Tough to breathe

http://thenews.com.mx/articulo/air-quality-is-bad-for-half-of-the-year-10510

We all know that DF is dirty. Literally. First off, bc it doesn't rain for about half of the year, and 23 million people live there, soil quickly becomes a fine filmy dust that floats everywhere and sticks to anything - your hair, your car, your storefront - which gives the impression that Mexicans don't care about being clean. This is not true. Mexican women will water the dirt in their front yard to keep it from floating into their house.

Mainly, though, Mexico City is polluted. Millions of cars, buses, trains, and people every day in a mountain valley pump a LOT of pollution into the air.

If you live in the midwest US, you may know about ozone action days - those few hot days in the summer when we're encouraged to fill our gas tanks and mow our lawns after dark to avoid hurting the atmosphere? Well, Mexico has those days half of the year. Literally, half of the days of the year, children are encouraged not to run outside, bc it's bad for their lungs. Every other day of the week, people with asthma need to wear a mask if they leave their house.

We're used to it now, if that's possible, although my nose is runny most of the time.