There’s an interesting phenomenon going on here in Medellín and, well, I’m in self isolation so I have too much time on my hands so I thought I’d share.
Medellín has horrible air quality. Not as bad as China or India but horrible. In general, Vancouver’s AQI numbers are under 50 and often under 20. Medellín has hovered between 50 and 100 on good days and is very often well over 100. Every now and then, it goes above 150 which is considered dangerous.
Lately, there are far fewer cars on the road due to the lockdown and a new law called pico y placa which forbids driving on certain days based on your plate number. It’s a way to ration car use. Anecdotally, there appear to be about half as many cars on the road these days.
Here’s the interesting thing. Pollution has gone up. It’s worse than ever. I have no explanation and neither does anyone else. Sometimes things are complex.
Italy has seen a reduction in air pollution. China has seen such a huge reduction in air pollution that some are calculating that more lives were saved (through reduced air pollution) than were lost to coronavirus.
It’s always between 25°C and 30°C here (roughly 77°F to 86°F). There are no home heaters in the country to speak of. Even in the colder regions near Bogotá, people just suck it up and use blankets. People cook with natural gas, which is very clean, too.
I suggest you try the Air Visual app. I’ve been using it for many years. I tells you the air pollution in most areas in realtime. The air in OKC seems fine right now.
