Arequipa may be all kinds of beautiful, but there is an obvious problem affecting the quality of life of its inhabitants and you only need to step onto a busy street to see what it is.

Random inspections carried out of Arequipa’s vehicles found that less than 13% of them met limits set on carbon monoxide emissions. Of the cities vehicles that underwent the surprise tests, a mere 57 private and public transport vehicles actually passed.

The city’s authorities stated that they found the results “alarming” and said that drivers are endangering the lives of the cities inhabitants and its many tourist visitors.

The owners of the polluting vehicles were issued with “educational tickets” not fines. (The shear number of infractions committed in Peru means authorities are often scared to enforce the law suddenly after years of inaction, but issue warnings long in advance of issuing fines.)

Although Natural Gas vehicles are improving air quality in Lima, such alternative fuels are yet to reach Peru´s other provinces.

Tags: air quality, arequipa, pollution, vehicle inspections