The current anticyclonic weather will increase the pollution by concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and particles “alarmingly” until next weekend in Madrid and Barcelona, and occasionally in Seville, Bilbao, Algeciras or Murcia, due to high meteorological pressures, according to the Meteored meteorology portal.
The anticyclonic weather experienced in the first days of 2023 it will last until next weekend and will cause a worsening of air quality in some cities of the Peninsula.
The researcher and popularizer of Meteored, Samuel Biener, has affirmed that the high pressures will reach maximums close to 1,035 hectopascals in the interior of the peninsula, with which “it is expected an increase in the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5″ particles, those with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns.
As he explained, during anticyclones the air tends to drop, trapping pollutants and causing thermal inversions on the surface and little air renewal due to the lack of wind, which ends up deriving in “a dome that obstructs the vanishing of that mass of unhealthy air.”
Madrid and Barcelona, the most affected
The cities that will suffer the most from this pollution will be Madrid and Barcelona, where nitrogen dioxide levels could reach 50 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³), when the healthy threshold established by the World Health Organization (WHO) does not exceed 25 µg/m³.
According to Biener, these levels of nitrogen dioxide in the air could be repeated “in a timely manner” in Seville, Bilbao, Algeciras or Murcia; In addition, values in Valencia, Alicante, Córdoba, Granada and the Avilés-Gijón area are expected to reach 30 µg/m³.
In urban areas, it is estimated that more than 75% of NO2 in the air is due to the aforementioned road traffic. Its presence contributes to the formation and modification of other atmospheric pollutants, such as ozone and suspended particles (PM10 and PM2.5). Precisely, the latter will present high levels during a good part of the week in some areas of Spain.
Regarding PM2.5 particles, Meteored expects data above 50 µg/m³ in Madrid and Barcelona, remaining for a large part of the week, as well as “high concentrations” in the Valencian Community, Murcia, Andalusia, points on the Meseta North and the Ebro valley, and in some Cantabrian cities.
According to forecasts, the situation will start to improve from the weekend“when the zonal circulation will intensify and the westerly winds will gain prominence, with rains linked to the fronts that will progress from west to east.”
Biener has warned of the dangers of both pollutants, linking high levels of nitrogen dioxide to respiratory infections, causing irritation of the lungs and reduced lung capacity; In addition, it has ensured that its effects can be more harmful in children under six years of age, the elderly and pregnant women.
As for PM2.5 particles, they can get into the respiratory system and settle in the pulmonary alveoli, even reaching the bloodstream, according to the expert.
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Contact of the Environment section: crisisclimatica@prensaiberica.es
