Spain Struggles to Meet 2030 Pollution Limits

One step forward, two steps back. Air pollution is decreasing in Spain, yet the air quality in most of the country remains far from meeting the maximum pollution thresholds that will become mandatory across Europe in less than five years, by 2030. This is highlighted in the air quality report by Ecologistas en Acción, based on official data from 790 monitoring stations across the peninsula and the two archipelagos.

The positive news is that air pollution saw a slight reduction last year in Spain, with significant drops in major pollutants in 2024 compared to pre-pandemic levels from 2012-2019. The average concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO3), primarily emitted by urban exhaust pipes, decreased by 26% compared to five years ago; the density of fine particles (PM2.5), from diesel vehicles, heating, and industrial burning of wood and fossil fuels, fell by 16%; tropospheric ozone levels dropped by 36%; and suspended particles (PM10), such as dust, sand, or ash, decreased by 7%.

Except for certain isolated and specific episodes, the entire country complied with the still-current air pollution legislation last year. For the second consecutive year, no location, not even streets in Madrid or Barcelona, exceeded the legal maximum levels of NO3. However, some places and times did surpass the current legal limits for ozone and PM10, exposing one in six Spaniards, about 8.4 million citizens, to excessively polluted air in 2024.

Most severe episodes (six) were due to ozone and occurred mainly during the three heatwaves in July and August in Madrid, bordering areas of the two Castiles, inland Catalonia, and the Jaen town of Villanueva del Obispo. There were also dangerous PM10 concentrations in the Canary Islands due to African dust and in ports like Barcelona, Avilés, Carboneras, Escombreras, Tarragona, or Vigo, from the movement and storage of solid bulk.

The reasons for the drop in pollutants include a decrease in natural gas usage—due to a warm winter and price hikes from the Ukraine invasion—a renewal of the car fleet (with less diesel and more electric vehicles), and notably, a rise to 57% in electricity generation from renewables, reducing the burning of gas, fuel oil, and coal in power plants.

Here end the positive data. The most negative aspect is that despite the above, around 31 million Spaniards, two-thirds of the population, continue to breathe pollutant levels much higher than those allowed in Europe in just four and a half years. The new European toxic thresholds, halving the current maximums, were breached last year in 64% of Spanish territory. In fact, all medium or large cities and their metropolitan areas far exceeded the 20 micrograms per cubic meter of NO3 that the new EU regulations will permit in 2030 due to vehicle traffic pollution.

Two-thirds of the country exceed the new pollution levels already approved by the EU. Moreover, if we only consider the rates from which the World Health Organization (WHO) deems pollution can cause diseases, the non-compliance would affect the entire country. Experts estimate that between 10,000 and 20,000 Spaniards die each year from the polluted air they breathe, and at least 60,000 are hospitalized for the same reason. Pollution, especially PM2.5 fine particles, causes or worsens respiratory diseases, lung cancers, cardiovascular accidents (strokes and heart attacks), neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's or Parkinson's), and causes premature births, among other injuries.

Ecologistas en Acción believes that the only way to improve air quality in cities is to reduce motorized traffic, promoting active pedestrian and cyclist mobility and electric public transport. They also see the need to promote energy savings, organized boosting of renewable energies, sustainable industries, reducing airplane use, and enacting a moratorium on the opening of new mega-farms.

The NGO's leaders remind that, two and a half years past the deadline for all towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants to establish low-emission zones to improve air quality and mitigate climate change, most Spanish cities have not met this obligation.