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Date Published: 21/01/2022

ARCHIVED - Murcia is the third most polluted city in Spain

Murcia City has reduced its nitrogen oxide emissions by 38%, but is still in the top 3 most polluted cities in the country

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Murcia is the third most polluted city in Spain

After Marbella and A Coruña, Murcia is the third most polluted city in Spain, as measured in PM10 suspended particles – a common air pollutant found in smoke and dust. Measuring just 10 micrometres in diameter, they are small enough to get into a person’s throat and eyes and cause irritation, including coughing and sneezing.

On the other hand, Murcia is the city which has reduced its nitrogen dioxide (NO2) level the most in 2021, shrinking this pollutant by an impressive 38%. Cartagena managed to reduce nitrogen levels by 21%, coming in second on the list of cities with between 1,000 and 250,000 inhabitants.

The eighty largest cities in Spain where some 19 million people and 40% of the country’s total population live, have high levels of air pollution, according to a report from the Sustainability Observatory.

Among the conclusions of the document, it highlights that the average levels of contamination in 2021 were very similar to the previous year, when coronavirus confinement was in place and so travel was severely limited.

While Murcia has made great strides, the study concluded that in smaller cities NO2 concentrations actually increased considerably and that, in general, at the end of last year pollution levels had largely deteriorated.

With regard to nitrogen oxide, the largest cities that most improved their pollution levels were Valencia, with a drop of 15%, Malaga at -6% and Sevilla, with -1%, while the worst performers were Zaragoza and Madrid, with increases of 7%.

According to the Observatory, the data on NO2 reveals the need to drastically reduce the use of private vehicles across all of Spain, establish pedestrian areas, promote the use of bikes, electric cars and public transport, which the organisation believes should be free during periods of high pollution.

In addition, it is important that emissions are reduced from large industries, industrial estates, waste management and domestic heating.

Unfortunately, the solution to the particle problem is less straightforward as no clear patterns of improvement were observed during confinement.

In 2023, the Spanish government intends to enforce low-emissions zones in the town centre of all cities in Spain with a population of more than 50,000 in an effort to reduce air pollution.

Image: Archive

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