Air Quality in Colombia

[Henry]

I stayed in Bogota for a few days last year. First I stayed in a hotel on the outskirts of town. Things werent so bad there, but the car exhaust was still bad.

Things didnt really bother me until I went to stay in the center of town in Barrio Candeleria. The bus and car traffic never stopped, and I was practically gagging all night long.

Even while walking down the street in the downtown area, the fumes from the exhaust were revolting.

I wonder. If I go stay in Medellin or Manizales, would I have the same problem? I'd love to stay in Colombia for a month, but after just a few days the fumes were making me look forward to going home the last time.

[Dan Las Vegas]

The fumes in Medellin are quite bad as well, but once you get away from the major streets, it is tolerable. Don't try walking on avenida Poblado unless you want to choke!
 
Dan Las Vegas

[JasonA]

I think exhaust fumes are horrible in most Latin American cities- Bogota, Lima, Cuzco are all bad. Panama City was a little better. I don't remember Cartagena being bad.

[V_Man]

I don't really recommend staying in Candelaria. A bit further to the north is safer.

Most of the time I have not had a problem with the fumes in Bogota due to the frequent rain. However the air quality certainly is not good. The traffic is diabolical.

Central Lima is not good either as Jasons says.

Cali is not as bad as these large cities but still has some issues. It is easy to get out of Cali and the air in the country is fine.
Some places in Cartegena are not ideal but the tourist areas are OK.

I have not been to the other places you mentioned but surely Manizales would not be too bad.

[benjio]

The fact that the city is located at such a high altitude doesn't help either. The air is subsequently thinner, increasing the percentage of pollutants in the overall makeup of the atmosphere around the city. V_Man is correct. As depressing as the rain can be in Bogota it does help a bit in filtering out unnatural airborne contaminants. But the fact still remains that the quality of the air on average is horrible and you can most definitely feel your health being affected after being there a while.
Although the primary motivation behind the Pico y Placa Law was to improve traffic in Colombia's major cities, another incentive (according to the Colombian Government) was its potential to improve air quality in urban areas,. This is another one of those things that the Colombian Government considered a logical, good idea; but absolutely baffles me (right before it makes me shake my head and just chuckle). With respect to traffic, there are tons of Colombians that just go and buy a second car for the days (or hours) they aren't supposed to drive. In terms of reducing pollution, the low emission cars (most of which run on natural gas) that Pico applies to are the least of the problem in Bogota. The old diesel work trucks and buses the law does not apply to are.

[robert angel]

If an area is surrounded by mountains and is sort of in the bottom of a bowl geographically, pollution will be a problem. Ashville, North Carolina is a good example. It's a neat, touristy town that seems very natural, surrounded by mountain beauty, but there's a lot of hazy smog.
 
Does Colombia use leaded gas still? In the Philippines they do. A lot of people in the larger cities there walk around with bandanas over their nose and mouth, trying to keep some air pollution out .

[benjio]

If an area is surrounded by mountains and is sort of in the bottom of a bowl geographically, pollution will be a problem. Ashville, North Carolina is a good example. It's a neat, touristy town that seems very natural, surrounded by mountain beauty, but there's a lot of hazy smog.

Good point Robert...all these variables add up to bad air quality in cities like Bogota. I've been to Ashville and you're right....really nice place. I especially enjoyed the architecture. I didn't notice any smog though.

[buencamino]

The worst I ever encountered was San Jose, Costa Rica.

[Henry]

The worst I ever encountered was San Jose, Costa Rica.

As I remember, San Jose is much better than Bogota. Even Quito wasnt as bad, even though the buses were emitting black smoke. I didnt feel like wearing a mask (like the American Olympians in Beijing).

[michaelb]

I haven't been to most of the places listed, but I've been to Mexico City and I'll bet it's worse than all of them, except maybe Beijing. I love the smell of Pemex number 2 in the morning! (not)