Two out of three people in Spain breathed polluted air in 2024 despite slight improvements

Madrid, June 23 (EFEverde).- Despite a slight overall improvement in air quality in Spain during 2024, 63.7% of the population—more than 31 million people—was exposed to pollution levels that exceeded the limits recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the annual report by Ecologistas en Acción. The data also reveal that a significant portion of the country failed to meet the new legal values ​​established by the European Union for 2030.

Pollution levels from respirable particles (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and tropospheric ozone continue to exceed recommended thresholds, according to the report "Air Quality in Spain in 2024," presented this Monday by Ecologists in Action.

The environmental organization warns that, although the high concentrations recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic have not been reached, the challenge for public administrations is "considerable" and emphasizes the urgency of adopting effective measures that align Spanish environmental policy with European requirements to protect public health.

Legal values

The report uses the new legal values ​​established in European Directive 2024/2881, which must be achieved by 2030, as a reference. It analyzes measurements from 790 pollution monitoring stations across the country, in addition to data available from the main national airports and ports.

According to those thresholds, 31 million people—two out of three—breathed polluted air in 2024, reflecting "the magnitude of the challenge facing governments to improve air quality and align with new legislation," according to the organization.

Considering the less stringent regulations still in force, the population affected by illegal levels of pollution was 8.4 million, with the most affected areas being the Canary Islands, the Community of Madrid, inland Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, and specific locations in Andalusia, such as the Jaén municipality of Villanueva del Arzobispo.

If we look at the WHO's recommended levels, which are much stricter than the legal limits—both old and new—and at the EU's long-term goal of protecting vegetation, polluted air affected the entire Spanish population and 81% of the country in 2024: some 410,000 square kilometers, according to the report.

Improvements

During 2024, air quality in Spain "has improved compared to 2023 and the years prior to COVID-19," which the environmental organization attributes to "the recent evolution of the energy system."

Although oil combustion returned to pre-pandemic levels last year, gas consumption decreased, and renewable sources covered 57% of electricity demand, "limiting emissions from thermal power plants, especially coal-fired ones, which are the most polluting."

According to the document, the main source of pollution in urban areas—where the majority of the population is concentrated—is motorized traffic, while "in certain industrial areas and around large thermal power plants, these industrial sources are the ones that decisively influence air quality, in addition to the impact of air and sea transport."

Particularly affected areas

The Canary Islands had the worst situation in Spain for PM10 pollution, with 1,640 exceedances of the alert threshold. In the case of tropospheric ozone, the most widespread pollutant, the Community of Madrid recorded 290 exceedances of the reporting threshold.

Six episodes above the alert threshold were also detected in Puertollano (Ciudad Real) and the port of Tarragona.

Ecologists in Action reminds us that air quality improvement plans are required by law and denounces that several autonomous communities have not yet approved them. However, the organization is confident that the new European directive will require the implementation of effective measures to comply without further delay with the legal limits by 2030. EFE

lph/ppm/cc/sll