- Yonathan de León: “These measurements will allow us to monitor levels and prevent harm to public health”
- The Environment Department, led by Councillor Davinia Déniz, has completed the installation of seven systems deployed in health zones, educational centres, beaches, sports facilities, and high-traffic roads.
- During this initial episode of haze over Lanzarote, with a pre-alert from AEMET, the Environment Department will use these devices to inform the public and take measures to control variations in atmospheric levels.
Yonathan de León: “These measurements will allow us to monitor levels and prevent harm to public health”
The Environment Department, led by Councillor Davinia Déniz, has completed the installation of seven systems deployed in health zones, educational centres, beaches, sports facilities, and high-traffic roads.
During this initial episode of haze over Lanzarote, with a pre-alert from AEMET, the Environment Department will use these devices to inform the public and take measures to control variations in atmospheric levels.
The Arrecife City Council has finalised the installation of seven air quality measurement stations during the summer months, deploying sensors to analyse various atmospheric parameters. The devices transmit real-time data to a central system for analysis by the technical team of the City Council’s Environment Department.
The Mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León, has highlighted that since the first weekend of September, the devices are operational, capturing, monitoring, and controlling emissions in the atmosphere, particularly the particles blown in from the Sahara during haze periods.
The Mayor stated that this deployment of sensors, distributed in the first phase across different areas of Lanzarote’s capital, will enable monitoring of levels and prevent harm to public health by informing residents about the presence of these particles in Lanzarote’s air.
De León noted that due to climate change, the Canary Islands, given their proximity to Africa and the Sahara Desert, may experience more frequent episodes of haze, as is already being observed recently. Haze reduces visibility and can deteriorate air quality, where particulates like desert dust, clay, and minerals can be detrimental to respiratory health by irritating airways and exacerbating conditions such as asthma.
Deployment in health zones, educational centres, beaches, sports facilities, and high-traffic roads
Under a measure implemented by the Environment Department, led by Councillor Davinia Déniz, the City Council has deployed seven measuring stations in this first phase, aiming to provide real-time indicators that enable timely action.
Councillor Davinia Déniz has detailed that the pre-alert situation activated by AEMET for this weekend due to a haze episode over the eastern Canary Islands will allow for verification of these installations and real-time monitoring of parameters provided by sensors located, among other sites, near the Dr. Molina Orosa University Hospital in Lanzarote, city beaches, various educational centres, high-traffic roads, and alongside outdoor sports facilities.
The City Council of Arrecife has rented these first seven measurement stations for a year, aiming to enhance urban air quality monitoring to improve citizens’ quality of life. With the installation of these initial sensors, emissions will be monitored and controlled, high-emission zones identified, concentration variations audited and quantified, facilitating decisions and actions to create a sustainable urban environment, benefiting both the environment and the municipality’s population. These devices allow monitoring of various environmental factors related to air quality, including gases and suspended particles, temperature, and humidity, among others.
Arrecife is also pursuing significant measures to improve air quality, including acquiring a fleet of electric municipal vehicles, and transitioning the new bus fleet from diesel combustion to electric vehicles, such as the new buses introduced last December, with four larger units expected this autumn. Additionally, a new public electric bike rental system is being implemented to enhance mobility within Arrecife. The sensors monitor air quality by measuring possible atmospheric pollutants, especially in urban, educational, and health environments, with the aim of improving citizens’ quality of life and urban development planning within Arrecife’s new Supplementary Plan.
These devices operate by detecting and recording pollutants in air samples, with the Environment Department aiming to make this data publicly available, so residents can be informed about the air quality in their city.
