Malaga air pollution over EU limits

ON 55 separate days in 2010, the levels of contamination in Malaga city were above levels permitted by the EU, according to the Department of the Environment. The World Health Organisation has warned that this increases cases of illnesses such as bronchitis and can worsen the effects of cardiovascular diseases.

The EU has set the number of days on which levels of pollution can be above average, meaning Malaga was well over the limit for air quality levels.

The Superior Centre of Scientific Research (CSIC) estimates that 30 per cent of particles come from the combustion of vehicle engines, 30 per cent from the material which rises from roads as vehicles go over them and 30 per cent from the transformation of gaseous contaminants.