In summer the Għarb air monitoring station registers high levels of ozone, a phenomenon mostly caused by ozone drifting over from the European continent.
Answering a parliamentary question by Anthony Agius Decelis (PL), Environment Minister Mario de Marco said the air quality of rural areas in Malta and Gozo is considered acceptable within the parameters established by European legislation, except for the ozone level.
While air quality in areas of heavy traffic or close to point sources of pollution varies because of occasionally high levels of PM10 and NO2 registered, the levels of all other polluting substances that Malta is obliged to monitor are still within the parameters established at European law.