the air quality here has been bad enough the past two days that I can’t easily go outside. Since I moved here there has been around 1 day per week where the air is bad enough that I stay inside. It’s worse overall than I expected. When it’s really bad, you can smell it, and you can feel a subtle stinging in your eyes when you go for a walk.
I bought an air purifier yesterday, had one delivered to my house, and it works incredibly well. I’m stunned by what a difference it makes, and how rapidly it improved the air quality throughout this house. I also have a little air quality monitor, so I can see how well the air purifier is working, and I can test the outdoor air as well.
It’s funny to think I don’t have to stay in this town, or this country. I signed a lease for eight months, but I’ve begun to fantasize about Cuenca again, and Uruguay. And Buenos Aires. Places where you can pretty much always go outside.
In DC, there are some days where extreme cold or extreme heat makes the outdoors difficult to tolerate. But there is a little bit different feeling when toxic air is the reason you have to stay inside. And this air pollution is less predictable. You can’t make plans to play tennis or go on a hike in the hills a few days ahead of time, without the chance you might have to cancel due to bad air. If someone wants to visit me in Ensenada, there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to go outside every day they’re here. It’s a matter of air blowing down from Tijuana and getting trapped up against the mountains that surround Ensenada. On the other hand it can dissipate very rapidly when the wind changes direction. The air can go from dirty to clean in an hour or two. Today marks the first time since I’ve been here that there were two straight days of terrible air quality.
I’m glad the air purifier works so well, but I’ll also want to get a HEPA mask in case the power goes out sometime.