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What about the "fecal cloud" over Mexico City? It has been a while for me (1982) but I remember flying into Mexico City and suddenly smelling feces on the descent to the airport, and it was explained that the plane was going through a cloud of fecal material blowing up from the slums surrounding the city that have no sanitation.
As much as I enjoyed my time in the city, knowing about the fecal could hovering over it made me think it would be my last visit there (which it was).
it was probably Industrial waste..
that's how Philly Intl' Airport is..
when flying in or driving past..
there's a wretched odor. .. kind of like chemical mixed w/feces.
Mexico city used to have the worst air quality on the planet.... this was the 90's though.
Today Mexico city is up there with LA. The air quality has improved enormously!
Mexico City has far worse air quality than LA. Yes, it has improved from the 1980's, but DF still has days so bad that school is cancelled.
My wife and her sister both have asthma from growing up in DF during the 1980's/1990's. Most kids in their school had asthma and some had frequent rashes/skin problems. And this was in an affluent neighborhood outside the center (Insurgentes Sur area).
Mexico City has far worse air quality than LA. Yes, it has improved from the 1980's, but DF still has days so bad that school is cancelled.
My wife and her sister both have asthma from growing up in DF during the 1980's/1990's. Most kids in their school had asthma and some had frequent rashes/skin problems. And this was in an affluent neighborhood outside the center (Insurgentes Sur area).
I do know that closing schools used to happen quite a bit in the 80s and 90, and maybe even a few times as late as the early 2000s, but not recently. It's had exactly 1 smog alert in the last 11 years, so perhaps some schools closed then? But I haven't actually heard of that happening anytime recently. There is still more that needs to be done in the city, including passing delayed legislation on heavy-duty vehicle emissions which would further cut particulates over 90%, among others, and increasing mass transit and biking infrastructure, which is constantly ongoing. Enforcement of existing standards is also lax sometimes, as many high-emissions vehicles aren't even registered and are not checked annually. If someone hasn't been to the city since the 1980s or 1990s, though, they would definitely notice a huge change.
If someone hasn't been to the city since the 1980s or 1990s, though, they would definitely notice a huge change.
I'm there a couple times a year, and don't notice a huge change, and neither does my wife. In the dry season, the air is still very bad, and our eyes occasionally burn (and I sometimes get brown stuff in my nose).
And schools still close all the time. She's on the listserv for her old school, and they close occasionally on bad air days. In fact there was a citywide air pollution alert just last week.
Part of the reason all the wealthy moved out of the city center during the 70's/80's/90's was because of the air pollution (the other reason was soil conditions, which are a big factor for danger during earthquakes). That's why Santa Fe, Las Lomas, and all those areas to the west/south exist. People gasping for cleaner air. Poor/working class people obviously have no choice and have to breath the foul air.
All that said, still a great city, and one of the most interesting places I have visited. Couldn't live there, though. Not with a kid.
Mexico City has far worse air quality than LA. Yes, it has improved from the 1980's, but DF still has days so bad that school is cancelled.
My wife and her sister both have asthma from growing up in DF during the 1980's/1990's. Most kids in their school had asthma and some had frequent rashes/skin problems. And this was in an affluent neighborhood outside the center (Insurgentes Sur area).
Mine too, and from the exact same area.
Also, when I lived in DF (late 90s early 00s) I would frequently blow my nose and find black deposits in my snot. It's such a great city, but like all mega-cities, it has its defects too. I would never call it "la defectuosa," as some do, but it I'm not blind to it's weak points. What I miss most is the people and the vibrant feel of the place.
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