In a city the size of Guadalajara it is almost impossible to escape air pollution.
While some parks (such as Colomos and the Metropolitano) offer temporary respite, the concentration of chemicals formed by particles from motor vehicle exhausts, fumes spewed out by factories, dust from construction sites and smoke drifting in forest fires contaminate the air every minute of every day.
According to IQAir, a leading and reliable air quality monitoring platform, accumulated data indicates that Guadalajara is the most polluted city on the American continent for PM2.5 particles — the name given to fine inhalable particles with diameters 2.5 micrometers or smaller. Tiny PM2.5 particles are perhaps the most dangerous of all air pollutants, as they can be inhaled deep into one’s lungs and even enter the bloodstream.
The IQAir data makes for uncomfortable reading: Over the last six years, Guadalajara has presented an average concentration of PM2 five to seven times higher than World Health Organization guidelines.
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