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Purpose - The electronics industry has grown over the past 50 years, mostly in developed countries, contributing to their economic progress. Particularly in the Baja California State located in the northwest of Mexico, these companies have prospered in the industrial parks of Mexicali considered as an arid zone and Ensenada, a port and city on the Pacific Ocean considered as a marine region. In both environments, during winter and summer, the climate impacts on indoor conditions, affecting humidity and temperature, and generating corrosion which decreases the yields of the electronic devices and industrial machines. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of corrosion on electronic devices in these arid and marine environments.

Design/methodology/approach - The paper determines the corrosivity levels inside industrial plants of desertic and coast regions in Mexico, to evaluate the deterioration of electronic metals.

Findings - Relative humidity, temperature, time of wetness, are recorded and related to the corrosion process in arid and marine environments.

Research limitations/implications - Some missing information about air pollution in Ensenada from some Environmental Monitoring Stations was a limitation, and the need to use complex atmospheric techniques.

Originality/value - The paper shows that it is very important to control metallic corrosion generated by climate factors and air pollution in indoor industrial plants: the corrosion of electronic devices and equipments depletes their yield and can lead to loss-making failures.