The suspended microparticles of less than two and ten microns continue to affect the Canary Islands and "greatly exceed" the values recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the legal limits. This is stated in the report of Air Quality in the Spanish State published this Wednesday by Ecologistas en Acción.
The islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, due to their proximity to the African continent, are among the worst air quality records in the archipelago. However, all the islands have suffered this situation.
The air quality in the islands registers a worse situation than it experienced before the pandemic due to African dust. Only throughout last year, particles of less than ten microns increased by 26% in the archipelago, compared to the period between 2012 and 2019.
The frequent episodes of haze place the years 2020, 2022 and 2023 as the worst in air quality, because they reached "the highest levels of the last decade" and the "worst situation of the year in the entire State".
Climate change and haze episodes
In the stations of Arrecife and the Sports City of the capital, as well as in Tefía in Fuerteventura, daily averages of more than 600 milligrams of suspended particles (from 2.5 to ten microns) per cubic meter were recorded during the months of February, April, August, October and December, coinciding with the different waves of haze that hit the eastern islands.
In this way, "all the stations in the archipelago that measured particles of less than 2.5 microns" exceeded the daily and annual average values" recommended by the WHO and also the new annual limit established by the European Parliament, of 10 milligrams per cubic meter. The average concentration of these particles was 23% higher in 2023 than in the period 2012-2019.
Ecologistas en Acción states that this trend is related to climate change on the planet and that it is "especially serious" in the Canary Islands due to their geographical location.
However, haze is not the only reason. "A relevant part of this pollution" comes from motorized and maritime traffic and from thermal power plants, according to the aforementioned report.
Tropospheric ozone, elevated in Las Caletas
Among the gases analyzed in the document is nitrogen dioxide, which comes from gases that are released into the air from motor vehicles or the combustion of coal, oil or gas. Its presence decreases in the average of Canary Islands meters, by 14% in the last year.
This reduction caused the tropospheric ozone to also fall, an irritating gas that is created by the reactions between nitrogen oxides and other compounds produced by the burning of fuel. Tropospheric ozone registered in the Canary Islands "the lowest levels in the State, despite the high temperatures and high solar radiation".
In contrast, one of the only stations on the islands where "relevant levels" of tropospheric ozone were reached was that of Las Caletas, where the island's power plant is located. The report states that this point exceeded "the eight-hour value recommended by the WHO in more than 25 days". While the World Health Organization recommends that no more than three days a year exceed this value.
In the Canary Islands, the role of the trade winds means that there is "good dispersion of pollution". Last year, the islands registered a low accumulation of ozone and the trade winds prevented "the high concentrations" that take place in the territories of the State from being reached.
Deficiencies in measurement data
Ecologistas en Acción urges the Government of the Canary Islands to "strive to improve the measurement and information" of air quality in the islands.
In addition, it states that the Port Authority of Las Palmas is the only public administration, of 54 consulted for the report, that "has denied access to air quality data from its only measuring station".
The report indicates that in the Canary Islands the informative regulation in the face of haze episodes is "completely insufficient even from a merely informative point of view to protect the health of the most sensitive population". In addition, Ecologistas en Acción exposes "the insufficiency of information" in the archipelago.
