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Atmosphere
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Impacts of Air Pollution in Spain
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Impacts of Air Pollution in Spain

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality and Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 July 2021) | Viewed by 13408

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Mark Theobald

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Center for Energy, Environment and Technology – CIEMAT, Madrid, Spain
Interests: air quality modelling; impact assessments; model evaluation; geostatistical models

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is estimated that air pollution is responsible for more than three million premature deaths globally every year. Breathing contaminated air can lead to a wide range of negative health effects including respiratory diseases, strokes, coronary heart disease and lung cancer. The situation in Europe is better than some other regions of the world, although based on the guidelines set by the World Health Organisation, 77% of the urban population in Europe were exposed to polluted air in 2017. This has an impact on the health of the population, with an estimated three hundred thousand premature deaths attributed to poor air quality. Air pollution can also have serious impacts on crops and ecosystems. In 2017, it was estimated that nearly three quarters of European cropland and nearly two thirds of forests were at risk from exposure to ozone and nearly three quarters of European ecosystems were at risk from nitrogen deposition. Although European, National and Regional legislation, such as emission control measures have led to significant improvements in air pollution and its impacts during the last two decades, clearly more work needs to be done.

Spain is affected by many of the problems encountered in other European countries, such as elevated concentrations of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide in urban areas. However, as a result of its geographic position, Spain, along with other Mediterranean countries, has additional burdens of air pollution from elevated tropospheric ozone concentrations, wildfires, emissions from international shipping and transport of dust from the African continent. As in the rest of Europe, air quality in Spain has been improving during recent decades and it is important to quantify the benefits of these and future improvements. The assessment of the impacts of air quality in Spain naturally requires a multi-disciplinary approach, combining air quality models, field measurements, epidemiological studies, integrated assessment models and other state of the art techniques. This special issue welcomes any original work related to the subject of air quality impacts in Spain that makes use of these or other assessment methods.

Dr. Mark Theobald
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Spain
  • air quality
  • air pollution
  • ecosystem impacts
  • health impacts

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 3701 KiB  
Article
Avoided Mortality Associated with Improved Air Quality from an Increase in Renewable Energy in the Spanish Transport Sector: Use of Biofuels and the Adoption of the Electric Car
by Ana R. Gamarra, Yolanda Lechón, Marta G. Vivanco, Mark Richard Theobald, Carmen Lago, Eugenio Sánchez, José Luis Santiago, Juan Luis Garrido, Fernando Martín, Victoria Gil and Alejandro Rodríguez-Sánchez
Atmosphere 2021, 12(12), 1603; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12121603 - 30 Nov 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2513
Abstract
This paper assesses the health impact, in terms of the reduction of premature deaths associated with changes in air pollutant exposure, resulting from double-aim strategies for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants from the transport sector for the year 2030 in [...] Read more.
This paper assesses the health impact, in terms of the reduction of premature deaths associated with changes in air pollutant exposure, resulting from double-aim strategies for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants from the transport sector for the year 2030 in Spain. The impact on air quality of selected measures for reducing emissions from the transport sector (increased penetration of biofuel and electric car use) was assessed by air quality modeling. The estimation of population exposure to NO2, particulate matter (PM) and O3 allows for estimation of associated mortality and external costs in comparison with the baseline scenario with no measures. The results show that the penetration of the electric vehicle provided the largest benefits, even when the emissions due to the additional electricity demand were considered. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Air Pollution in Spain)
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21 pages, 4331 KiB  
Article
Comparative Analysis of the Environmental Performance of Delivery Routes in the City Center and Peri-Urban Area of Madrid
by Alessandra Boggio-Marzet, Andrés Monzón, Pablo Luque-Rodríguez and Daniel Álvarez-Mántaras
Atmosphere 2021, 12(10), 1233; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12101233 - 22 Sep 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2411
Abstract
Cities are experiencing a process of suburbanization and last-mile delivery has grown, worsening traffic congestion, pollutant emissions, and citizens’ quality of life. Based on a real-life case study, this research compares the environmental performance of different delivery routes carried out by Diesel Light-Duty [...] Read more.
Cities are experiencing a process of suburbanization and last-mile delivery has grown, worsening traffic congestion, pollutant emissions, and citizens’ quality of life. Based on a real-life case study, this research compares the environmental performance of different delivery routes carried out by Diesel Light-Duty Vehicles (LDV) according to delivery area, city center or peri-urban. Some 242 delivery routes performed by thirteen drivers were recorded for one month, including instantaneous GPS position, speed, and other parameters (7262 km travelled). Four different delivery routes typologies were compared, and the drag function of the vehicles was characterized. It enabled calibration and modelling dynamics to calculate fuel consumption and pollutant emissions according to delivery routes. The results show that pedestrian crossings, traffic lights, and traffic congestion reduce the average operating speed by up to 57% in the city center and consequently overall energy efficiency. Our results highlight the urgency of replacing diesel LDV for deliveries in the city center with no-motorized transport modes and of implementing intermodality to cover deliveries in residential peri-urban areas. Due to low speeds and frequent start-stops, the efficiency of vehicles in these areas is reduced to a minimum and pollutant emissions increase. The outputs set a basis for recommendations for using LDV only for delivery routes with less traffic interruptions and foster intermodal solutions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Air Pollution in Spain)
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20 pages, 3294 KiB  
Article
Influence of Population Density on CO2 Emissions Eliminating the Influence of Climate
by Pedro J. Zarco-Periñán, Irene M. Zarco-Soto and Fco. Javier Zarco-Soto
Atmosphere 2021, 12(9), 1193; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12091193 - 15 Sep 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5361
Abstract
More than 50% of the world’s population lives in cities. Its buildings consume more than a third of the energy and generate 40% of the emissions. This makes cities in general and their buildings in particular priority points of attention for policymakers and [...] Read more.
More than 50% of the world’s population lives in cities. Its buildings consume more than a third of the energy and generate 40% of the emissions. This makes cities in general and their buildings in particular priority points of attention for policymakers and utilities. This paper uses population density as a variable to know its influence on energy consumption and emissions produced in buildings. Furthermore, to show its effect more clearly, the influence of the climate was eliminated. The usual energy consumption in buildings is thermal and electrical. The study was carried out at the city level, both per inhabitant and per household. The area actually occupied by the city was considered. The proposed method was applied to the case of Spanish cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. The results show that the higher the population density, the higher the energy consumption per inhabitant and household in buildings. The consumption of thermal energy is elastic, while that of electrical energy is inelastic, varying more than 100% between extreme groups. Regarding CO2 emissions, the higher the population density, the higher the emissions. Emissions of electrical origin barely vary by 2% and are greater than those of thermal origin. In addition, the proportion of emissions of electrical origin, with respect to the total, decreases with increasing population density from 74% to 55%. This research aims to help policymakers and utilities to take the appropriate measures that favor the use of renewable energies and reduce CO2 emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Air Pollution in Spain)
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14 pages, 2415 KiB  
Article
Influence of Population Income and Climate on Air Pollution in Cities Due to Buildings: The Case of Spain
by Fco. Javier Zarco-Soto, Irene M. Zarco-Soto and Pedro J. Zarco-Periñán
Atmosphere 2021, 12(8), 1051; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12081051 - 16 Aug 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2101
Abstract
Half of the world’s population lives in cities. In addition, more than 40% of greenhouse gas emissions are produced in buildings in the residential and tertiary sectors. Therefore, cities, and in particular their buildings, have a great influence on these emissions. In fact, [...] Read more.
Half of the world’s population lives in cities. In addition, more than 40% of greenhouse gas emissions are produced in buildings in the residential and tertiary sectors. Therefore, cities, and in particular their buildings, have a great influence on these emissions. In fact, they are reflected in several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Any measure taken to reach these goals has a significant impact from the point of view of reducing greenhouse gases. An understanding of these goals is the basis of greenhouse gas mitigation. This work analyzed the CO2 emissions from the buildings in cities as a function of the economic income of their inhabitants. For this, databases published by official sources were used. The origins of the CO2 are usually emitted by buildings were analyzed—electrical and thermal, in the form of natural gas. Another variable that influences these emissions is climate. To study only the income variable, the influence of climate has been eliminated. Also, to facilitate analysis, an index has been introduced. As an example of application of the proposed methodology, Spanish cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants were studied. The analysis was carried out by household and by inhabitant. The results showed the following: the higher the income of the citizens, the higher the total and thermal emissions; thermal consumption is elastic, while electrical consumption is inelastic; emissions of electrical origin are almost constant; emissions from electrical energy are greater than those from thermal energy; as income increases, the ratio between emissions of electrical and thermal origin decreases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Air Pollution in Spain)
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