According to the last report on air quality in Costa Rica, the area close to the National University in Heredia shows an annual average of 34 µg/m3 (micrograms per Cubic Meter of Air) of particulate matter (the sum of all solid and liquid particles suspended in air many of which are hazardous), value that despite being under the maximum limit of 40 µg/m3 established in the + Air Quality Criteria for Pollution, it still surpasses the registered index in the rest of the monitoring stations.

In San José, the station located near the Cathedral registered 25 µg/m3 the highest in this region, but the city of Heredia still surpasses this number by 9 units.

“Actions such as the vehicles’ technical revision, the restriction for cars entering San José, and others, have allowed us to have a country with an air quality that remains among the average recommended, however, the levels registered in Heredia, even though there is an improvement, continue to present high levels in the quantity of particulate matter. The Ministry of Public Transportation will therefore consider actions that allows us to bring down these numbers”, commented Daniel Salas, Minister of Health.

Another important factor in the measuring of air quality are the levels of nitrogen dioxide, where in twelve out of sixteen stations in the Metropolitan Area, the levels surpassed the criteria dictated by the World Health Organization (WHO) with levels of over 40 µg/m3.

“The indexes of nitrogen dioxide elevate due to the fuel of our vehicles. The Government is promoting actions of decarbonization to have a sustained impact in the reduction of NO2 that we breath”, explained Salas.