PM2.5 stands for particulate matter 2.5 microns or smaller. These particles are 30 times thinner than a human hair and come from car exhaust, power plants, wildfires, and burning fuel. They are small enough to bypass your body's natural defenses and enter your bloodstream.

How does air pollution affect the body?

Air pollution affects virtually every organ in the body. PM2.5 particles enter your lungs, pass into your bloodstream, and travel to your heart, brain, kidneys, liver, and other organs. This causes chronic inflammation, increasing risks of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, dementia, and many other conditions.

How many people are affected by air pollution?

99% of the global population breathes air that exceeds WHO safety guidelines. Air pollution kills approximately 8 million people every year—more than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

México's Coahuila Air Pollution Report

Overview

Air Pollution in Coahuila

Coahuila faces significant air pollution challenges. 100% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 3.2 million across 38 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 13.7µg/m³. That's 2.7 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 227 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 Coahuila met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 0.86 years longer.

That's 2.8M years of life stolen from 3.2 million 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 Coahuila. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

1.Torreón
1.1 years lost
2.Castaños
1.1 years lost
3.Monclova
1 years lost
4.Cuatro Ciénegas
1 years lost
5.Abasolo
1 years lost
6.Saltillo
1 years lost
7.Frontera
1 years lost
8.Arteaga
0.9 years lost
9.Ramos Arizpe
0.9 years lost
10.Escobedo
0.8 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

5-10 µg/m³

13.5%

439K

10-15 µg/m³

24%

780K

15-25 µg/m³

62.4%

2.0M

25-35 µg/m³

> 35 µg/m³

Districts

All 38 Districts in Coahuila

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

District	Population	PM2.5 µg/m³	Years Lost
Saltillo	907K	15.1	1.0 years
Torreón	743K	15.8	1.1 years
Monclova	245K	15.5	1.0 years
Piedras Negras	182K	10.0	0.5 years
Acuña	168K	9.5	0.4 years
Ramos Arizpe	126K	14.4	0.9 years
Matamoros	122K	12.2	0.7 years
San Pedro	104K	12.0	0.7 years
Frontera	85K	15.1	1.0 years
Múzquiz	74K	6.8	0.2 years
Sabinas	67K	9.1	0.4 years
Francisco I. Madero	61K	11.2	0.6 years
Parras	46K	11.7	0.7 years
San Juan de Sabinas	44K	8.7	0.4 years
Nava	34K	10.8	0.6 years
Arteaga	30K	14.6	0.9 years
Castaños	30K	15.8	1.1 years
San Buenaventura	26K	11.2	0.6 years
Allende	24K	9.0	0.4 years
Viesca	21K	12.5	0.7 years
Zaragoza	14K	9.2	0.4 years
Cuatro Ciénegas	13K	15.2	1.0 years
General Cepeda	12K	10.4	0.5 years
Ocampo	10K	9.9	0.5 years
Jiménez	10K	8.5	0.3 years
Morelos	8K	9.0	0.4 years
Sierra Mojada	7K	7.6	0.3 years
Nadadores	7K	12.0	0.7 years
Villa Unión	6K	8.7	0.4 years
Progreso	3K	9.5	0.4 years
Escobedo	3K	13.0	0.8 years
Sacramento	3K	11.8	0.7 years
Lamadrid	2K	12.3	0.7 years
Hidalgo	2K	5.9	0.1 years
Candela	2K	10.7	0.6 years
Guerrero	2K	7.8	0.3 years
Juárez	2K	8.9	0.4 years
Abasolo	1K	15.2	1.0 years

Showing 38 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.

Breathing in Coahuila is Injurious to Health.