Badalona City Council (Barcelonès Nord) has started a campaign to measure air pollution in the city. During the next three weeks there will be 25 sensors distributed throughout the municipality with the aim of knowing the average levels of Nitrogen Oxide (NO2) present in the air. In Badalona, nitrogen oxides, along with polluting particles smaller than 10 and 2.5 microns, are the main air pollutants that are harmful to people's health
The objective of this campaign, which has the support of the Diputació de Barcelona, is to assess the influence of vehicle traffic on air quality. To carry out the study, the sensors are installed in areas with different traffic intensity and also in urban parks and pedestrian areas.
The data obtained with the passive collectors will serve to evaluate the current situation as well as the evolution of pollution in the city, since during the years 2008, 2017, 2018 and 2021 similar campaigns were carried out that will allow the figures to be compared. In this sense, in 2021 the lowest levels measured to date were recorded, although these are surely results influenced by the restrictions associated with the pandemic.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly warned that air pollution is responsible for millions of premature deaths around the world. A study recently published by ISGlobal (Barcelona Institute for Global Health) has quantified that in the Barcelona metropolitan area, reducing NO2 and PM2.5 particles to the levels recommended by the WHO would save 82 and 1,297 deaths per year, respectively.
The Councilor for the Environment, Sustainability and Animal Welfare, Rosa Trenado, has highly valued the campaign because "with the data obtained through the samples collected, the council will be able to act more efficiently in those points where it is detected that the levels of contamination are higher and in this way we will be able to offer greater protection to the citizenry”.
