Olivia González has been a schoolteacher for 30 years in Cerro Navia, one of the districts in the Chilean capital with the highest concentration of air pollution between April and August. A first-hand witness to its effects on health, she is pessimistic about the air she'll breathe this coming southern hemisphere winter.
"Every year, the students in the municipal school where I work come down with many headaches and respiratory problems. As a result, they are constantly missing class so their performance suffers," González told Tierramérica.
In 2008, the school had to suspend its physical education classes three times due to city decrees of a "state of pre-emergency" because of the smog.
The teachers and families also suffer from the pollution, especially the elderly, says González, who is preparing for the upcoming "grey" season.
In recent weeks, three officials linked to the Santiago air pollution agency PPDA have resigned.
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