Breathing in Sololá is Injurious to Health.

Air pollution threatens the health of 512 thousand people across 20 districts in Sololá. The average PM2.5 level is 23.3 µg/m³—4.7× higher than the WHO guideline.

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Brought to you by Amrit Sharma

Overview

Air Pollution in Sololá

Sololá faces significant air pollution challenges. 100% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 512 thousand across 20 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 23.3µg/m³. That's 4.7 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 387 cigarettes in a year.

Trends

Air Quality Trend

Annual PM2.5 levels from 2014 to 2023. The WHO guideline for safe air is 5 µg/m³.

Health Impact

Life Expectancy Impact

If Sololá met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 1.77 years longer.

That's 906K years of life stolen from 512 thousand people. Years of watching children grow up. Years of building a career. Years of quiet mornings and celebrations.

Lives cut short. Breathing kills.

Most Polluted

Districts with Highest Pollution

The top 10 most polluted districts in Sololá. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

  • 1.Santiago Atitlán
    2.3 years lost
  • 2.San Pedro La Laguna
    2.2 years lost
  • 3.San Juan La Laguna
    2.1 years lost
  • 4.San Lucas Tolimán
    2.1 years lost
  • 5.?
    2 years lost
  • 6.San Antonio Palopó
    1.9 years lost
  • 7.Santa Clara La Laguna
    1.9 years lost
  • 8.Santa María Visitación
    1.8 years lost
  • 9.San Pablo La Laguna
    1.8 years lost
  • 10.Santa Catarina Palopó
    1.8 years lost
Exposure

Population Exposure by Pollution Level

Distribution of population across different PM2.5 pollution levels. The WHO guideline is 5 µg/m³—only populations below this threshold are breathing safe air.

< 5 µg/m³
0%
0
5-10 µg/m³
0%
0
10-15 µg/m³
0%
0
15-25 µg/m³
77%
394K
25-35 µg/m³
23%
118K
> 35 µg/m³
0%
0
Districts

All 20 Districts in Sololá

Complete air quality data for every district in Sololá, sorted by population.

DistrictPopulationPM2.5 µg/m³Years Lost
Sololá110K
21.8
1.6 years
Nahualá95K
21.8
1.6 years
Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan65K
22.4
1.7 years
Santiago Atitlán41K
28.0
2.3 years
San Lucas Tolimán35K
26.0
2.1 years
Santa Lucía Utatlán26K
21.7
1.6 years
San Antonio Palopó18K
24.6
1.9 years
?17K
25.9
2.0 years
San Andrés Semetabaj15K
21.7
1.6 years
Panajachel14K
22.5
1.7 years
San Juan La Laguna13K
26.2
2.1 years
Santa Clara La Laguna13K
24.2
1.9 years
San Pedro La Laguna11K
27.6
2.2 years
San Pablo La Laguna9K
23.4
1.8 years
Concepción8K
21.4
1.6 years
Santa Cruz La Laguna7K
22.8
1.7 years
Santa Catarina Palopó6K
23.1
1.8 years
San José Chacayá5K
21.8
1.6 years
Santa María Visitación4K
23.6
1.8 years
San Marcos La Laguna730
22.4
1.7 years

Showing 20 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.