Ciudad Juárez, March 7, 2026 – Ciudad Juárez requires a minimum of eight more air quality monitoring stations to fully enable its network and provide a more precise understanding of the city’s pollution levels, stated Dr. Felipe Adrián Vázquez Gálvez, coordinator of the Center for Atmospheric Sciences and Green Technologies at the Institute of Engineering and Technology of the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez (UACJ).
Current Monitoring System and Future Goals
Dr. Vázquez Gálvez explained that the city currently operates five primary stations for detailed studies and an additional five secondary stations. While these secondary stations are not officially linked to Mexican regulations, they offer valuable readings and are strategically placed in schools and other locations for specific population studies.
“Eventually, we want to develop the technology to be able to present a map of the entire city with colored patches, according to the air quality in each zone,” he indicated.
The specialist highlighted that the issue of poor air quality is a generational challenge, requiring sustained effort and significant investment beyond a single administration or action. He emphasized that individual contributions, such as maintaining vehicles in good mechanical condition, are also crucial.
The Hidden Costs of Poor Air Quality
Dr. Vázquez Gálvez pointed out the unacknowledged costs associated with poor air quality, such as missed work or school due to illness. “If people were to count these costs, we would surely see that air quality is a priority issue,” he stressed.
He also warned that prolonged exposure to contaminants can significantly reduce life expectancy. “If they were going to live 90 years, maybe they only live 80,” he noted, asserting, “As citizens, we have the right to live in a city with clean air.”
Urgent Need for Expanded Measurement Capacity
The UACJ expert reiterated the critical need for more measurement capacity. While areas like the UACJ’s IIT sector generally show good air quality with occasional exceedances, other zones, such as the Nutritional Clinic on Barranco Azul street, have recorded high contamination levels. Many areas, however, lack any data at all.
“We are missing a lot of measurement capacity; in other areas, we have no information. Part of the challenge we have to implement is how to acquire the equipment we need; we need at least 8 additional measurement devices to have all stations enabled and to measure, for example, dust, which we know is a problem and we don’t measure it,” he emphasized.
Proposed Solutions and Challenges
Dr. Vázquez Gálvez outlined several key actions needed to address air pollution in Ciudad Juárez:
- Pavement and Soil Stabilization: Paving more streets or finding ways to stabilize soil on existing streets to reduce dust.
- Improved Public Transportation: Enhancing the public transportation system to reduce reliance on private vehicles. “We need to reduce private cars by having a transportation system that is better than using a car,” he explained.
- Optimal Vehicle Conditions: Ensuring that circulating vehicles are in optimal mechanical condition, potentially through ecological verification programs.
- Traffic Flow Management: Alleviating traffic congestion, especially at international bridges, as bottlenecks contribute significantly to emissions.
He underscored that none of these solutions are inexpensive or fall under a single jurisdiction, requiring collaboration across all three levels of government and substantial financial investment.
Public Awareness and Health Impacts
Dr. Vázquez Gálvez reflected that air quality is not yet a political priority because the general public does not perceive it as such, except during specific events like fires or emergencies. He argued that many residents are unaware of the financial losses incurred due to illness caused by poor air quality, such as medical expenses or lost wages.
“We have a large number of Juárez residents who breathe poor quality air daily, and this is acutely affecting their health, meaning instantly through allergies, and also chronically. There are studies linking this exposure to particulates with Alzheimer’s, some neurological problems, things that have a very significant value and when they appear there is nothing to be done,” he commented.
He concluded by stressing the long-term health implications for individuals living in areas with consistently poor air quality. “We are talking about people who are born and live almost their entire lives in an area breathing air that is of poor quality. As citizens, we must value the importance of having health conditions for many years, not just the dust of today, but truly how these people can develop certain diseases in the future.”
Related News:
- Health Sector Reports Up to 2,000 Consultations for Respiratory Illnesses
- 191 Thousand More Cars Circulate in Juárez Streets; Environmentalists Raise Alarms
- Vehicle Fleet Increase Highlighted at Environmental Improvement Committee Meeting
