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Heavily polluted Tijuana River drives regional air quality crisis

Pollution, environmental and human health

Published Science 28 Aug 2025

  • Date (DD-MM-YYYY)

    07-09-2025 to 07-09-2026

    Available on-demand until 7th September 2026

  • Cost

    Free

  • Education type

    Article

  • CPD subtype

    On-demand

Description

Intense industrial and urban wastewater pollution has plagued the Tijuana River for decades, causing long-term closure of neighboring beaches. Rico et al. showed that surging wastewater flows in the summer of 2024 enhanced water-to-air hydrogen sulfide (H2S) transfer at a turbulent hotspot, leading to nighttime atmospheric H2S peaks thousands of times greater than typical urban levels. This example makes it clear that poor water quality can drastically affect air quality—an observation with important implications for global waterways.

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