Impact of environmental pollution in the historical buildings of Havana, Cuba. Effect of future climate change

Abstract

In the last decades, the quality of the air on the Old City of La Habana has become a growing concern regarding the durability and the aesthetics of the historical buildings. The aim of this work is to assess the impact of atmospheric pollutants on the conservation of the historic buildings of La Habana, declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city located between 20-2600 m from the north coast is constantly exposed to increasing levels of atmospheric pollutants mainly from anthropogenic sources. The future projections on climate for the Caribbean area reflect changes in temperature, humidity and rainfall levels, which will have implications for the preservation of the heritage buildings.