In the midst of hosting the Copa America soccer tournament, Santiago, Chile has declared an environmental state of emergency for the greater metropolitan region due to air pollution. Over 900 industries are temporarily closed and 40 percent of the city's 1.7 million cars have been ordered off the roads in an effort to keep the smog levels down. It is the first environmental emergency declared in the nation since 1999 and bad weather may, in part, be to blame. June was the driest month in the Santiago valley since 1968; rains usually tend to keep the smog at bay.
Residents have been asked to avoid exercising outdoors and to show their "civic spirit and solidarity" by helping to minimize pollution. The Copa America will resume on Wednesday with a quarterfinals game between Uruguay and Chile.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Israel: Losing the American publicFeature A recent poll finds American support for Israel's military action in Gaza has fallen from 50% to 32%
-
Unmaking AmericansFeature Trump is threatening to revoke the citizenship of foreign-born Americans. Could he do that?
-
EPA: A bonfire of climate change regulationsFeature The Environmental Protection Agency wants to roll back its 'endangerment finding,' a ruling that lets the agency regulate carbon emissions
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
