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Smog season extended: November December


MexLuis

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It appears the standard for smog season is now extended, beyond the April May months.

Last April was the worst yet.  Smog is now here in November. 

Any thoughts as to why this is so much worse than prior years?

Just look across the lake.  There isn't any denying.  From Joco to Chapala.

(Maybe there are forest fires raging?)  Guad appears to have LESS haze over their mountains.

PM2.5 is very high in Guad today. ranging a high of between 90 - 107 (see link below)

 www.aqicn.org/city/guadalajara

 

 

 

 

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1-We know that many burn wood here.

2-With pollution levels TWICE that of NYC  in neighboring Guad. that pollution plays a huge part.

3-Plus the fact that we are in a valley, ringed by mountains makes that even worse.

NYC: http://aqicn.org/city/usa/newyork/ps-19/

Guadalajara: http://www.aqicn.org/city/guadalajara

Do you really believe this is lake mist?  

 

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It has turned cold now and many Mexican folks heat their homes with wood.  I can even smell it in my neighborhood.  Not counting cooking with wood.  EVERYWHERE you go in Mexico, all year, you will see smoke in the air.  Sometimes more or less depedning on the local economy and the season.

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5 hours ago, MexLuis said:

1-We know that many burn wood here.

2-With pollution levels TWICE that of NYC  in neighboring Guad. that pollution plays a huge part.

3-Plus the fact that we are in a valley, ringed by mountains makes that even worse.

NYC: http://aqicn.org/city/usa/newyork/ps-19/

Guadalajara: http://www.aqicn.org/city/guadalajara

Do you really believe this is lake mist?  

 

Yes ... Because it hasn't changed in all the years I've lived here.. Lost track of the number of times I've sat on my balcony in the morning and watched the mist burn off the lake as the sun gets  hotter.. 

Guad is a different matter,,,.  But we don't live in Gusd .. So why are you trying to tell us Ajijic is as polluted as Guad... 

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6 hours ago, MexLuis said:

It appears the standard for smog season is now extended, beyond the April May months.

Last April was the worst yet.  Smog is now here in November. 

Any thoughts as to why this is so much worse than prior years?

Just look across the lake.  There isn't any denying.  From Joco to Chapala.

(Maybe there are forest fires raging?)  Guad appears to have LESS haze over their mountains.

PM2.5 is very high in Guad today. ranging a high of between 90 - 107 (see link below)

 www.aqicn.org/city/guadalajara

 

 

 

 

It's been pretty cool lately, so of course, people are trying to stay warm using their wood-burning fireplaces.  Most of them have no other source of heat.  If you have sensitivities to this, you probably shouldn't have moved here.  The way the weather patterns are changing , this may be something that you'll have to put up with for a long time to come.

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Haha,try a town like Paracho, Michoacan for example where you will experience seeing blue smoke in the mornings generated by every house burning wood to keep warm during the night. Smells great. Yes you are seeing nothing but evaporation from the lake. Sinus infections? Wow, what a stretch for allergic reaction to  dust and dryness at this time of year. Pardon me, I just sneezed!

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With more smoke in the air (much more), there are days when I sneeze a lot. That would be on top of the dust, but with the end of the rainy, there is far less pollen.

The lake is much more heavily misted than it used to be say, 10 years ago. It has always shown heavy evaporation. But now we have to consider the vast increase in the number of cars and delivery trucks lakeside over the past decade; many of those trucks are belching crap constantly, because pollution enforcement is pretty darned slim. The lake we know, "trapped" in the surrounding mountains, acts like a huge bowl, and maintains the moisture, the exhaust, and the extra smoke.

So what used to be merely evaporation is now a huge mix, and not a pretty one at that. It's been years, regardless of the season, since I've been able to get a really clear photo of the mountains across the lake.

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11 hours ago, TelsZ4 said:

Yes ... Because it hasn't changed in all the years I've lived here.. Lost track of the number of times I've sat on my balcony in the morning and watched the mist burn off the lake as the sun gets  hotter.. 

Guad is a different matter,,,.  But we don't live in Gusd .. So why are you trying to tell us Ajijic is as polluted as Guad... 

Besides, Guadlajara is 35 mile north of us and the prevailing wind is from the SW.

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It is smoggier now. It is a rare day now that I can get  a good clear picture form my mirador. Smoggy all the way into Zapopan today.

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According to this it is getting worse in GDL.  I believe it has gotten considerably worse locally in the 10 years we've been here.  Also when it is colder than usual perhaps the inversions that trap the pollutants are also stronger.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/smog-in-mexico-its-not-where-you-think-it-is/

 

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  • 1 month later...

 The Santa Fe, Air Monitoring Station (25 miles North of Ajijic is reporting an ACI (Air Quality Index) of over  154, Monday, Jan 15  (following link will update as index changes).  This is a red alert index (vs yellow or orange) with only green being in the healthy range.  This assumed lake mist reaches 8 hours North as one travels to the border.  

http://aqicn.org/map/northamerica/#@g/20.4625/-103.1232/10z

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Dust and smoke are visible examples of PM10, but more than 90 percent of particulate matter isn't visible to the naked eye. We call these substances “fine particulate matter” or “PM2.5.” The particles have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, which means they can only be seen underneath a microscope.

In other words you are only seeing about 10% of the pollution, and what is visible.  The more harmful pollution is what the ACI stations are reporting. You cannot see that 90%. 

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Doesn't matter. I was on the lake Saturday afternoon, and you could barely see the mountains. Apart from the rising condensation, there was a thick line of smog from end-to-end. It does vary from day-to-day, and weekends seem worst with so many tourist vehicles.

I just happened to take a snap down by the Nueva Pasada. Check out the right side of the frame.

Lake-Chapala-smog-January-13,-2017.jpg

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