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Date Published: 16/03/2022
ARCHIVED - 4 Spanish cities among least polluted in the world
Two cities in Andalucía have been placed in the top 40
Climate change continues to be a global hot topic, as it should, and Spain is continually striving for innovative ways to reduce the country’s environmental impact. In recent days, storm Celia has brought a blanket of Saharan dust which has painted the skyline orange and reduced the nation to the one with the worst air quality in the world.
Those in Spain shaking the residue from their washing or hosing down patios might be surprised to learn, therefore, that the peninsula has not one, but four destinations in the top 40 list of the globe’s least polluted cities, and two of them are in Andalucia.
The non-profit organisation Berkeley Earth has devised a study which examines several parameters, such as the quality of the air and the concentration of suspended particles of less than 2.5 microns (PM 2.5) per cubic meter that we find in it, to determine the healthiest regions. Only cities with more than 250,000 inhabitants were considered.
Melbourne in Australia took the top spot as the least polluted city in the world, followed by Newcastle and Sydney.
But Spain’s environmental efforts have also borne fruit, and Sevilla in Andalucía has been ranked in position 21 on the list. Next in line is Malaga, in position 29, followed by Valladolid at number 30. Last but certainly not least comes number 35, Bilbao.
Making it into the top 40 least polluted cities on Earth is quite an accomplishment, a sentiment that has been echoed by one of the forerunner’s mayors, Oscar Puente, on hearing the news:
"Valladolid is ranked 30th among the least polluted cities in the world. The decisions that we take have their consequences. And this is not a minor issue".
Of course, a study that examines the least polluted areas must also list the worst, and in this case, the dubious honour goes to India, which has scooped up 31 places of the 40 most polluted cities in the world.
Valladolid en el puesto número 30 de las ciudades menos contaminadas del mundo. Las decisiones que tomamos tienen sus consecuencias. Y este no es un tema menor. pic.twitter.com/RxcaqGZuEg
— Oscar Puente (@oscar_puente_) March 14, 2022
Image: Archive
staff.inc.and
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