Ozone concentrations

Do ozone concentrations in Malta meet EU air quality standards?

Malta is strongly influenced by ozone, the majority of which comes from overseas. However, some local production occurs under sunny and windless weather conditions, contributing to photosmog pollution incidents. This gas is found mostly in areas less affected by traffic such as the south and west of Malta and Gozo, since it combines with nitrogen monoxide, which emerges from car exhaust, to form nitrogen dioxide. While in Floriana locality, values exceeding the 120 microgrammes EU threshold were recorded in 14 per cent of the days, concentrations exceeded standards in 36 per cent of days at the Gordan lighthouse in Gozo in 2004. However, at both locations exceedences were recorded in more than the threshold of 25 times per year, indicating that the Maltese Islands are strongly influenced by ozone.

The State of the Environment Report 2005 is a Mepa publication available on www.mepa.org.mt