Mexico City and the State of Mexico avoided an environmental contingency and double Hoy No Circula for Thursday, February 12, thanks to wind gusts that improved air quality on Wednesday, February 11. The Metropolitan Environmental Commission reported ozone levels of 156 ppb in Coyoacán, but cloudiness and wind quickly reduced pollution. The Hoy No Circula program will operate normally on Thursday.
On Wednesday, February 11, 2026, Mexico City reached ozone concentrations that neared the threshold for declaring an environmental contingency, with 156 particles per billion (ppb) recorded at the Coyoacán station. However, afternoon wind gusts and increased cloudiness contributed to rapid contaminant dispersion, avoiding activation of phase 1 contingency and double Hoy No Circula for Thursday, February 12, as confirmed by the Metropolitan Environmental Commission (CAMe).
Poor air quality in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area stems from an anticyclonic system, combined with high temperatures—up to 29 degrees Celsius that day—and a stable atmosphere with few wind gusts, favoring ozone and PM2.5 and PM10 particle buildup. At 14:30 hours, stations in Cuautitlán, Tlalnepantla, Nezahualcóyotl, Miguel Hidalgo, Gustavo A. Madero, Benito Juárez, Xochimilco, and Tláhuac reported poor air quality. By 17:00 hours, conditions were described as very poor due to ozone presence.
Authorities advised sensitive groups, such as older adults and children, to avoid outdoor activities in areas with poor air quality and refrain from vigorous exercise. A thermal inversion, which traps pollutants by limiting air movement, dissipated in the afternoon of Wednesday.
For Thursday, the forecast predicts better contaminant dispersion as the high-pressure system moves away from central Mexico, lowering contingency risk. Hoy No Circula will apply normally from 5:00 to 22:00 in the 16 CDMX boroughs and 18 Edomex municipalities, such as Ecatepec, Naucalpan de Juárez, and Nezahualcóyotl. Restricted vehicles include those with green stickers and plate endings 1 or 2, as well as verification holograms 1 and 2. Foreign vehicles with these features are also banned, except for holograms 00 and 0.
This program aims to reduce vehicular pollution in the region, with fines for non-compliance.
