The application of a new air pollution management program (PROAIR) in Mexicali 2011-2020, Baja California, México

Abstract

The Program to Improve the Air quality of Mexicali 2011-2020 (PROAIR) was released in the year 2011 if applied as planned it will help to reduce the emissions of the different contaminants that exceed the normal values of air quality. The first Mexicali PROAIR 2000-2005 was released in 2000 and it followed a national policy to evaluate what at the time were considered the more polluted cities in Mexico, such as Mexico City; Guadalajara, Jalisco; Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua; Tijuana, Baja California amongst others. In spite of the Mexicali PROAIR, Mexicali City is considered the most polluted in the world according to the World Health Organization (2011) at least in relation to particulate matter pollution PM10 and PM2.5. This paper analyses the actual situation of Mexicali PROAIR 2011-2020, describes the air quality tendencies of the criteria pollutants (SO2, CO, NO2, O3, PM10 and PM2.5) and makes recommendations on how to reduce the air pollution. It is imperative that actions described in the program should be carried out in a common effort shared by all the participants to reduce the environmental impact of the air pollution at the USMexico border. © 2012 WIT Press.