Honduras remains affected by a dense layer of smoke, due to forest fires affecting the country. Look at the satellite image.
Honduras remains affected by a dense layer of smoke, due to forest fires affecting the country. Look at the satellite image.
Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, is one of the most affected by the dense layer of smoke.
Honduras continues to face serious environmental pollution due to a dense layer of smoke, mostly generated by forest fires, as shown by a satellite image of the European Union’s Copernicus land observation program.
The image captured by the Sentinel-3 satellite of Copernicus reveals an extensive area of pollution in Honduran territory, especially concentrated in the central and northern regions.
Air quality in Honduras is affected not only by local forest fires, but also by those that occur throughout the Central American region, according to the European Union.
Air pollution
The smoke covered by Honduras also comes from agricultural burns, agro-industry and construction dust, as indicated by the authorities of the Institute for Forest Conservation (ICF) and the National Center for Atmospheric, Oceanographic and Seismic Studies (Denas).
In particular, the capital, Tegucigalpa, continues to experience “harmful” levels of air pollution, according to data from the Swiss agency IQAir.
The air quality index in Tegucigalpa reaches 112 points on a scale this Thursday with a maximum of 500, with a concentration of PM 2.5 particles of 40.1 micrograms per cubic meter of air.
Honduras has been under air pollution from forest fires for almost a month. Courtesy: European Union.
This level of pollution is eight times higher than the limit set by the World Health Organization (WHO), which considers a daily exposure of more than 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air to be dangerous.
Actions
This situation has led the Government to advance the school recess that usually takes place in the middle of the year and to order public employees in Tegucigalpa to work from home this week.
Physicians and forest experts have recommended to the population the use of masks and avoid physical outdoor activities to avoid exposure to toxic air, which has increased the number of patients with respiratory and heart diseases in emergency rooms in hospitals and health centres.
The Ministry of Risk Management and National Contingencies of Honduras has declared red alert (emergency) in seven of the 18 departments of the country: Francisco Morazán, Olancho, Yoro, Comayagua, Cortés, Atlántida and Colón.
In addition, the departments of Santa Barbara and El Paraíso are on yellow alert, while Islas de la Bahía, Gracias a Dios, Copán, Ocotepeque, Lempira, Intibucá, La Paz, Valle and Choluteca remain on green alert.
This article has been translated after first appearing in Tunota