Debate over banning short-distance flights takes off, but the cons outweigh the pros
National air-quality checker will give residents exact readings in real time, says minister Teresa Ribera
15/10/2018
RESIDENTS in Spain will soon be able to check how clean or otherwise the air they breathe is via an easy-to-use website, minister for energy transition Teresa Ribera has announced.
Air-quality index Apps exist already, but are mainly geared to businesses, often carry a charge and are not necessarily user-friendly – and Google's air-quality programme works for cities and very large towns, but not for smaller towns and villages and does not home in on certain streets.
But Ribera wants to set up a website where anyone in the country can check out the quality of their air in their exact location and in real time.
This could also serve as a tool for providing evidence of necessary investment in ring-roads and public transport systems where councils and regional governments have been pushing unsuccessfully for them for many years – such as the coastal towns in the provinces of Valencia and Alicante where the only toll-free trunk road runs straight through the centre of several municipalities, leading to constant traffic jams in residential areas.
The air-quality checker will form part of Ribera's National Air Control Programme, due to launch in April 2019, which will also cover other measures to cut Spain's carbon footprint and promote renewable energy sources, as well as reducing air pollution.
Although many of Spain's largest cities suffer from air pollution – in particular, Barcelona and Madrid, which have introduced tough traffic-control measures in a bid to tackle the problem – much of Spain's land mass is rural and its towns and giant metropolitan areas are very contained with little 'spread' beyond their boundaries, meaning clean, healthy air is not difficult to find – in fact, even five or so kilometres outside of the capital city, people will find themselves in completely open countryside.
Related Topics
RESIDENTS in Spain will soon be able to check how clean or otherwise the air they breathe is via an easy-to-use website, minister for energy transition Teresa Ribera has announced.
Air-quality index Apps exist already, but are mainly geared to businesses, often carry a charge and are not necessarily user-friendly – and Google's air-quality programme works for cities and very large towns, but not for smaller towns and villages and does not home in on certain streets.
But Ribera wants to set up a website where anyone in the country can check out the quality of their air in their exact location and in real time.
This could also serve as a tool for providing evidence of necessary investment in ring-roads and public transport systems where councils and regional governments have been pushing unsuccessfully for them for many years – such as the coastal towns in the provinces of Valencia and Alicante where the only toll-free trunk road runs straight through the centre of several municipalities, leading to constant traffic jams in residential areas.
The air-quality checker will form part of Ribera's National Air Control Programme, due to launch in April 2019, which will also cover other measures to cut Spain's carbon footprint and promote renewable energy sources, as well as reducing air pollution.
Although many of Spain's largest cities suffer from air pollution – in particular, Barcelona and Madrid, which have introduced tough traffic-control measures in a bid to tackle the problem – much of Spain's land mass is rural and its towns and giant metropolitan areas are very contained with little 'spread' beyond their boundaries, meaning clean, healthy air is not difficult to find – in fact, even five or so kilometres outside of the capital city, people will find themselves in completely open countryside.
Related Topics
More News & Information
BATTERIES from mobile phones, laptops and even cars are among those that must be recyclable within the next four years in accordance with a new European Union regulation, as explained by Spain's minister for...
ELECTRICITY could become cheaper to use at more convenient hours in a hypothetical about-turn for household bills – and that's thanks to solar power.
YET again and for the 36th year running, Spain holds the record for the highest number of blue-flagged beaches in the world, with its east-coast region of the Comunidad Valenciana having more than any other.