Tropospheric ozone is considered one of the best indicators of high levels of air pollution that shows itself with all of its virulence when high temperatures arise. The “bad” ozone or tropospheric ozone is not directly caused by any particular emission source, but rather is produced when sun rays act on the precursor gases that are produced mainly through human activity. Emissions from vehicles in Madrid are the primary source of these precursors, namely nitrogen oxides (NOx). Ecologistas en Acción believes that the high temperatures should not be used to hide or excuse the serious problem of air pollution, which to 80% is caused by the unsustainable transportation model of the region.

Since May 26^th, the first day of the year that the advisory level for ozone, set at 180 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3), was surpassed, 10 days and a total of 45 hours have been registered with tropospheric ozone above the advisory level. By the same date in 2004, only 3 days and a total of 9 hours were registered with levels above 180 micrograms per cubic meter.

The health protection level (120µg/m3 in 8 hours) is continuously being exceeded at the 17 measuring stations located throughout the Autonomous Community of Madrid. On June 19^th, 16 of these 17 measuring stations registered levels of ground-level ozone that surpassed the health protection level. Because winds transport and disperse contaminated air, it is difficult to make long-term predictions about where the established advisory and health levels will be exceeded. However, short-term predictions are common in many European regions, where advisories will be made for the following day. Madrid is infamous for the lack of this type of advisories and no intentions currently exist to change this situation.

Ecologistas en Acción recalls the staging of the “Blue Plan,” established by the President of the Autonomous Community of Madrid (regional government), Esperanza Aguirre, with the intention of improving air quality and which apparently was nothing more than “hot air” used to cover up the disastrous current situation. No information is provided to the general population and nothing is done to protect the health of people, including those that are most susceptible (children, elderly, those suffering from asthma…) and those that practice intensive sports. These tend to be uninformed about the effects on their respiratory system of practicing sports (cycling, tennis, etc.) in adverse air quality conditions. During intensive exercise, 5 times more air is inhaled than in a normal situation, which means that the inhalation of ozone and other gases and particles that can damage the lungs is also multiplied by five.