Despite the pandemic, the Spanish population returned to breathing unhealthy air in 2021

In recent years, practically the entire Spanish and European population has been breathing contaminated airthat does not meet the standards recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), updated in 2021.

The conservation organization Ecologists in Action warns that the latest estimates from the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the WHO on the health impact of air pollution are very worrying. They increase in 2019 to around 400,000 o premature deaths due to poor air quality in European countries.

Air pollution must be treated as a problem of the first order.

Ecologists in Action, report ‘Air quality in the Spanish State during 2021’

In Spain, the victims of pollution they were that year up to 30,000, which means doubling the annual premature deaths that were estimated just two decades ago. In light of these data, air pollution should be addressed as a first order problempoint out environmentalists.

Air quality in 2021

O last report published by Ecologists en Acción analyzes the data collected during the year 2021 in about 800 stations air quality measurement officers installed throughout the Spanish State.

Environmentalists note that during 2021 air quality in Spain maintained the substantial improvement already seen in 2020, with a reduction remarkable of nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and tropospheric ozone levels, and a more nuanced decline of suspended particles.

However, they describe that the essential factors that explain this improvement in air quality during 2021 are the restriction of mobility and the economic contraction resulting from the measures adopted to combat air pollution. COVID-19 crisis which broke in March 2020.

Polluted air affected the entire Spanish population in 2021

The work takes as a reference the new maximum contamination values recommended by WHO and the long-term objective of protecting the European Union’s vegetation. According to these levels, polluted air affected the entire Spanish population and 80% of the territory in 2021.

Among the results, it is highlighted that the main source of pollution in urban areas, where most of the population is concentrated, is the motor traffic.

In the surroundings of large thermoelectric plants, there are industrial sources those that decisively condition air quality. On the other hand, the air and sea transport It has a major impact on air quality in airport and port areas.

Environmentalists point out that health and labor costs the derivatives of atmospheric pollution represent 50 billion dollars a year, 3.5% of the Spanish GDP, according to the World Bank; this, without considering the cost of damage to crops and natural ecosystems.

The paradox of Air Quality Improvement Plans

The Air Quality Improvement Plans are mandatory according to the legislation in force. However, in many cases do not existand in others are ineffective for lack of political will, warns Ecologists in Action.

A dozen Autonomous Communities continue to fail to fulfill their obligation to draw up plans to combat ozone in areas where legal objectives are exceeded. O few plans elaborated lack the detail and budget necessary to be effective.

The report concludes that the only way to improve air quality in cities is to decrease motor traffic, promoting pedestrian and cyclist mobility and clean public transport. It is also necessary to promote Energy savingadopt the best industrial techniques available, close the thermal power plants in fossil fuelspenalize the dieselreduce the use of planedesignate an area of ​​control of the emissions of maritime transport in the Mediterranean and a moratorium on new livestock macro-farms.

O Climate Change Law requires all cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants to have low-emission zones before 2023. But most cities are not declaring such zones, despite their abundance. public funds they are receiving for their deployment, the report details. Those declared in Madrid and Barcelona were annulled by court decisions which, in practice, give precedence to the right to drive around the city over the public health and the environment.

The COVID-19 health crisis has shown that traffic reduction It has clear effects on improving the quality of the air we breathe, in cities and rural areas. However, the recovery In recent months, air pollution in big cities is a worrying sign that we haven’t learned enough, environmentalists conclude.