Optical and thermal properties of soils are important input data for the me
teorological and photochemical modules of air quality models. As developmen
t of these models increase on spatial resolution good albedo data become mo
re important. In this paper measurements of surface albedo of UV (295-385 n
m) and visible (450-550 nm) radiation are reported for different urban and
rural surfaces in the vicinity of Mexico City. It was found for the downtow
n zone an average albedo value of 0.05 which is in very good agreement with
reported values for urban surfaces. Our albedo values measured in UV regio
n for grey cement and geen grass are of 0.10 and 0.009, respectively, and q
uite similar to those found at the literature of 0.11 and 0.008 for those t
ype of surfaces.