Overview
- Ecologistas en Acción estimates about 8 million people breathed air above current EU ozone limits this year, rising to 12 million under 2030 limits and 47 million under WHO guidelines.
- Authorities logged 320 exceedances of the EU information threshold through September 30, the highest count since 2015 and concentrated in Madrid and Catalonia.
- At least 26 zones across Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Extremadura, the Community of Madrid and the Region of Murcia breached legal maxima at one or more stations.
- The report says public alerts were inadequate, citing no required warnings in Aragon, Asturias, Extremadura and the Basque Country and only routine notices in other affected regions.
- The European Environment Agency attributes roughly 10,000 premature deaths a year in Spain to ozone exposure, and the report urges traffic reduction, solvent substitution, energy saving, taxes on diesel and aviation, and a moratorium on new mega-farms.