Right now, Belizeans are doing their best to reduce their risk of catching the highly contagious coronavirus. That's why there was great concern this morning when residents of Belmopan and nearby communities woke up to a thick cloud of smoke polluting their air.
As all of us know by now, COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that directly affects the lungs. And so, the local experts are concerned that air pollution can increase the COVID health risks.
So, who's to blame? From where did the cloud of smoke over Belmopan originate? Well, the authorities suspect that farmers with nearby properties are preparing their land for agriculture, and they're using fires to simplify their task. The vegetation from wild bushes have been dried out due to the lack of rains, and that means that any spark causes them to catch fire.
When Belmopan residents saw this post from the respected environmental scientist, Jan Meerman, they became worried about air pollution. He said that his tests for air quality showed a large quantity of smoke in the air over the capital, and warned that over-exposure could get residents ill.
This afternoon, we spoke with Meerman via video chat about his findings:
Jan Meerman - Environmental Scientist
"The measures in Belize during the rainy season, those measurements are clean. Belize has perfect air. But, in the dry season, we have smoke, and that's not healthy. The big thing about this sensor is probably that it shows the levels. Belize is very used to smoke every dry season, and especially those that live inland, the ones that live near to where fires take place, it's a fact of life. No one realizes that it's dangerous. This sensor actually gives you an indication of how high the smoke levels or the particle leaves are. It tells you when it becomes dangerous. And in many cases, it says that if this lasts for more than 24 hours, many people will start experiencing health issues. And the levels have been, to a degree now, like this morning, we had an extreme peak, which was a very short-lasting peak. The levels have been above what's considered when it gets unhealthy, days if not weeks now."
As viewers are aware, the Ministry of the Environment has been actively trying to discourage Belizeans from starting any kind of bonfires. They say that those warnings have been ignored, and so, they are going to take action against it. This afternoon, the CEO of the Ministry of Environment granted us an interview via telephone on the issue. He told us that a piece of legislation is being drafted to criminalize bonfires during the COVID-19 public health threat. Here's how he explained it to us:
Dr. Percival Cho - CEO, Ministry of Environment
"We have satellite information, from NASA, through a system that they call FIRMS. It's a system that is reliant on a network of satellites that orbit the earth every few minutes, 8 minutes in some cases, and in others, 16 minutes. And so, we have near real-time access to information on where fires are because these satellites are able to detect a hot spot on the Earth's service that is as small as a few feet. As long as it is hot enough, it's picked up by the satellites, it's sent to Nasa's system, and then it's placed online for access by the public."
"For the past few days, we've had about 70 or 80 fires per day. Over the Easter Holidays, the long weekend, we had up 117 fires in 1 day. And so, the height of the dry season right now. Not a drop of rain has fallen in Belmopan, and I don't think anywhere else either. And so, people are burning to prepare the land to plant. They're using fire to clear land. And where we're seeing these fires are adjacent to communities. In the case of Belmopan, they're to the east, between here and Cotton Tree. Some of them are to the north, across the river. Up in Orange Walk and Corozal, the fire points coincide with the cane fields. Down in the south, the fire points coincide with the milpas that indigenous folks burn. And out west, around San Ignacio, they coincide with the agricultural parcels as well."
"We put out a couple of advisories last week and the week before, advising and suggesting that farmers can begin to use other practices, especially during this State of Emergency. We have a respiratory disease circulating, and any stress on our lungs and any pollution in the air would only make people be under stress, their system, and their lungs, and that's not a system that you want."
"This is not a time to be breathing dirty air. And so, I had mentioned to you that we have been working on a piece of legislation that we're hoping to be passed. We're working in conjunction with the Solicitor General's Office. I understand that they're finalizing the drafting of this legislation, and basically, it would state that it is unlawful to light any fires to any vegetation or any waste, be it household or yard waste during the State of Emergency. So, anybody lighting fires, once the law is passed, would be in contravention of the law."
CEO Cho told us that this piece of legislation should be in its final draft form in a few days.
A recent advisory from the Ministry of Environment says, quote, "All persons are requested to immediately cease and desist from setting fire to any bush, milpa, field, pasture, grass or any household or yard waste during the state of emergency. There is a severe drought upon us. Smoke pollution from fires degrades the air quality and can negatively affect persons with asthma and other respiratory ailments. Especially, at this time we need to keep our lungs clean and healthy. Through satellite tracking, the Ministry can determine in real-time the location of bush fires anywhere in Belize. If you are burning, please heed this advisory and stop the burning immediately." End quote.
Just before the start of news, a resident of Santa Elena Town sent us this picture of smoke lingering over the twin towns in Cayo. The resident. said, quote, "The air is barely breathable at times because of the high particulate from burning Milpa and escaped fires."
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