Pollution in the capital of Spain has decreased in the first days of the state of alarm by coronavirus, since the transit of vehicles and a lot of industrial activity have been greatly reduced, according to the average carried out by Ecologists in Action with data from the network of City Council measuring stations.

Specifically, yesterday, Monday, 16 micrograms per cubic meter of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were registered, half that of last Monday. This is a record low figure, since in the last decade a March 16 had not recorded such a low figure for this pollutant. The closest was two years ago, when 27 milligrams were recorded.

The same occurred on March 15, the first effective day of the state of alarm, with an average of 15 migrants per cubic meter of NO2 in the city, the lowest record for at least the last decade. On Sunday the 8th, 35 milligrams of this contaminant were recorded.

Saturday's data is also significant, since it was when the government announced the measures decreed and calls were already made from the administrations and the media to stay home. There was an average of 21 milligrams per cubic meter, also quite low. A week earlier, 33 milligrams of nitrogen dioxide were recorded.

In view of this situation, Ecologists in Action is carrying out an exhaustive monitoring of the behavior of pollution in Madrid these weeks, since at the moment there are few days to draw clear conclusions about the confinement. Thus, they explain that despite the fact that since Wednesday there was no academic activity and traffic decreased somewhat, there was no reduction in pollution due to the meteorological situation, dominated by an anticyclone with high temperatures, not that it does not worsen the pollution records.

The weather changed from Sunday, with storm, rain and wind, which favors the cleanliness of the air. But from the environmental organization they point to THE GOVERNMENT that since day 14, in good weather, the NO2 data fell considerably, which is one of the most common and harmful pollutants in Madrid. And that between March 14 and 16 of other years with full storms, the levels of nitrogen dioxide did not drop as much as this year.