Effectiveness of a low emission zone in improving air quality in Barcelona

IF 3.4 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Atmospheric Environment: X Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-19 DOI:10.1016/j.aeaoa.2026.100428

Vanessa N. dos Santos , Laia Font-Ribera , Marc Rico , Jordi Massagué , Núria Nebra , Eva Pérez , Anna Gómez-Gutiérrez , Ioar Rivas , Xavier Querol , Xavier Basagaña

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Abstract

A low emission zone (LEZ) was implemented in the Barcelona metropolitan area in 2020, concurrently with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a synthetic control method to estimate the impacts of the LEZ on NO₂, PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ concentrations in Barcelona, accounting for the effects of COVID-19 and other underlying trends, in addition to meteorology and desert dust outbreaks. Results showed that the LEZ reduced annual mean NO₂ concentrations by 7.6 μg/m³ (95% CI: 6.7, 8.5 μg/m³) at traffic stations, and by 4.5 μg/m³ (95% CI: 3.7, 5.3 μg/m³) at urban background stations. The LEZ was less effective in reducing PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ concentrations. These results indicate that the LEZ in Barcelona was effective in reducing NO₂ concentrations, while the effects on PM were more uncertain, probably due to the major secondary PM origin.

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低排放区在改善巴塞罗那空气质量方面的效果

2020年，在2019冠状病毒病大流行爆发的同时，在巴塞罗那大都市区实施了低排放区。我们使用了一种综合控制方法来估计LEZ对巴塞罗那NO2、PM2.5和PM10浓度的影响，考虑了COVID-19和其他潜在趋势的影响，以及气象和沙漠沙尘的爆发。结果表明，LEZ使交通站点年平均NO2浓度降低了7.6 μg/m3 (95% CI: 6.7、8.5 μg/m3)，使城市背景站点年平均NO2浓度降低了4.5 μg/m3 （95% CI: 3.7、5.3 μg/m3）。LEZ在降低PM2.5和PM10浓度方面效果较差。这些结果表明，巴塞罗那LEZ在降低NO2浓度方面是有效的，而对PM的影响则更不确定，可能是由于主要的次级PM来源。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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