EVALUATION OF THE FIRST WORKING MONTH OF CENTRAL: DECEMBER 2018

The year 2018 was an important landmark for the fight against air in the city of Madrid. The compilation and processing of the plan for the reduction of , known as Plan A, has taken a lot longer in legislating that would have been desired, but finally, on the 30th of November 2018 in central Madrid, after negotiating various institutional and legal obstacles that were implemented, such as municipal opposition groups from the political parties Partido Popular (People’s Party) and Ciudadanos (Citizens) as well as the regional government from the province of Madrid; one of the most important measures of Plan A was put into place.

Madrid Central is a measure focussed on combating the problem of structural pollution in Madrid, caused by the excessive traffic that passes through the city every day. It is a measure to limit the amount of traffic that passes through an area of 472 hectares which makes up almost the entire central district. It is a permanent measure that has just begun and will be deployed in stages. It is currently in its first stage. Although offending vehicles are not yet fined and it is believed that fines will not be issued until the beginning of March, at the earliest, it is expected that the conditions for access and circulation in the zone will become progressively stricter. For example, from 2020 vehicles that do not have guest resident badges, and from 2025 neither those with resident badges, will be able to circulate the zone. In short, it is a measure designed for the long term that has just begun and as such a longer period (several years) will need to pass before an accurate assessment of its effects on air pollution can be made, both in the affected area and the city in general.

With this in mind, Ecologistas en Acción (Ecologists in Action) have completed an initial estimation of the impact of Madrid Central on air pollution, after the completion of its first month, in order to provide verified data to the public debate about the benefits of the measure. To do so, pollution data has been evaluated using the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels registered at the pollution measuring station in the Plaza del Carmen during the month of December 2018. Located 100 metres from the Gran Via this is the only measuring station located inside the Madrid Central perimeter. Said data has been compared to available registers from this station and others in the network, spanning a period of six years from 2013 to 2018.

The station in Plaza del Carmen is one of the most problematic in the network of 24 air quality measuring stations in Madrid in relation to NO2 pollution. It forms part of the seven core stations that regularly break the annual limit of NO2 levels fixed by the EU in 2010 which is an average annual value above 40 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3). Therefore, the European Commission keeps an infringement file open for Madrid which, among other things, is what forces the obligation of a pollution reduction plan (Plan A) and ultimately to apply measures such as Madrid Central.

1. MONTHLY DATA

In this section the NO2 values registered in the Plaza del Carmen station in 2018 will be compared with the corresponding data from the same station in the five previous years: the period from 2013 to 2016 and the year 2017. The year 2017 is treated differently because in December of that year a measure was developed, known as “operation Gran Via”, that implemented certain traffic limitations on the centre of the city that could be considered a direct precedent to Madrid Central.

If the profile of pollution is analysed by the level of NO2 registered in the Plaza del Carmen measuring station for the period 2013 to 2016 (table 1 and figure 1), it can be seen, as expected for the intense traffic that traditionally circulates the area during the Christmas period, that every year NO2 levels shoot up in December and remain high in January. As such, during the four years that span the period 2013 to 2016 December was the month with the worst NO2 levels in the Plaza del Carmen station in

Ecologistas en Acción. Evaluation of the first month of Madrid Central in Action. Page 1 three of the years (2013, 2014 and 2016) and the second worst in the remaining year of 2015 when January was even worse. High NO2 levels in December are also usual in other stations as well as in the average values for the network (figure 2), although the said effect is not as marked in other zones of the city. Taking this into account, the levels of NO2 registered in the Plaza del Carmen station during 2017 and 2018 are noteworthy. On the one hand, as shown in table 1, the values for December in 2017 (51 µg/m3) and 2018 (53 µg/m3) are the lowest of all the months of December in the period 2013 to 2018. In fact, they form the lowest two values ever reached in the Plaza del Carmen station in December since 2000 when Ecologistas in Acción began to track the air quality in Madrid.

Table 1. Average monthly levels of NO2 (µg/m3).

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual Average 2013 46 43 31 31 31 30 39 34 45 46 48 65 41 2014 43 37 42 35 31 30 32 28 34 52 50 71 40 2015 73 44 52 36 36 43 46 38 46 50 63 68 50 2016 46 42 46 42 39 37 47 42 52 57 52 60 47 2017* 60 50 47 42 41 44 44 40 42 66 62 51 49 2018** 52 59 41 42 41 38 33 41 47 49 40 53 45

Values in red are those with exceed the Annual NO2 Limit Value of 40 µg/m3. * Year of Operation Gran Via ** Year of the start of Madrid Central

Figure 1. Comparison of monthly NO2 levels in Plaza del Carmen over the years.

Figure 1 shows a graph which compares the monthly values for NO2 levels for the period 2013 to 2016 (average value) with the corresponding values for 2017 and 2018. As shown, the 2017 values are higher than the corresponding averages from 2013 to 2016 for almost every month which indicates in general terms that 2017 was a bad year for air quality with high levels of NO2 pollution in the Plaza del Carmen area. The year 2018 was somewhat irregular, influenced by weather factors and in part by refurbishment works in the Gran Via during the best part of the year, although it can also be seen that the 2018 values exceeded the 2013 to 2016 averages in several months. However, in analysing what

Ecologistas en Acción. Evaluation of the first month of Madrid Central in Action. Page 2 happens in the month of December when NO2 levels traditionally shoot up, both in the centre and in the city in general, it can be seen that the NO2 values in the Plaza del Carmen during 2017 (51 µg/m3) and 2018 (53 µg/m3) were very similar to one another and noticeably lower than the corresponding period in 2013 to 2016 (66 µg/m3). In other words, in December 2017, the month in which Operation Gran Via was applied, and in December 2018, when Madrid Central began, the NO2 pollution levels registered in the Plaza del Carmen station marked a reduction of 22.9% in 2017 and 20.4% in 2018 in respect to the average value from the period 2013 to 2016 respectively.

And what happened in the rest of the stations in the network? Figure 2 shows an analogue graph of the previous figure with the corresponding data for the average values from the network of the 24 measuring stations that evaluate the air quality in the city of Madrid. In this case the values for 2017 were also generally worse than the average values for the previous years, while those from 2018 are more irregular due to the weather being more unstable and wetter that year, especially in March, October and November. In November and December the NO2 pollution levels registered in 2017 (53 µg/m3) and in 2018 (54 µg/m3) show a reduction of 9.5% (2017) and 7.8% (2018) compared to the average values from the period 2013-2016 (59 µg/m3). In other words, across the network a significant NO2 pollution reduction also appeared in the month of December in 2017 and 2018 compared to the registered values for the same month in the previous years, while the reduction was not as large as in the Plaza del Carmen station.

Therefore, although the NO2 pollution levels that Madrid suffered in December 2018 were high (the average value for the network of 54 µg/m3 is not a good value, clearly higher than the annual limit established at 40 µg/m3), and the deterioration of air quality in the capital compared to the previous months of 2018 is tangible, in fact in December 2018 the NO2 levels in Madrid have been noticeably inferior to those in previous years.

Figure 2: Comparison of monthly NO2 levels from the average values from the network of stations over the years.

Table 2 shows the variation in levels of NO2 pollution registered during December 2018 compared to the corresponding values from the same month during the period 2013 to 2016 in all the stations in the network. The values indicate that in December 2018 the NO2 pollution reduced in 19 of the 24

Ecologistas en Acción. Evaluation of the first month of Madrid Central in Action. Page 3 stations in the network as well as the average value for the network (-7.8%), with Plaza de Carmen being one of the stations that registered the greatest pollution reduction (20.4%).

Table 2. NO2 values (µg/m3) in the month of December

Values in red are those with exceed the Annual NO2 Limit Value of 40 µg/m3.

In regards to the feared “border effect” predicted by those opposed to this measure (that Madrid Central is going to make the pollution from the centre displace to the adjoining zones), the values collected in table 2 are quite telling: Plaza de España -10.3%; Escuelas Aguirre -2.1%; Cuatro Caminos -4.9%; Méndez Álvaro -16.7%; Farolillo -16.2%; Fdez. Ladreda -19.1% etc. Small increases were only detected in zones that could be classed as adjacent in Ramón y Cajal +0.5% and Castellana +2.1%. Castellana is one of the largest urban roads in Madrid and must be subject to a similar reform as that taken on by the Gran Via, reducing the lanes dedicated to vehicles in favour of space for pedestrians, public and bicycles, something that is proposed in Plan A.

In short, the NO2 pollution levels from December 2018 suggest a significant reduction in respect to the traditional levels that were registered in said month across the network, a reduction that has been especially great in the station influenced by Madrid Central, the Plaza Del Carmen station, amongst others. An effect of increased NO2 pollution in the zones adjacent to Madrid Central (the border

Ecologistas en Acción. Evaluation of the first month of Madrid Central in Action. Page 4 effect) is not apparent, rather the opposite, in connection with what experts define as the effect of “traffic evaporation”.

2. HOURLY DATA: EXCEEDING THE HOURLY NO2 LIMIT VALUE

As shown above although the weather conditions during the most part of 2018 were in general favourable to the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere (unstable and much rain), the situation changed in the last month of the year, making the deterioration in the air quality of the capital tangible. As such, during the month of December 2018 four peaks in NO2 pollution were registered which gave place to the activation of the protocol on four occasions. In total there were eight days with hourly values which exceeded the limit of 200 µg/m3. These conditions gave place to 47 occasions across the network where the registered values exceeded the hourly NO2 limit, almost half of the 102 occasions where registered values exceeded the limit in the whole year of 2018.

Unfortunately, situations of peaks in pollution in Madrid during December is not exceptional, rather the opposite. Usually in the capital there are peaks in pollution every year during the period of October to February. The anomaly of 2018 is not that there have been peaks in December but that there have not been peaks in October and November (see figure 2).

In this context it can be asked how to compare the assessment of peaks in pollution in December 2018 with what happened in the same month in previous years. Table 3 shows the total number of times that the hourly limit value (HLV) of NO2 was exceeded across the network, as well as the number of days where the HLV was exceeded at least once, during the month of December between 2013 and 2018.

Table 3. Exceedances of the Hourly Limit Value (HLV) for NO2 (200 µg/m3) in December.

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Number of 84 96 183 106 59 47 exceedances of HLV Number of days with 13 12 14 13 7 8 exceedances * The year of Operation Gran Via ** The year of the start of Madrid Central

The result is telling: the impact of the peaks in NO2 pollution in December, the total number of exceedances of HLV as well as the days with at least one station exceeding the HLV, is noticeably lower in the last two years, exactly the years in which Madrid implemented significant measures to limit the traffic in the centre. In particular, the number of exceedances of HLV in December in 2018 was less than half of the occurrences in the same month in the years 2014 to 2016.

Looking at the values it can be argued that the Madrid Central measure contributed to the mitigation of pollution peak effects observed in 2018. To correctly evaluate this a wider series of data would be required and above all it would be necessary to compare the pollution values with traffic data by zone, comparing the value registers of December 2018 (that the city council must have provided at the time) with the previous years. What definitely cannot be done, which in fact is what some councillors are happily doing, is state that Madrid Central is causing a deterioration of air quality and is the cause of peaks in pollution registered in December in 2018, because this cannot be substantiated with values and is plainly and simple untrue. The registered values demonstrate the opposite.

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3. VALUES FROM THE PLAZA DEL CARMEN STATION IN RELATION TO THE NETWORK AVERAGE VALUE

In order to analyse the effect of Madrid Central on the NO2 pollution level in December 2018 in the previous sections the values of the last year have been compared to the corresponding values in previous months and years when this measure was not in place. A complementary form to evaluate the effect of Madid Central is to look at the NO2 pollution levels in the zone of application (Plaza del Carmen) in relation to the average value of the network, in order to analyse if changes can be detected which may be attributable to the measure.

Figure 3. Comparison of average monthly NO2 values from the network to Plaza del Carmen

Figure 4. NO2 pollution in December. Average value from the network and Plaza del Carmen

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Figure 3 is a bar graph which compares the average monthly NO2 pollution values from the network with those from the Plaza del Carmen station in 2018. As can be observed, the registered values in the Plaza del Carmen station are clearly higher than the network average in January and December. This is an expected result from one of the most problematic stations in the pollution measuring network that, as stated initially, forms part of the core of seven stations that break the annual NO2 limit value every year. However, the situation reverses in December 2018, coinciding with the application of Madrid Central and in this occasion the pollution level registered in Plaza del Carmen is less that the network average.

It could be thought that in December there are different conditions to other months, but figure 4 shows that this is not the case. Between the years 2013 and 2016 the registered values in the Plaza del Carmen station were also higher than the network average. The situation only reverses in the last two years coinciding with the adoption of significant traffic limitation measures in the centre of Madrid: operation Gran Via in 2017 and Madrid Central in 2018.

Overall, the NO2 pollution values registered in Madrid in December 2018 coinciding with the first month of Madrid Central in action, shows that the measure has had a significant effect on the improvement of air quality in the city, contributing to mitigate the effect of bad weather conditions of the last month of the year.

It is expected that in the coming months, as this measure begins to consolidate and complete the next phases, its effectiveness to improve the air quality of Madrid will increase. Although, logically it must be complemented (without delay) by the application of the rest of the measures proposed in Plan A.

Translated by Maria Gray, member of Translators in Action, the network of volunteer translators and interpreters for Ecologistas en Acción.

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