Mexico City buried its river and lakes to prevent disease. But then COVID-19 happened.
Certain winds and weather can turn Mexico City into a dust bowl, making it hard for residents to breathe. (Mario Aranda/Pixabay/)Elena Delavega is an associate professor of Social Work at the University of Memphis. This story originally featured on The Conversation.Mexico City is a dust bowl, a polluted megalopolis where breathing is hard and newly washed clothes hung out to dry turn stiff by evening. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic began clobbering this capital city, residents regularly wore face masks during the frequent air quality emergencies there.Now Mexico City’s bad air pollution—which contributes to high rates of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases—is making the metropolitan area’s 21 million people more vulnerable to the coronavirus.Mexico City wasn’t always an ecological and health disaster. As the center of the Aztec empire, it was verdant and diverse. As late as the early 20th century, 45 rivers ran through the Mexican capital.The decision to bury...