Air quality in Rio Branco

What is the current level of air pollution in Rio Branco now?

Rio Branco is a Brazilian municipality, and capital of the state of Acre. It is located on the Acre River in the northern area of Brazil. According to a 2018 census, Rio Branco had an estimated population of approximately 415,000 people.

Towards the end of August 2021, Rio Branco was experiencing a period of “Unhealthy” air with a US AQI reading of 171. This United States Air Quality Index figure is calculated by measuring the presence of the six most prolific air pollutants and calculating this figure which can then be used as a metric when comparing the air quality in different cities. The six most common air pollutants are nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide and both sizes of particulate matter, being PM2.5 and PM10. If figures are not available for all six then a level is calculated by using what figures are available. In the case of Rio Branco, only PM2.5 was recorded as being 94 µg/m³. This level of PM2.5 is just over nine times the recommended level of 10 µg/m³ which is the suggested maximum figure by the World Health Organisation (WHO), although no amount of air pollution is considered to be safe.

With pollution at this level, the advice given would be to stay inside and close all windows and doors to prevent the ingress of more dirty air. Running an air purifier would be beneficial if one is available, but set the air intake to recycle and not draw more air in from outside. Those who are sensitive to poor quality air should avoid exercising outdoors until the air quality improves and if venturing outside is unavoidable, then the wearing of a good quality face mask is essential. The table that is published at the top of this page should help with that decision or download the AirVisual app for constant updates as to the state of the air on the move.

Does Rio Branco suffer from the same level of air pollution throughout the year?

Air pollution can be very volatile and can change rapidly depending on current meteorological conditions Looking back at the figures for 2020, released by IQAir.com, it can be seen that the worst air quality was experienced in September when the figure was 42.2 µg/m³ which classified it as being “Unhealthy for sensitive groups”. Any reading between 35.5 and 55.4 µg/m³ falls into this group. The months of July and August and October and November provided Rio Branco with “Moderate” air quality with figures between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. For the remaining seven months of the year, the city achieved the target figure of 10 µg/m³ or less. This target figure is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) although no level of air pollution is considered to be safe.

Historically, records pertaining to air pollution have been kept since 2019 when the annual average figure was 15.0 µg/m³. In 2020, the figure recorded was 14.7 µg/m³ which fell into the “Moderate” classification. This reading may have been affected by the COVID-19 situation as many vehicles were no longer in daily use in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus. Many factories and non-essential production units were also required to close which removed their emissions from the atmosphere.

Is there a main source of air pollution in Rio Branco?

The main sources of pollutant emissions in metropolitan regions are mobile: cars, buses, trucks and motorcycles. Currently, seven pollutants are regulated in the country for their recognized damage to health, that is, they must be monitored by the government: smoke, total suspended particles (PTS), inhalable particles (PM10), fine inhalable particles (PM2.5), sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O₃). Reducing pollution is a challenge in urbanized centres due to the large volume of cars. Mainly for some pollutants that their formation is complex, such as particulate matter and ozone.

What can be done to reduce air pollution in Rio Branco?

Vehicle emissions are common in densely populated regions, since the increase in the number of vehicles is related to the increase in population. And what to do to control a fleet of vehicles. To avoid this type of emission, measures focusing mainly on improving technologies and promoting the use of cleaner fuels have been taken through the Vehicle Emission Control Program.

One of the ways to combat air pollution is to invest in quality, efficient public transport that uses cleaner fuels. And make their use attractive to the general public, otherwise they will continue to use their own private vehicles.

In some Brazilian cities exclusive bus lanes were implemented that allowed buses to travel at higher speeds. Thus, travel time was reduced and, consequently, pollutants originating from vehicle emissions also decreased. After all, higher average speeds make vehicles consume less fuel and emit less pollutants. Reducing car use and promoting and using active transport such as walking, cycling or scootering are also ways to avoid air pollution. Cleaner air can be synonymous with quality of life.

What are the health impacts of breathing dirty air in Rio Branco?

Although impossible to see without a microscope, the tiny particulates that remain in the air after fires, specifically, particles that measure no more than 2.5 micrometres (about 30 times smaller than a human hair) when inhaled, can cause various problems to human health.

In the short term, exposure can cause difficulty breathing, sore and burning throat, hoarseness, headache, tearing and redness in the eyes, but several types of research already show that the damage goes beyond that: smoke can harm the lungs, the blood vessels and the immune system. Although at first, other organs do not seem to be affected, we already know that, directly or not, smoke is related to the increased prevalence of heart attacks, strokes, greater risk of cancer and even chronic diseases.

And the potential to harm many lives is high: these particles of different chemical components can be suspended in the air for days and, with strong winds, can be carried for distances of thousands of kilometres.

Diesel oil is a fuel derived from petroleum, widely used in equipment and automobiles. The gases coming from the exhaust of diesel engines consist of a mixture of gaseous compounds (such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide) and particulate material (carbon, sulphur, nitrogen, among others) which, when inhaled, can cause disease development.