According to a report on air quality by Ecologistas en Acción, it concludes that the 320,000 inhabitants of Rioja were exposed during 2023 to pollution that exceeds the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).
This report analyzes the data collected at 785 official measurement stations installed throughout the Spanish State, including five located in La Rioja.
Among its main conclusions, it stands out that during 2023 the air quality in La Rioja has improved compared to 2022 and before the pandemic, with a significant reduction in the levels of particles (PM10 and PM2.5) and ozone, in percentages. greater than 10% compared to the averages for the 2012-2019 period, but increasing nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels by 27%.
The Ecologists in Action report takes as reference the new limit values approved by the European Parliament on April 26, which must be reached before 2030. According to these thresholds and the obsolete legal limits still in force, in 2023 there was no population breathe contaminated air or surface exposed to levels of contamination that damage vegetation.
Taking into account the values recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), much stricter than the current and new legal limits, and the long-term objective to protect the vegetation of the European Union, the polluted air affected in 2023 to the entire Rioja population. On the other hand, due to the drop in ozone, the entire Rioja territory was free of pollution levels that damage vegetation.
The year 2023 was dry and the second warmest in Spain since at least 1961. Atmospheric stability activated episodes of particle pollution, mostly from North Africa. High summer heat contributed to increased ozone, especially during heat waves in July and August. Climate change is confirmed as a determining factor in the worsening of episodes of poor air quality.
The essential factor to explain the drop in air pollution during 2023 is the evolution of economic activity after the COVID-19 pandemic. The consumption of fossil fuels and electricity was reduced last year and renewable sources covered more than half of the electricity demand, limiting emissions from gas thermal plants, with most of the coal plants, the most polluting, being closed.
Air pollution should be addressed as a major health problem. According to the European Environment Agency, in 2021 up to 21,000 people died prematurely in the Spanish State from diseases aggravated by poor air quality, more than a hundred of them in La Rioja, according to the Global Health Institute. The health and labor costs derived from air pollution represent, according to the World Bank, 50 billion dollars a year, 3.5% of Spanish GDP.
Air Quality Improvement Plans are mandatory according to current legislation, but in many cases they do not exist, and in others they are ineffective due to lack of political will. According to the environmental group, the Logroño City Council lacks a protocol against pollution episodes such as those that periodically affect the city, in stable meteorological situations.
“After the deadline for all municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants to establish low-emission zones to improve air quality and mitigate climate change expired a year and a half ago, the Logroño City Council has not yet implemented it, despite abundant European funds that it is receiving for this,” they say from Ecologistas en Acción.
They insist that the only way to improve air quality in cities is to reduce motorized traffic, promoting active pedestrian and cyclist mobility and clean public transport.
