207ga
— Daniel Sponda (@SpondaDaniel) May 7, 2024
“Adverse weather conditions are occurring due to global warming and high levels of pollution; Additionally, experts predict an intense heat wave for the next few hours that puts the physical integrity of the educational community at risk,” says the document, which clarifies that, in schools where there is the possibility of virtual classes, they must be maintained and that the Educational centers had to find a way to continue distributing school meals.
The alarms were not only set off in the educational sector. The Secretary of State also asked Government workers, both at the central and municipal levels, to telework these days and avoid going out on the streets.
“This measure not only seeks to expose people less to pollution, but also to remove the high traffic of vehicles that also emit gases from the city,” Ingrid Flores, director of the municipal Comprehensive Risk Management Unit, tells América Futura. entity that monitors the issue and has warned the Government about the criticality of the situation. “Up to 800,000 cars move in the municipality alone,” she warns.
Although this is not the first time that Honduras has recorded high rates of air pollution, Flores believes that what is being experienced in the central area is the worst the country has ever experienced. “Even last Thursday we were ranked as the city with the worst air in the IQ Air ranking.”
A cocktail of fires, haze from the Caribbean and heat
The reasons that led to this scenario are several. Carlos Iván Raudales, coordinator of the Environmental Risk Office, explains that the country has been surrounded by a series of fires from various fronts. Some are local, like the fire that occurs in the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, but there are also others beyond the borders. There are flames to the north, in southern Mexico and Guatemala, and to the south, in Nicaragua and El Salvador. “Due to the rains that have occurred in the Antilles and from the Caribbean, cold air comes, generating certain winds. The haze of all this ends up reaching Honduras, which is in the middle,” he comments. As the capital is surrounded by mountains, located in a kind of hollow, the wave of smoke has remained there, with “overwhelming pollution.” Added to this is what is emitted by cars and industries in the municipality.
However, the alert has not only been due to the poor air quality, but also due to the heat. “The average temperature in the center of the country is usually between 20 and 30°C,” adds Raudales. “And in recent days we have recorded temperatures of up to 36°C. Further south in the country, they even reach 40 and 44°C.” Neither schools, nor buildings, nor cities are prepared for this.
“In the capital there are no winds,” adds Flores. “Visibility is a maximum of two kilometers and the city airport has also had to close, only allowing one or two flights per day, when there is better visibility.”
The measures that have been taken at the moment are those taken in the event of an emergency. Prevent people from going outside, ask that they wear a mask, do not open the windows of their homes and do not exercise outdoors. But from the unit coordinated by Flores they know that the issue is deeper and has to do with the fact that neither the cities, nor the municipality, nor the country are adapting to climate change.
Germanwatch’s Climate Risk Index (CRI) has positioned Honduras as one of the ten countries in the world most vulnerable to this phenomenon. Some years, it has even come in second place. As Flores recalls, the country has been constantly threatened by storms, floods and even hurricanes. But now there are new symptoms of this crisis that is beginning to put them in trouble. “As authorities, what is happening is a lesson,” says the director. “We need to take action against climate change. Taking measures to be a greener city, promoting public transportation to get vehicles off the road, generating cleaner energy and more sustainable buildings, not everything has to be concrete.”
Depending on the scores given by the air quality monitors this Thursday, it is expected to know if the measure of teleworking and closing schools will be maintained for more days. There is some hope. According to IQ Air’s air quality forecast in Tegucigalpa, for this Friday, May 10, the category will drop to moderate. But, as Raudales also warns, the important thing is that rain falls in the country that not only dissipates the fog, but also mitigates fires. “And the predictions are that they will not arrive until May 17 and 18, so the layer of smoke may be present for up to the next 10 days.”
The climate and air quality crisis will make things more complicated for Hondurans. Raudales estimates that visits to hospitals have increased by 25% due to respiratory issues, problems that tend to especially affect children and the elderly. And that also has an impact on finances. The Honduras Climate and Development Report, carried out by the World Bank, warns that, between 1998 and 2017, climate-induced natural hazards have generated annual losses equivalent to 1.9% of the country’s GDP.
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