Spain’s public prosecutors have asked the city of Madrid to reduce air pollution levels to within limits set by the EU, a spokesman for their office said.

The move comes as Madrid and Barcelona, Spain’s two largest cities, are experiencing dangerous levels of atmospheric pollution because of a high-pressure system lodged over the Iberian peninsula that is preventing pollutants from dispersing.

The spokesman said the environment department of the public prosecutors’ office “has sent an official letter urging the city of Madrid to lower pollution levels because they have surpassed European limits”.

The organisation Ecologists in Action has accused Madrid authorities of a grave dereliction of their duty to ensure that local people can breathe healthy air.