Locals and visitors to Marbella can now check air quality in real time

Marbella residents can now consult air quality data in real time thanks to the four environmental meters that were installed at the beginning of September in town centre as part of the project for the implementation of the Low Emission Zone (ZBE).

The information can be accessed through a QR code that will be disseminated on stickers, on the municipal website and through posters and advertising which is soon to be placed at bus stops. The data can be consulted directly via the website: https://marbella1.cityconn.cloud/es/calidad-del-aire/detalles

The website provides information not only on the Air Quality Index (AQI, an indicator that combines different pollutants), but also on fine particles (PM2.5, those of less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter that can penetrate deep into the lungs and which in towns and cities come mainly from traffic, heating and industrial activities) and ultrafine particles (PM1.0, of a diameter of less than one micrometre and particularly relevant for respiratory health).

The online information also provides data on the levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a gas formed by the combustion of fossil fuels such as those used in vehicles, which can contribute to the formation of smog.

The environmental meters collect data at a frequency of 30 seconds. This information will be collected over a period of three months and the data will form the basis of a series of recommendations which will in turn inform the municipal ordinance that will light up Marbella's Low Emission Zone.

Up to September the meters showed positive levels, with all average values below the permitted limit. The information collected has revealed that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been at an average index of 81.94, a good value considering that up to 100 indicates clean air or an improvement over the recent average. As for the nitrogen oxides (NOx) index, whose reference value is 1 (typical of well-ventilated environments and without combustion sources) and whose scale goes up to 500, it has averaged 3.23, with maximum and minimum values of 19.5 and 1.5 respectively.

In relation to the level of sulphur dioxide (SO2), a gas created by the operation of vehicles and whose effects on health are felt from a concentration of between 0.3 and 2 ppm (throat irritation, coughing, etc.), the average level reported by environmental meters is 0.18, and only at its maximum value, 2.5, has it been above this threshold. At SO2 concentrations of between 2 and 10 ppm, the odour is easily perceived and causes greater respiratory irritation, which can worsen symptoms for people with pre-existing conditions such as asthma.

The average temperature was around 24Cs, with a maximum of 32.4 degrees and a minimum of 15.2C, while the relative humidity was between 89.2 and 63.15 per cent, with an average of 15.8 per cent.