Tegucigalpa - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the air quality like at post (good/moderate/bad)? Are there seasonal air quality issues? Does the air quality have an impact on health?
There is a burning season in the spring, it can get intense so please use the filters that are provided for you in the housing. - Mar 2024
Air quality is decent but March/April it's terrible (burning season). - Jan 2024
Most of the year the air quality is fine. April/May is burn season and it was particularly brutal this year, but the year before it was practically non-existent. We have embassy provided air purifiers in each bedroom plus an extra for the living room. We run them during burn season but then they're turned off for the rest of the year. - Aug 2023
Bad during burning season. - Feb 2022
Compared to most posts, the air quality is actually very good. Tegucigalpa is a medium-sized city with a lot of newer cars, so compared to African or Asian posts or larger Latin American cities, it is much less polluted. The one tough period is the three to four weeks before the rains arrive in April. Smoke from nearby forest fires does sometimes enter the city (depending on which way the wind is blowing). - Oct 2019
Bad during burn season. Pollution in city. No recycling. There seems to be trash everywhere. - Jul 2018
Allergy sufferers will have some problems here. Lots of pollen, some mold, a fair amount of humidity from maybe May to November (rainy season), then an abrupt drop in temperature, with lots of wind and dust from Nov-February (cold, dry season), then March-May gets hot, dry, and smoky. But from what I hear, even the worst smoky days in Tegucigalpa aren't like the norm in Jakarta or Beijing. More like a bad smog day in LA. - May 2018
Horrible. The air pollution is awful year-round, and really bad during burn season. When my husband and I first got here we got an URI every month for the first 6 months. Tegucigalpa sits in the middle of the mountains, so unless it rains, all the pollution and smoke sits on top of the city. Currently we are in the middle of burn season, and the smoke is so thick you can't see the mountains and every morning the counters and floors are covered in a layer of soot. - May 2018
Fine. Farmers burn their fields every year which causes problems for a few weeks. - Apr 2018
Not good. The locals burn a lot of the fields and forests, and the ash and smog gets trapped in the city. - Jun 2016
- Excellent. - Feb 2016
OK, except during the burn season when it's smoky. - Aug 2015
Decent, except when people burn things during the Spring (makes me cough a lot). - Jul 2015
It always seems pretty good to me. - Dec 2014
Moderate. - Oct 2014
Mostly good. - Sep 2014
Bad during April "burning season" but otherwise fine. - Aug 2014
Depends on the time of year. - Jun 2014
Genrally ok but during "burning season" it can be smokey and you can actually get ash inside your house even with the windows closed. - Mar 2014
In general, it's good. - Jan 2014
Once a year they burn on the outskirts of the city which can cause respiratory problems. - Oct 2013
Most of the year it's ok, but a certain time of year they burn vegetation outside of Tegu and the smoke and cinders come into town. - Jun 2013
Terrible during the burning season. - Jun 2013
Dirty, especially when they burn things (Feb - May). - Apr 2013
Good except when they burn the fields once a year. - Jan 2012
