The current anticyclonic air will “worryingly” increase pollution with nitrogen dioxide and particulate concentrations by the end of next week. In Madrid and Barcelona, and sometimes in Seville, Bilbao, Algeciras or Murcia due to high meteorological pressures, according to the meteorological portal Meteored.
Anticyclonic weather in the first days of 2023 will last until the end of next week and cause air quality to deteriorate In some cities of the peninsula.
Meteored’s researcher and disseminater, Samuel Biener, confirmed that high pressures in the interior of the peninsula will reach maximum values of around 1,035 hectopascals. an increase in the concentration of nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5″ particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter.
As he explains, air tends to fall during anticyclones, trapping pollutants and causing thermal inversions at the surface and little air renewal due to the absence of wind, which eventually results in wind. “It’s a dome that keeps that unhealthy air mass from disappearing.”
Madrid and Barcelona most affected
The cities that will suffer the most from this pollution will be Madrid and Barcelona, where nitrogen dioxide levels can reach 50 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³) when below the healthy threshold set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Exceeding 25 µg/m³.
According to Biener, these nitrogen dioxide levels in the air can be repeated “in time” in Seville, Bilbao, Algeciras or Murcia; In addition, values in the region of Valencia, Alicante, Córdoba, Granada and Avilés-Gijón are expected to reach 30 µg/m³.
It is estimated that more than 75% of NO is present in urban areas.2 originates from the above-mentioned road traffic in the air. Its presence contributes to the formation and modification of ozone and other atmospheric pollutants such as suspended particles (PM10 and PM2.5). To be precise, the latter will show higher levels for most of the week in parts of Spain.
As for PM2.5 particles, Meteored expects “high concentrations” in the Valencia Community, Murcia, Andalusia and North Meseta, with data of over 50 µg/m³ remaining for most of the week in Madrid and Barcelona. and in the Ebro valley and some Cantabrian cities.
According to estimates, The situation will start to improve from the weekend“when regional circulation will intensify and westerly winds will predominate, when precipitation is dependent on fronts moving from west to east.”
Biener warns of the dangers of both pollutants, binds high levels of nitrogen dioxide to respiratory infections, causing irritation of the lungs and reduced lung capacity; It has also made its effects more harmful in children under the age of six, the elderly and pregnant women.
As for PM2.5 particles, they can enter the respiratory system, settle in the pulmonary alveoli, and even reach the bloodstream, according to the expert.
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Contact address of the environment department: [email protected]