The measure was announced, with instruction from the Honduran president, Xiomara Castro, by the Minister of the Interior, Justice and Decentralization, Tomás Vaquero, in a message in X.
Public employees of Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, will work from home between Tuesday and Thursday due to the “alarm pollution” that affects the city and that keeps the airport closed due to the low visibility, an official source reported Monday.
The measure was announced, with instruction from the Honduran president, Xiomara Castro, by the Minister of the Interior, Justice and Decentralization, Tomás Vaquero, in a message in X.
“The Central Government and Decentralized Institutions in the Municipality of the Central District are ordered to use the teleworking modality for Tuesday 7, Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 May 2024,” Vaquero said.
However, he specified that emergency and security institutions do not apply this provision.
The official noted that the government’s move follows “alarm pollution of the atmosphere, high levels of predicted heat and absence of rain,” and called for its preparation to protect health.
A dense layer of smoke covering the capital of Honduras has caused in the last five days the suspension of return to and from Toncontín airport, due to low visibility, as international provisions do not allow an aircraft to land or take off when it is less than three kilometers.
The Mayor of Tegucigalpa maintains an alert for the poor air quality in the city and asked the population to use masks.
According to the Forest Conservation Institute (ICF), the haze covering the capital is due to an atypical phenomenon that occurs in the region due to “the absence of winds, precipitation and high temperatures.”
“This situation is mainly due to emissions from multiple outbreaks of pollution, such as vehicle combustion, agricultural burning and gas emissions from industries,” the institution explained.
He pointed out that “when hot and humid air cools, it causes the water vapor contained in the air to be condensed in small drops of water, generating mist, to which dust, pollen and gases, the product of fossil combustion emissions, can be attached.”
The phenomenon also affects countries such as El Salvador and Guatemala, the ICF said.