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Date Published: 04/01/2024

The Region of Murcia now has the worst air quality in Spain

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Air pollution in Murcia is more than 30% higher than the national average

The Region of Murcia now has the worst air quality in Spain

The local government has begun to act against the smog that seems to be lingering over Murcia and not a moment too soon, as the latest data shows that the Region has the worst air quality in mainland Spain.

PM10 polluting particles have a population-weighted average of 30.6 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3). This places Murcia in second place overall after the Canary Islands, and at 32% above the Spanish average for air pollution.

Even more worrying is the data collected by the European Environmental Agency, which show that last year, the air was sub-par 90% of the time. According to the EEA figures, during 2023 the quality in Murcia city was ‘unfavourable’ for 166 days, ‘very unfavourable’ on 47 days, ‘reasonably good’ on just 34 days and ‘extremely unfavourable’ for a total of 18 days.

Just behind the capital in terms of the worst pollution comes Cartagena, while Caravaca de la Cruz was the only municipality where air quality appears to have improved, with the station recording 61.4% days of positive quality.

The entire Region of Murcia, but more especially the city, has spent a Christmas under fumes as falling temperatures make the emissions dumped into the atmosphere all the more noticeable. Over the festive period, countless residents have taken to social media claiming that the capital smells “like an exhaust pipe”, with many more complaining of itchy eyes and coughs.

Needless to say, the regional government has no choice at this point but to take action, and after 10 consecutive days with very high values of PM10 and PM2.5 particles, former health councillor Esther Nevado has called for an urgent update of the Region’s air quality protocol.

“The review of the protocol must also address when the alerts are given, and it must also make it very clear what the City Council must do in each episode and at each of the levels, because what there is right now are only recommendations, that are not mandatory," she stressed.

On a positive note, the Council decided yesterday to lower the municipal air quality protocol from Level 3 alert, to Level 1 warning, "due to the improvement of the PM10 particle parameters.”

In other news: First rains of 2024 arrive: Murcia weather forecast Jan 4-7

Image: Archive

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