Air quality in Envigado

What is the current level of air pollution in Envigado city?

Envigado is a town southeast of Medellín, Colombia in the department of Antioquia and is located in the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley. According to a census conducted in 2013, Envigado had an estimated population of approximately 212,500 people. This figure is almost double that of the 1993 census which was 115,484 people.

The state of the air in August 2021 was “Moderate” with a US AQI reading of 52. This United States Air Quality Index number is calculated using the levels of six of the most commonly occurring air pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide and both sizes of particulate matter, which are PM2.5 and PM10. It can then be used as the metric when comparing air quality in other cities around the world. If data is unavailable for all 6 pollutants, a figure can still be calculated by using what figures there are.

For Envigado, the only record was for PM2.5 which was 12.4 µg/m³. This figure is slightly higher than 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 air pollution at this level, the suggested advice would be to stay indoors and close the windows and doors to prevent the ingress of more polluted air. Those who are sensitive to poor air quality should avoid undue outdoor contact. If journeying outside is unavoidable, then a good quality particle filtering mask should be worn at all times. 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 in real-time.

Does the level of pollution stay the same throughout the year in Envigado?

The quality of the air can vary considerably, depending on the meteorological conditions at any given time. Looking back at the published figures for 2020 by IQAir.com, it can easily be seen that the month with the worst air quality was March, when a figure of 43.5 µg/m³ was recorded. This would be classified as being “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” with readings between 35.5 and 55.4 µg/m³. The months of May and July provided “Good” quality air with figures of 11.7 and 11.2 µg/m³, respectively. Any figure between 10 and 12 µg/m³ can be categorised as being “Good”. The remaining nine months of the year brought “Moderate” air quality with figures between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. The best months being June and August with 13.2 and 13.9 µg/m³, respectively.

Records pertaining to air quality were first kept in 2019 when the recorded figure was 17.8 µg/m³, which would be classed as being “Moderate”. A similar figure was recorded the following year of 17 5 µg/m³. This coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic when many vehicles were no longer in daily use in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus. Many factories and non-essential production units were also required to close which removed their emissions from the atmosphere and therefore, most cities revealed very good figures for air quality. Often much lower than their usual standards.

Where does the air pollution come from in Envigado?

As much as 80 per cent of Envigado’s pollution is emitted by mobile sources. As in most cities throughout the world, as people earn more money they are more likely to own and use some form of private transport whether it’s a car or a motorbike.

It has been shown that the location of a large city within a valley or mountain chain can have a negative effect on the dispersion of pollutants, in the case of the Aburrá Valley, whose municipalities are located in a narrow valley, surrounded by high mountains. . In addition, climatic conditions (predictable annualized changes from dry season to rainy season and vice versa) affect the dispersion of gases and particles generated by industry, transportation and households.

Another factor is thermal inversion, a phenomenon that goes against the logic of temperatures (colder in high areas and hotter in low areas), which hinders air circulation. This inversion occurs usually in the mornings and, with the decrease in wind speed, causes the pollutants to stay at ground level for longer than normal, which prevents them from ascending and leaving the Valley, favouring the formation of secondary pollutants by atmospheric chemistry.

Can anything be done to reduce air pollution in Envigado?

Many preventative measures are introduced when necessary to reduce the amount of traffic that has access to the city centre. Commonly known as “The State of Prevention”. The transition between the seasons exacerbates the pollution problem so local authorities restrict certain vehicles on certain days to try to maintain reasonable air quality. Similar rules and regulations are applied to industrial emissions. Those factories that cannot comply are closed down until their emissions meet the required standards. The quality of diesel which is available has been increased so those emissions are now less than those of the previous standard of fuel.

What are the detrimental effects of air pollution in Envigado on our health?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution represents a major environmental health risk. "By reducing air pollution levels, countries can reduce the burden of disease derived from cerebrovascular accidents, lung cancers, and chronic and acute pneumopathies, including asthma," the international body emphasizes.

It is often not visible, but air pollution, particularly from traffic, is the cause of some of our most common illnesses. Lung cancer, stroke, respiratory diseases are caused by this invisible killer. Beyond pollution, the urban environment in which we live has a direct impact on health and well-being.

Short and long-term exposure produces detrimental health effects. For example, people with asthma are at higher risk of having an asthma attack on days when ground-level ozone concentrations are highest, while people exposed for several years to high concentrations of particulate matter (PM) they have a greater risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases.

If the concentration is very high, although it is not usually frequent, it affects our health in a way that causes us to tear, or promotes bronchial irritation. Pollutants are complex, they do not act in isolation, and they can interact with each other or they can cause 'secondary pollutants', as is the case of ozone, a relatively important toxin.